What to Do With Your Psychology Degree
Career Choices in the Human or Social Sciences Field
May 20, 2009
“What can I do with my psychology degree?” is the question you need to answer if you’re a psych major – and you ideally want answers before you actually graduate from a college or university!
Here are a few career choices in the human or social sciences field…
What to do With Your Psychology Degree
There's an array of career options available to psychology majors.
- Psychology blogger. If your writing and research skills are decent (or good!), consider blogging for a mental health organization or company. Many businesses need bloggers to fill their website with relevant, sound mental health information – and a psychology degree gives you a strong foundation.
- Psychology writer. There some jobs for psych majors who love to write – such as this one for Suite101 (which will hopefully be taken for years to come!). Other e-zines and websites employ psychology writers, as do magazines such as Psychology Today. Some psychology writers work on a freelance basis, while others are fortunate enough to have permanent positions.
- Social services organizations. Nonprofit organizations such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, or the Peace Corps sometimes have job opportunities for graduates with psychology degrees.
- Career counseling or human resources. Career counseling requires knowledge of social and human sciences, so a psych major would be perfect for the job. Some companies hire people with psychology degrees to staff their human resources and training departments.
- Juvenile detention or adult remand centers. If you’re interested in forensic psychology but don’t know if you should pursue graduate studies, explore entry level jobs at various detention centers. This career choice isn’t for everyone – but is worth exploring.
Many psychology graduates go on into other fields: police work, teaching, law school, health and medical sciences, and so on. The beauty of a psychology degree is that it's applicable to many areas - even those outside the human or social sciences fields.
The Best Way to Find a Job for Psychology Majors
Whether your degree is in psychology, criminology, or counseling – the worst way to find a job is through the internet. There are thousands of psychology graduates vying for the few jobs posted, so your chances of getting hired are low.
Significantly more people are hired through personal connections – but that doesn’t mean you need to be best friends with a potential employer! Personal connections can include visiting companies in person to ask about their employment needs, volunteering to get your foot in the door, and asking for “informational interviews.”
If you haven’t decided what you’ll do with your psychology degree yet, don’t panic! Treat your search for employment as a full-time job – but be open to accepting other work so you can pay your bills until you find the position you really want.
Related Reading
If you found What to do With Your Psychology Degree helpful, read Types of Psychology along with Jobs for Psychology Graduates and Therapy Jobs in Psychology.
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