A psychology degree arms you with the skills to understand the human mind and behavior. Your studies give you a chance to explore:
- How the brain functions when under stress
- The way it grasps language
- The formation of memories
- Effect of mental illnesses on it
Moreover, you can find a specific area of psychology to specialize in, such as:
- Health
- Clinical
- Research
- Educational
- Counseling
- Occupational
- Neuro
- Forensic
- Sport and exercise
However, you can use the knowledge to forge a new career path, either on or off the beaten psychology track. Many positions in the IT, legal, government administration, finance, and market research sectors await you.
More importantly, there are different options available to graduates at each level of education in psychology. You can fill some roles with an undergraduate psychology degree, such as the Associate’s program. For others, though, you may need highly specialized education. We have divided the jobs open to students, based on the type of psychology degree they may have:
Associate’s Psychology Degree
Correctional Officer
After you get your psychology degree – an associate’s – you may work as a correctional officer. Their main responsibility is to safeguard prison inmate populations. Thus, you may find yourself:
- Supervising activities
- Taking part in rehabilitation
- Counseling the inmates
A growing section of the US population is now under incarceration. Therefore, the demand for correctional officers having a psychology degree is also on the rise. You can also recommend changes in the environmental psychology of the facility to improve the conditions inside.
What’s more, the salary for correctional officers is $44,400 per year.
Police Officer with a Psychology Degree
Did you think your psychology degree would help you in enforcing the law? Well, it does! That’s because a police officer’s specific responsibilities can vary greatly. Being deeply familiar with the way our minds work can be useful in escalating or violent situations. Your skills and education may also help you during investigations.
Additionally, many police agencies today, prefer applicants with a psychology or criminal justice degree. Your degree could open a path to both increased responsibilities and salary. BLS puts an average estimate of $63,380 annually for a police officer.
Bachelor’s Psychology Degree
Case Managers
Also known as human and social service assistants, case managers dispense advice and counseling in difficult situations. For instance, your involvement in developing a treatment plan that suits your client more, monitoring their progress, and liaising with case managers, will benefit many people.
Your psychology degree makes you a good choice for this profession for two reasons. Firstly, you know the importance of compassion. Secondly, your education has likely made you a critical thinker who knows much about human nature and behavior.
Sales Representative with a Psychology Degree
Not surprisingly, your bachelor’s in psychology can also help you create a successful career in sales. Your studies have likely polished your interpersonal communication skills. Many employers will appreciate that (Insert Link to 4 Types of Psychology Degrees Here). In addition to that, you also have the blueprints to human behavior. Therefore, you can adequately fill most sales and marketing positions.
Psychiatric Technicians
With your bachelor’s complete, you’re ready to work under the guidance of a licensed social worker or clinical psychologist. The job duties of a psychiatric technician include:
- Helping fulfill the basic needs of patients
- Imparting the knowledge of life skills
- Carrying out applied therapy
- Other related tasks for case management
Master’s Psychology Degree
Substance Abuse Counselor
A master’s psychology degree gets you the license that you must have to practice as a substance abuse counselor. As its name suggests, this specialization focuses on addictive and problematic behavior. With your expertise, your patients can not only identify the underlying issues responsible for the addiction. They will also have a treatment plan tailored to their special condition.
Forensic Psychologist with a Psychology Degree
Your work as a forensic psychologist with a psychology degree will link you to the judicial system. Hence, the system can call upon you for the following tasks:
- Evaluation of inmates’ or accused criminals’ mental state
- Preparing children for testifying in the court
- Assessment of juvenile offenders
Doctorate Psychology Degree
Professor
With such an advanced psychology degree, you will have the choice to either teach or conduct research – or do both.
What’s more, the postsecondary teacher role will continue to grow at a rate higher than those for many other occupations. The main reason for that is the younger generation places great importance on education. And the subject of psychology remains popular among the incoming students.
However, we’d recommend that you prepare to teach as part-time or adjunct faculty. Many colleges now prefer to hire professors in that manner. Use this opportunity to find other ways to supplement your teaching-based income. Even so, you’re still looking at a median pay of $78,470!
But don’t limit yourself by sticking to those options. That’s because you can also act as a consult to government agencies, businesses, and non-profits.
Psychometrician with a Psychology Degree
Your psychology degree also makes you ideal for designing exams. As a psychometrician, you won’t stop at that, though. You’ll also score your product and analyze it. Your objective would be measuring the psychological attributes of a client.
Additionally, the following will be highly interested in hiring you:
- Testing companies, government, m
- Mental health clinics
- Government
- Universities
- Hospitals
While there’s data on the BLS for psychometricians, we found professional statisticians earn $87,780 on annual basis. Both jobs are quite similar.
The completion of a psychology degree is just the beginning for you. It signals the opening of various interesting and well-paying career paths. Most importantly, your keen sense of handling both data and people and your interpersonal skills mean you are a good fit for diverse fields, including business and management. Psychology graduates may sure need some training and work experience to fully embrace such positions, especially managerial roles. Overall, though, the gamut of professions within industries like business consultancy, advertising, marketing, sales, and business development is open to you. We have other ideas too. If you’re interested in finding what they are, contact us right away!