What Can I Do With a Degree in Psychology?
The study of psychology involves a wide spectrum of learning that can be applied to a number of careers. There are some careers within the field, such as counseling, that are more rooted in psychological knowledge than others. However, since psychology is the study of how people's minds work, and how different behaviors transpire, a psychology student acquires knowledge that can be helpful in many careers.
Common Careers in Psychology
Some of the most popular careers in psychology include working as a public health counselor, a school counselor, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist.
- A public health counselor usually works at a community health center, and counsels children, families, and adults, or sometimes focuses just on one demographic. A school counselor works at a junior high, high school, or university, and helps students deal with issues ranging from balancing class schedules and applying for colleges to talking through a parent's divorce or controlling an eating disorder. One of the benefits of these fields is that the counseling is very diverse, which provides the opportunity to work with a broad range of people, issues, and contexts.
- A counselor can also work in a rehabilitation center environment, where the counseling is more focused on leading counseling groups for people with drug and alcohol addictions, or counseling people through rehabilitation. A counselor can also work at a private practice, or open his or her own. This makes it possible to work with a specific group or type of counseling, such as marriage counseling, child counseling, or adult counseling. Benefits of private practice include being able to specialize in one area, higher pay, and relationships with clients that can develop and grow over an extended period of time.
- A psychology background also lends itself well to working as a case worker, a correctional officer, a probation officer, or a social-services professional. A case worker may work at a social services center or within the government. Case workers often serve as intermediaries between legal professionals and their clients, using their balanced and objective knowledge of the general field and the particular case while interacting on a personal level with the client.
- There are also many careers in psychology within research and education. These are very important and in high demand, as our understanding of and uses for psychology are always evolving. Specialty areas of psychology a student can focus on include developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, social psychology, quantitative methods, and forensic psychology. These different areas will be discussed in more detail below. Areas of research include such subjects as aging, psychiatric genetics, learning and memory, substance and abuse, children and youth, and many more.
Further Uses for a Psychology Degree
Some of the less directly related careers include business, marketing, public relations, education, management, health services, community service, law, and even sales. Essentially, any career where inter-personal skills are valued can be strengthened by a background in psychology. From figuring out the best way to sell a product to studying why certain memories stick in our minds, learning how human minds work is an important step in understanding how businesses are run, how commercials are formatted, and how education is presented. Being able to analyze and predict how people may behave is something that is valuable in just about any field.
Because of this wide-ranging usefulness, combining an undergraduate degree in psychology with additional education in another field, such as a law degree or a medical degree, can prove a valuable combination. A degree in psychology can also lead to further education in a more specialized psychology field, such as studying industrial/organizational psychology with the aim of working in a commercial setting. Although many fields within psychology require more than an undergraduate education, the undergraduate degree nonetheless provides a strong platform from which to launch in many different possible directions.
Article Resources:
The American Psychological Association
University of Southern California Department of Psychology
West Chester University