Career Paths for Psychology Students: A Comprehensive Guide

Earning a psychology degree opens up a spectrum of entry-level job opportunities. The skills you gain in this field are adaptable and relevant to a variety of professions. This article explores the diverse career paths available to psychology students, from entry-level positions achievable with a bachelor's degree to advanced roles requiring graduate studies.

Introduction

Psychology is a tremendously varied field. Psychologists conduct both basic and applied research, serve as consultants to communities and organizations, diagnose and treat people, and teach future psychologists and those who will pursue other disciplines. They test intelligence and personality. Many psychologists work as health care providers. They assess behavioral and mental function and well-being, study how human beings relate to each other and also to machines, and work to improve these relationships. Many psychologists work independently and also team up with other professionals-for example, with other scientists, physicians, lawyers, school personnel, computer experts, engineers, policymakers and managers-to contribute to every area of society. Psychologists traditionally study both normal and abnormal functioning and treat individuals with mental and emotional problems. They also concentrate on behaviors that affect the mental and emotional health and mental functioning of healthy human beings. For example, psychologists work with patients to help them change behaviors that are having negative effects on their physical health. They work with business executives, performers and athletes to reduce stress and improve performance. They advise lawyers on jury selection and collaborate with educators on school reform. Immediately following a disaster, such as a plane crash or bombing, psychologists help victims and bystanders recover from the trauma, or shock, of the event. They team with law enforcement and public health officials to analyze the causes of such events and prevent their recurrence. Involved in all aspects of our fast-paced world, psychologists must keep up with what’s happening all around us.

Entry-Level Jobs with a Bachelor's Degree

A psychology degree provides a solid foundation that opens doors to a variety of career options-many of which don’t require a graduate degree. Undergraduate psychology courses strengthen analytical, research, and communication skills. The skills gained during a psychology degree prepare graduates for diverse career paths. With a bachelor’s in psychology, you can work in marketing, public relations, education, the justice system, or the public sector. Among psych majors, 61% work in management, community and social service, educational instruction and libraries, healthcare, and business operations positions. Here are several entry-level positions you might want to explore as a fresh psychology graduate:

Human Resources Assistant

Human resources (HR) assistants help with hiring, as well as looking after the health, well-being, and satisfaction of an organization’s employees. Your role could involve recruitment, training and development, managing employee relations, or overseeing benefits. An HR assistant’s responsibilities may include:

Recruiting, screening, and interviewing job candidates
Onboarding new employees
Overseeing employee benefits
Managing employee records
Addressing employee complaints and violations
Working with managers on feedback and reviews

Case Manager

Case managers for social or human services organizations help others improve their well-being through support, advice and counseling. You could help individuals or families needing support, often within social services or charitable organizations. A case manager’s responsibilities may include:

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Assessing clients’ needs
Connecting clients with services including health, employment, and legal
Scheduling and accompanying clients to appointments
Managing case reports and files
Meeting regularly with clients to monitor their progress
Providing guidance and counsel to clients

Research Assistant

Many research institutions and universities employ psychology graduates as research assistants to help with data collection, analysis, and literature reviews. You might assist in psychological research under the guidance of a research scientist or psychologist in diverse settings, such as universities, government agencies, or private firms. This role can offer valuable experience for those interested in pursuing advanced degrees or careers in academia. A research assistant’s responsibilities may include:

Conducting experiments and research
Collecting, logging, and analyzing data
Reporting on data and results
Editing and producing research documents
Maintaining lab equipment and supplies

Psychiatric Technician

You could support patients in mental health facilities with their daily routines and therapeutic strategies. In this role, you'll work with psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses to provide direct care to individuals with developmental or emotional disabilities, mental illnesses, or brain diseases.

Rehabilitation Specialist

You might help clients with disabilities or mental health problems develop essential life skills and coping strategies.

Sales Representative

Your understanding of human behavior could be used to sell products or services, building relationships with customers.

Childcare Worker

You could work in daycare, after-school programs, or as a nanny, using your knowledge of developmental psychology. With an Associates Degree, you can look into childcare as an assistant at a daycare center.

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Marketing Assistant

You might use consumer psychology principles to understand and engage customers. Marketing researchers or analysts conduct research, analyze data and report on an organization’s audience/consumers, competitors, industry, and marketing efforts. A marketing researcher or analyst’s responsibilities may include:

Collecting and analyzing data about consumers, competitors, industry, and more
Creating reports to present data findings
Developing research proposals
Conducting research
Measuring and reporting on marketing campaign performance

Academic Advisor or Counselor

You could guide students through their educational journey and career choices at the high school or college level. Career counselors help people at all stages of the career search process learn about different career options and which path may be right for them. A career counselor’s responsibilities may include:

Determining clients’ strengths and skills
Identifying schools or programs for different career paths
Advising students on financial aid options
Helping clients with interviews, resumes, and cover letters
Connecting clients with job search resources

Substance Abuse Counselor

Additional certification may be required in many areas, but this is a good starting point for psychology graduates interested in addiction and recovery services.

Social Services Specialist

You could work for government or community organizations, helping to connect individuals with social service programs.

Correctional Officer

You could work in the criminal justice system, understanding the psychological aspects of inmate behavior and rehabilitation.

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Victim Advocate

You might provide support and resources to victims of crime or abuse.

Behavioral Therapist Aide

You could assist a licensed therapist in treating children with autism or other developmental issues.

Administrative Assistant in a Psychological Setting

You might work in a mental health clinic or hospital, helping to organize, schedule, and manage client care.

Customer Service Representative

Your communication and problem-solving skills could be used to assist customers with inquiries and issues.

Life Skills Instructor

You could teach and mentor individuals with mental health challenges to promote independence and self-care.

Mental Health Technician

You might provide support and assistance in mental health settings, working under the guidance of qualified mental health professionals.

Program Coordinator for Nonprofits or Community Programs

You could manage and develop community health initiatives, wellness programs, or outreach programs.

Advertising Associate

Advertising associates support a marketing or advertising team in planning, executing, and tracking the performance of ad campaigns and programs. An advertising associate’s responsibilities may include:

Helping managers plan and implement ad campaigns
Writing content for a variety of mediums
Analyzing data to track ad performance
Supporting the advertising team on projects
Creating ad materials

Assistant School Counselor

School counselors provide support and guidance for students at all education levels. You’ll likely need to pursue an advanced degree and meet certification guidelines depending on your state to move up and become a counselor. An assistant school counselor’s responsibilities may include:

Maintaining student files
Helping students add or transfer classes
Scheduling counselor meetings for students, families, and teachers
Assisting counselors during student meetings
Writing meeting notes and reports

Probation Officer

A probation officer supervises and counsels those who have been convicted of a crime and released on probation without serving time. To become a parole officer, supervising those released from incarceration, there are often additional requirements including an advanced degree, attending a parole officer academy, background checks, and other exams. An probation officer’s responsibilities may include:

Conducting investigations and interviews
Supervising offenders to ensure compliance with probation terms
Counseling offenders and connecting them social services
Preparing reports, with recommendations, for the court
Appearing in court to present reports, make recommendations and answer questions

UX Designer

UX designers make products and services more intuitive, enjoyable, and streamlined for users. Psych majors apply their research and psychology skills to evaluate data and design solutions that improve the user’s experience. Psychological concepts such as memory limitation, cognitive load, and the psychology of colors all make for a better designer.

Graduate Studies and Advanced Career Options

Immediately following a disaster, such as a plane crash or bombing, psychologists help victims and bystanders recover from the trauma, or shock, of the event. They team with law enforcement and public health officials to analyze the causes of such events and prevent their recurrence. Involved in all aspects of our fast-paced world, psychologists must keep up with what’s happening all around us. As has long been true, opportunities in psychology for those with graduate degrees will be more plentiful and at a higher level than for those with undergraduate degrees. An undergraduate degree remains excellent preparation for continued graduate work in psychology or in another field, such as business, medicine or computer science. Opportunities for people with advanced degrees in psychology are expanding in number as well as in scope.

A graduate degree in psychology can provide greater earning power and career opportunities than a bachelor’s degree in psychology. While some positions in areas such as counseling may require a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree gives job-seekers a significant competitive edge and is required for many licensed counselor roles. Additionally, all states require a doctorate if you want to become a licensed psychologist.

Clinical Psychologist

In this role, you'd be working closely with individuals grappling with mental health problems. Your duties would include performing evaluations, offering therapy, and devising treatment strategies. Clinical psychologists assess and treat mental, emotional and behavioral disorders. These range from short-term crises, such as difficulties resulting from adolescent conflicts, to more severe, chronic conditions, such as schizophrenia. Some clinical psychologists treat specific problems exclusively, such as phobias or clinical depression. Others focus on specific populations-for instance, youths; families, or couples; ethnic minority groups; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals; or older people. To become a licensed clinical psychologist, you generally need to finish a doctoral program in psychology and accrue supervised clinical experience.

Counselor or Therapist

These professionals, like clinical psychologists, offer mental health aid to individuals and groups. The prerequisites for becoming a counselor or therapist can differ based on the specific role and environment. Some roles might only require a bachelor’s or master’s degree in psychology, while others may need additional certifications or licenses. Counseling psychologists help people recognize their strengths and resources to cope with everyday problems and serious adversity. They do counseling/psychotherapy, teaching and scientific research with individuals of all ages, families and organizations (e.g., schools, hospitals, businesses). Counseling psychologists help people understand and take action on career and work problems, they pay attention to how problems and people differ across the lifespan, and they have great respect for the influence of differences among people (such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability status) on psychological well-being.

School Psychologist

These psychologists operate within educational institutions, supporting students' academic and emotional health. They might perform evaluations, offer counseling services, and team up with teachers and parents to devise intervention strategies. To become a school psychologist, you generally need a graduate degree in school psychology and fulfill state licensure requirements. School psychologists are engaged in the delivery of comprehensive psychological services to children, adolescents and families in schools and other applied settings. They assess and counsel students, consult with parents and school staff, and conduct behavioral interventions when appropriate.

Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychologist

I-O psychologists implement psychological principles in the workplace, concentrating on areas like employee selection, training and development, organizational behavior, and work-life equilibrium. They might work in human resources departments, consulting firms, or research organizations. A master’s or doctoral degree in I-O psychology is usually required for these roles. Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists apply psychological principles and research methods to the workplace in the interest of improving productivity, health and the quality of work life. Many serve as human resources specialists, helping organizations with staffing, training and employee development. They may provide employers with testing and other valid selection procedures in their hiring and promotion processes.

Neuropsychologist

Neuropsychologists (and behavioral neuropsychologists) explore the relationships between brain systems and behavior. For example, behavioral neuropsychologists may study the way the brain creates and stores memories, or how various diseases and injuries of the brain affect emotion, perception and behavior. Clinical neuropsychologists also assess and treat people.

Other Specialized Areas

Psychologists specialize in a host of different areas within the field and identify themselves by many different labels. The field of psychology encompasses both research, through which we learn fundamental things about human and nonhuman animal behavior, and practice, through which that knowledge is applied to solving problems and promoting healthy human development. In each of the subfields, there are psychologists who work primarily as researchers, others who work primarily as practitioners and many who do both (scientist-practitioners). Indeed, one of psychology’s most unique and important characteristics is its coupling of science and practice, which stimulates the continual advancement of both. Here are some additional areas of specialization:

Cognitive and perceptual psychologists: study human perception, thinking and memory.
Community psychologists: work to strengthen the abilities of communities, settings, organizations and broader social systems to meet people’s needs.
Developmental psychologists: study the psychological development of the human being that takes place throughout life.
Educational psychologists: concentrate on how effective teaching and learning take place.
Engineering psychologists: conduct research on how people work best with machines.
Environmental psychologists: study the dynamics of person-environment interactions.
Evolutionary psychologists: study how evolutionary principles such as mutation, adaptation and selective fitness influence human thought, feeling and behavior.
Experimental psychologists: are interested in a wide range of psychological phenomena, including cognitive processes, comparative psychology (cross-species comparisons), and learning and conditioning.
Forensic psychologists: apply psychological principles to legal issues.
Health psychologists: specialize in how biological, psychological and social factors affect health and illness.
Quantitative and measurement psychologists: focus on methods and techniques for designing experiments and analyzing psychological data.
Rehabilitation psychologists: work with stroke and accident victims, people with mental disabilities and those with developmental disabilities.
Social psychologists: study how a person’s mental life and behavior are shaped by interactions with other people.
Sport psychologists: help athletes refine their focus on competition goals, become more motivated, and learn to deal with the anxiety and fear of failure that often accompany competition.

Opportunities in Pediatrics

In terms of jobs involving pediatrics, there are opportunities to work with children in various settings within the field of psychology:

Pediatric Psychologist: These psychologists focus on working with children and adolescents who have mental health problems or medical conditions. They might offer therapy, conduct evaluations, and team up with medical professionals to devise comprehensive treatment strategies.
School Counselor: School counselors often work with students of all ages, including children and adolescents. They offer academic and emotional support, assist with career development, and address behavioral issues within the school setting.
Child Life Specialist: These specialists operate in hospitals or other healthcare settings to support children and families during medical procedures or hospital stays. They use play therapy techniques to help children cope with stress and understand their medical conditions.

The Growing Demand for Psychology Professionals

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2011) expects that opportunities in psychology will continue to grow over the next decade. “Job prospects should be the best for people who have a doctoral degree from a leading university in…[a] field such as clinical, counseling or health, and those with a specialist or doctoral degree in school psychology… Employment will grow because of increased demand for psychological services in schools, hospitals, social service agencies, mental health centers, substance abuse treatment clinics, consulting firms and private companies.” The push to place health service provider psychologists in community health clinics and as core participants in health care practices will provide opportunities.

According to the BLS (2011), “the demand for school psychologists will be driven by a growing awareness of how students’ mental health and behavioral problems, such as bullying, affect learning. Although psychologists may compete with providers from other disciplines such as psychiatry, clinical nursing, social work and counseling, “clinical psychologists will continue to be needed to help with the rising health care costs associated with unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking, alcoholism and obesity, which have made prevention and treatment more critical. The BLS also states that “industrial-organizational psychologists can help employers understand their organizations better and sort out restructuring so as to help boost worker productivity and retention rates in a wide range of businesses. Industrial-organizational psychologists will help companies deal with issues such as workplace diversity and anti-discrimination policies. Widespread retirement of government employees at both the state and federal levels will provide openings over the next decade across the board for psychologists, particularly in research, administration and management roles.

Additional Resources

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Handshake: Add the types of roles that you want to pursue to the job preferences section of your profile on Handshake. Get the latest job and employer event alerts by downloading the Handshake app from the App Store or Google Play. Save jobs you want to apply for to receive important notifications and surface similar entry level psychology roles. You can also save your job searches.

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