Presented below are many of the careers upon which psychology majors can embark. At first glance, some of these careers may appear unrelated to the discipline of psychology; however, a closer look highlights the importance of the "core competencies" and skills that psychology majors acquire during their studies.
If you wish to work as a psychologist you should plan on going to graduate school. Psychology students, through their diverse training, acquire a number of valuable skills, such as: the ability to analyze problems and to think critically; the ability to interpret and evaluate research, including statistics; an understanding of the genetic, biological, and social influences on behavior; and a sensitivity and awareness of interpersonal, developmental, and cultural differences.
Another benefit of your Ph. With your doctorate in psychology, you can practice as a state-licensed psychologist treating individuals with diagnosed mental illnesses and behavioral disorders. Your advanced training in psychotherapy allows you to assess and treat individuals with interventional tools alone or as part of a larger patient care team.
You can tailor your Ph. As such, psychiatrists often treat patients with deeper clinical mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia or borderline personality disorder. In addition to your psychology degree, psychiatrists must also complete a full medical school program including a four-year residency.
Look for a doctorate program specific to organizational psychology. Forensic psychologists use clinical psychology skills and theories to assess individuals associated with criminal investigations.
They may be called as expert witnesses in trials, asked to evaluate participants in custody disputes, offer assessments of offenders regarding their mental capacity to stand trial, or help investigators build criminal profiles. Your doctorate psychology degree will typically involve specialties in usability engineering, human factors, or even human-computer interaction. Common on-the-job tasks involve surveying user needs and feedback or offering design input on accessibility needs for individuals with disabilities.
Different from a school counselor, a school psychologist is licensed to provide clinical therapy services to students, in addition to supporting their mental and emotional health in the face of academic stressors.
Clinical neuropsychologists study the relationship between the human brain and cognitive behavior. Your goal is to understand how brain functionality informs human thought and action, especially as it pertains to diagnosing mental and behavioral disorders. Your doctorate program should involve courses specific to cognitive learning and neuroscience.
However, earning a Ph. You may also be able to participate in research, hold a distinguished lecturer position, or even sit as the chair of your department. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed October Psychology degree jobs range from working with athletes and children to businesspeople and medical patients and beyond.
The best way to decide what piques your interest is to start your psychology program and explore the options at your disposal. Check out the psychology programs in your state today. View all posts by: careersinpsychology. The 50 Best Jobs For Psychologists. Featured Programs:. Request Info. These professionals use their understanding of the human mind and behavior to help design and improve technology, consumer products, work settings, and living environments.
For example, an engineering psychologist might work as part of a team to redesign a product to make it more efficient and easier to use in a work situation. Those working in academic settings report the lowest earnings, while those working in the private sector report higher salaries.
Do you love creating psychology experiments? Experimental psychologists use scientific methods and design research studies that explore many different topics within psychology. Social behavior, cognitive processes, personality, and human development are just a few of the topics that experimental psychologists might investigate.
People working in this field often specialize in a particular area such as cognitive psychology, educational psychology, or personality psychology. They may also be employed in a variety of settings ranging from universities, government agencies, research centers, and nonprofit organizations.
Forensic psychologists apply psychology to the fields of criminal investigation and law. This has rapidly become one of the hottest psychology careers thanks to numerous portrayals in popular movies, television programs, and books. While the field may not be as glamorous as it is depicted in the media, forensic psychology is still an exciting career choice with a lot of potential for growth.
These psychologists often work with other experts to scrutinize insurance claims, perform child custody evaluations, and investigate suspected child abuse. If you are interested in this area of psychology, you might want to also consider the related field of criminal psychology. Criminal psychologists perform a variety of duties such as developing profiles of criminals, assessing convicted criminals to determine their risk of re-offending, and helping law enforcement catch online predators.
Genetic counselors help provide information about genetic disorders to couples and families. These professionals typically have graduate training in both genetics and counseling, and many have undergraduate degrees in areas such as psychology, social work, biology, nursing, and public health. Genetic counselors often work with a team of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and geneticists to offer support, guidance, and assistance to families who have a family member with a genetic disorder or who may be at risk of passing down an inherited disorder to their offspring.
As the population of older adults continues to grow, the demand for professionals to attend to their mental health needs also increases. According to the U. Geropsychologists can work in a wide range of areas, from providing mental health services to aging adults to designing products that make life easier for the elderly.
Health psychologists study how psychological, biological, and social factors influence health. Two important areas of health psychology include helping people avoid illness and promoting healthy behaviors. Educating people about the causes of illness and teaching healthier habits are just two things that a health psychologist might do on a regular basis. These professionals often work in settings such as hospitals, universities, health care centers, and government agencies.
Some of the job duties they may perform include helping people to lose weight, stop smoking, eat healthily, and decrease stress. There are several different specialty areas within industrial-organizational psychology.
While there are some job opportunities at the master's degree level, those with a doctoral-level degree in industrial-organizational psychology are in greater demand and command significantly higher salaries. One sub-specialty area of the field involves working in human resources management to screen and hire job applicants.
These professionals are often involved in designing and administering employment screening tests and selecting job candidates that are the best fit for particular positions within a company. School psychologists work in educational settings to help children deal with emotional, academic, and social problems. Thanks to increased interest in the mental health of children and federal education legislation, school psychology has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing fields.
While slightly outside of a traditional psychology career, the field of special education offers a great deal of opportunity for those who enjoy helping children. Special education teachers work with students with a variety of disabilities. In order to become a special education teacher, you must have at least a bachelor's degree and complete a teacher training program in special education. Because of the increased enrollments in special education programs and a shortage of qualified teachers, demand is strong and expected to grow.
Sports psychologists focus on the psychological aspects of sports and athletics, including topics such as motivation, performance, and injury. The two major areas within sports psychology are centered on helping to improve athletic performance or using sports to improve mental and physical health.
Sports psychologists work in a wide variety of settings including universities, hospitals, athletic centers, private consulting practices, and research facilities. Traffic psychology is an emerging field that involves applying psychological principles to understanding driver behavior. Some areas in this field include:. Traffic psychology often involves a multidisciplinary approach, combining fields such as social psychology, behavioral psychology, and cognitive psychology.
For example, traffic psychologists might assess how perception and cognition influence performance during a driving task.
They might also look at how individual personality affects a driver's emotions , attitudes , and risk-taking behavior while driving. Did one of the careers highlighted above catch your eye?
Or are you still looking for something that matches your interests and goals? The specific career you pursue will depend largely on your educational background. Some entry-level jobs are open to those with an undergraduate degree in psychology, while others require advanced or graduate-level study.
The following are just a few of the many psychology-related job titles that you might want to explore. Some are directly in the field of psychology, while others require additional training in another field or specialty area. In either case, having a solid understanding of the human mind and behavior can be beneficial in any of these careers.
As you can see, employment opportunities in psychology can be quite diverse. Some careers only require only a bachelor's degree in psychology, while others require more advanced degrees such as a master's or doctorate degree.
Spend some time researching different options and learning more about what's required to enter into those fields. Ask yourself if you have the commitment and drive needed to pursue the necessary educational training. As you examine the variety of psychology careers that are available, think about some of the following questions. Finding the right career in psychology takes some careful planning.
It is important to start thinking about what you might want to do early on.
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