Psychology is a popular major, and it can lead to a variety of careers. From social work to business, there are many options for students who study psychology.
Psychology majors learn about the brain, consciousness, and behavior. They also learn how people think about themselves and their world. Psychology majors are trained in research methods, statistics, experimental design, clinical assessment, differential diagnosis of mental health problems, therapy techniques and treatment modalities
You can apply a degree in psychology to many different fields and jobs. It’s not limited to just counseling or therapy, which is what you may envision when you think of psychology majors. With the right academic plan in place, you can start a career in tech, criminal justice, education, human resources or marketing. In addition to the psychology courses you’ll be required to take, consider taking additional classes in any of the above subjects to help expand your career options.
In this article, we’ll discuss both traditional and non-traditional jobs for psychology majors. These different career paths should give you a better of idea of the careers that may be available should you decide to major in psychology.
Psychology Career Paths
There’s a variety of psych careers that you can pursue with a psychology major and, in many cases, the required additional graduate education. A psychologist helps people identify and overcome mental and emotional difficulties in their lives. They work in a variety of settings such as private practice, hospitals, and colleges. A career as a psychologist is an incredible opportunity for those who want to follow their dreams and passions. It is also an excellent choice for those who want to make a difference in the world. There are so many options out there but some of the more common jobs for psychology majors include the following:
- clinical psychologist
- developmental psychologist
- education psychologist
- school psychologist
- forensic psychologist
Top 5 Traditional Jobs for Psychology Majors*
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is the study of human behavior and mental processes. It’s a health profession that deals with mental and emotional problems.
Clinical psychologists are trained to help people manage their mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. They also work with people who have experienced trauma or abuse in their lives. Clinical psychologists use a range of therapeutic approaches to help their patients deal with these problems. They are qualified to diagnose and treat mental health disorders in adults and children by assessing patients and formulating treatment plans.
Clinical psychologists work in various settings including hospitals, schools, offices and prisons. They may be self-employed or work for a government agency or private company. Clinical psychologists may also teach at universities and colleges, conduct research and publish papers on topics related to clinical psychology.
Developmental Psychology
What is developmental psychology? Developmental psychology is the study of how people grow and change over time.
Developmental psychologists are interested in how development takes place across time, not just at one point in time. They study how we grow physically, intellectually, socially, and emotionally from infancy to old age. They study how our environment influences development over time. Some developmental psychologists believe that people develop differently based on their culture.
Developmental psychologists may work with children or adults. Some developmental psychologists specialize in researching the development of children or adolescents (child psychology). Others specialize in researching the development of adults (adult psychology).
Educational Psychologist
Educational psychologists are trained in the scientific study of human behavior, mental processes, and intellectual development in educational settings. They are responsible for ensuring that students are learning and developing well in school. They also help teachers with classroom management and improving student performance. Educational psychologists work with children, adolescents, or adults who have learning disabilities or developmental disorders to help them overcome their difficulties. They use a variety of interventions to teach people new skills or change their behaviors.
Educational psychologists provide consultation or psychological services in an academic setting such as an elementary school, high school, or college campus. They often work with students who have learning disabilities or other special needs.
School Psychologist
What is school psychology? School psychology is a field of practice that studies the mental and behavioral aspects of students in their educational setting.
School psychologists work with students, teachers, parents, and school staff to promote academic achievement and personal development. They also help identify learning disabilities or behavioral problems that may need attention. School psychologists usually have a PhD in school psychology from an APA-accredited institution. They must also be licensed by the state in which they practice.
Forensic Psychologist
Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the law. Forensic psychologists uses psychological knowledge for legal purposes, such as testifying in court cases. They are often called in to provide expert testimony in court cases.They can be found working many different settings, including correctional facilities, law enforcement agencies, and private practice.
These are the more traditional jobs for psychology majors. However, the world of psychology as a discipline has come a long way and companies now realize the value that a psychology background can have in a variety of departments and areas of work. Psychology can be applied to almost every area in a company such as human resources, marketing, technology, and digital design.
Non-Traditional Jobs for Psychology Majors**
In this section, we’ll discuss the following jobs:
Human Resources Specialist
User Experience Professional
Content Writer
Career Counselor
Market Researcher
Advertising Manager
Human Resources Specialist
The goal of a human resources specialist is to provide the workforce with the best possible work experience, which includes recruiting, training, and managing employees. A typical day in this career would include interviewing new hires, participating in training sessions and conducting exit interviews for current employees. The HR specialist might also need to deal with employee-related issues such as harassment or discrimination.
Why is Human Resources a good career path and job for psychology majors?
A psychology major can apply their knowledge to the HR field to better understand how to motivate employees or learn about their personalities. They can also be effective by understanding how an individual’s behavior or work is impacted by their environment or issues like anxiety or depression. Human Resource Managers must also be able to provide guidance and determine what’s best for the company and its people. They must also ensure that employees are working in an environment where they feel safe and fulfilled with their work.
Supplemental Education Suggestions for HR Career Paths
Southern New Hampshire University – HR Certificate Online
Montclair State University – Human Resources Management Certificate Online
Rutgers University – Certificate in Human Resources Management Online
User Experience
Users are one of the most important parts of a business as it is defined by the way people interact with a company’s website. This is especially true if the company’s goal is to convert users into customers. It’s essential for companies to invest in research and development to create a good user experience. The two most common roles in user experience are a user experience writer and a user experience designer.
User Experience Writer
A user experience (UX) writer focuses on the user experience of a product. One of the key responsibilities of a UX writer is to r write copy that educates customers on how to use their products or software packages. They must also be able to identify problems that users are experiencing with the product and then find ways to fix them.
User Experience Designer
User experience designers are responsible for the design of digital products from start-to-finish, which can include website design, software design, and mobile app design. These responsibilities vary depending on the company and their level of specialization. For example, some will only work with software or websites, while others will work with interactive content or websites that rely heavily on animations. Generally speaking, user experience designers need to know how users think and react in order to provide them with an intuitive and enjoyable product.
Why is User Experience a good career path for psychology majors?
A psychology major can apply their knowledge to a user experience job to better understand the user and what they want when they interact with different websites. It’s important for UX professionals to put the user at the center of everything they do. When you understand your customer’s preferences, pain points and how they perceive your product, you’re better equipped to create a product they will want, need and love.
Supplemental Education Suggestions for User Experience Career Paths
Google’s UX Design Professional Certificate (offered through Coursera)
eCornell – UX Experience Design Certificate
Udemy – Microcopy and UX Writing
Content Writer
A content writer creates content for various purposes. This includes engaging an audience, sharing information, persuading people to purchase something or subscribing to a service. You want to get people’s attention by being informative but also by being entertaining.
Content writers may write and edit copy for use online and offline in a variety of media. This includes webpages, social media posts, articles, blogs, press releases, email, newsletters and more. The content writer will be responsible for creating both new content and editing existing content to ensure that it is up-to-date and consistent with company guidelines. The content writer will also be responsible for translating marketing messages into compelling copy that is relevant to the target audience.
Why is Content Writing a good career path and job for psychology majors?
Content writers need to understand their target audience and provide them with what they are looking for – that’s why psychology majors make great content writers. They can apply their knowledge to their writing by ensuring that the content they are creating will be effective in attracting and retaining their target audience.
Supplemental Education Suggestions for Content Writing Career Paths
Udemy – Web Content Writing Masterclass
Udemy – How to Write Great Web Content
Udemy – The Complete Content Writing Course
Career Counselor
A career counselor is a professional who provides career advice and guidance to individuals and organizations in the job market. This includes identifying and filling skill gaps, designing career paths, and providing coaching and training. They can help you with any of the following:
- Assess your interests, skills, and values
- Assist with exploring different careers that may be suitable for you
- Provide information about educational opportunities in your field of interest
A career counselor should have an education in psychology, as well as experience or knowledge in helping people find jobs.
Why is Career Counseling a good career path and job for psychology majors?
Career counseling is the process of exploring different career options to find the best fit for an individual’s personality, skills, interests, and values. Psychology majors can apply their skills to this profession to understand people’s underlying motivations and evaluate their personality to match them to a career.
Supplemental Education Suggestions for Career Counseling Career Paths
UC Berkeley – Certificate in College Admissions and Career Planning
Udemy – Career Coaching Certificate Course
IAP Career College – Career Coach Certificate Course Online
Market Researcher
Market research plays an important role in the success of any product. It’s important for companies to understand what their customers want, how they behave, and what the key factors are behind their choices. Marketers are always looking to discover new developments in this field so that they can keep up with customer needs.
Market researchers are responsible for gathering all this data and using it to recommend strategic actions to the company’s management team. Market researchers also proactively identify new opportunities, threats, and potential innovations in the market.
A market researcher’s job may be to gather demographic information about a company’s customers and the products they buy; track prices on various goods; analyze social media posts to find out how people feel about a company’s products; or conduct surveys with workers.
Why is Market Research a good career path and job for psychology majors?
The importance of psychology in market research has been established for a long time. Psychology majors learn about the mental processes and behavior of humans. It covers many areas such as perception, sensation, cognition, motivation and emotion. These areas are relevant from a market research perspective since they help market researchers understand how a buyer’s feelings and beliefs influence their purchase decisions.
Understanding a buyer’s decision-making process helps marketers design effective marketing strategies to increase sales volume. In other words, understanding buyers allows marketers to better meet their needs and thus make them more likely to buy their product.
Supplemental Education Suggestions for Market Research Career Paths
Seton Hall University – Market Research Certificates (offers undergraduate, graduate and professional certificate programs)
Coursera – Market Research Specialization (offered through UC Davis)
University of Toronto – Marketing Research Certificate
Advertising Manager
Advertising managers are responsible for the creation, planning, and implementation of marketing campaigns to achieve their company’s goals. They work with key stakeholders in an organization to develop marketing strategies that will provide the best bang for their buck.
Advertising managers have extensive knowledge about marketing channels and how these can be used in order to meet business objectives. They also understand how people make purchase decisions. This is why advertising managers will usually be involved with both offline and online advertising efforts.
Why is Advertising a good career path and job for psychology majors?
The use of psychology in advertising is also known as psychographics. Psychographics is the science of using psychological insights to personalize marketing and sales messages and products for a specific person or group. The goal is to get a deeper understanding of the consumer’s personality and preferences so that marketers can create more relevant messages and products for them. Psychology majors can apply their knowledge of psychographics to a career in advertising.
Supplemental Education Suggestions for an Advertising Career Path
The New School – Digital Marketing Certificate
Thomas Edison State University – Certificate in Marketing (undergraduate-level)
UPenn – Digital Marketing Certificate Program
Conclusion
Psychology is becoming a vital part of the business world, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that this field has the potential to make or break a company. Even something as simple as understanding how people feel about your brand can affect customer acquisition and retention rates. Therefore, understanding your customer’s needs and desires is crucial to building a successful brand. This is why psychology majors can be a great asset to any company. And those companies that are able to recognize the value that psych majors bring, will be the ones who’ll thrive when it comes to building and retaining their customer base.
*Some of these career paths might require a master’s or doctorate degree and some additional certification to be qualified.
**A psychology degree alone might not be sufficient enough for any of these careers. These suggested careers are based on researching job postings and college program profiles.