What Do Psychology Students Do With Their Degrees?

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If you are a psychology student, thinking about studying psychology, or already have a psychology degree, you have probably heard many people ask you this question: What are you going to do with a psychology degree?

Psychology is, by definition, the study of behavior and cognitive processes. Nearly every line of work involves people working with other people, forming work relationships, and trying to make decisions about their work and their jobs. As a result, psychology is good preparation for understanding the dynamics of the world of work. So, there are many, many opportunities.

Pursuing a Graduate Degree in Psychology

Most people will tell you that in order to pursue a career in psychology you need to get a graduate degree—a master's, at minimum, or a Ph.D. And, many students do aspire to that. The truth is, however, that only a fraction of undergraduate psychology majors complete a graduate degree. But, for those who do, there are many career possibilities.

A recent column in the Association for Psychological Science's Observer focused on the careers of those completing a Ph.D. in psychology and noted that only about half take academic jobs—teaching and doing research. Many go into careers in counseling and providing psychological therapy. However, a growing number of Ph.D.s in psychology go into careers in business, government, and nonprofits.

What Can You Do With a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology?

Contrary to what many believe, an undergraduate degree in psychology provides you with a number of skills and knowledge bases that translate well to the world of work and for specific jobs/careers. Here are some of the competencies that come from studying psychology and common career options for graduates with a psychology major, aside from the traditional paths of counseling and mental healthcare:

“People Skills": Basically, psychology provides an understanding of people and patterns of behavior. This is beneficial for careers in human resources (a common employment track for psych majors), public relations, and sales. For careers in HR, taking courses in industrial-organizational psychology and psychological testing has content that is directly related to human resources.

Analytical Skills: Courses in research methods and statistics provide a grounding for research careers, including program evaluation and marketing (which is very research-based). These are also common career options for psychology majors.

Management Skills: Tied to their knowledge of people and social relationships, many psychology graduates end up in supervisory positions, and courses like social psychology and personality psychology (along with industrial organization) provide a good background for management careers.

Psychologists with graduate degrees, and those with a bachelor’s degree, end up in a wide range of jobs, including some top-level leadership positions. Here is an interview with a high-level leader who is a psychologist.

In summary, the next time someone asks, “What are you going to do with a psychology degree?” you can answer that there are a wealth of possibilities.

For more, see this post about top careers for psychology majors.