Jobs for Psychology Majors
Some of the following material was adapted from on-line handbooks of the psychology departments at Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Ohio Wesleyan University, and York University in England.
Students who study psychology may not recognize how many different skills they have acquired, nor the range of job situations in which these skills can be applied. The psychology department at York University in England has prepared a list of some of these skills. As they say in their introduction, "none of them is unique to psychology...but not many disciplines can offer so comprehensive a list. How often, for instance, do you find graduates who are simultaneously literate, numerate, computer-literate, and good at problem-solving?" Other skills listed include the ability to view situations from different perspectives, skills in research design and the design of measurement tools, and an awareness of how social and physical aspects of the environment can influence human behavior. See the York University web page for their complete list of skills of psychology students, along with a discussion of how training in psychology relates to each skill. This may be an especially useful thing to do before you apply for a job or as you prepare for an interview. In addition to your other skills, you will now be well-equipped to explain to potential employers what you will bring to their organization.
Jobs available to recent graduates are typically at the entry level, but offer opportunities for advancement. The following, partial list of job possibilities for students with a BA in psychology was compiled by the psychology department at Ohio Wesleyan University.
Human Resources including employee/labor relations, personnel recruiter, affirmative action officer, personnel officer, human relations director, director of planning, employee representative, personnel analyst/coordinator, and resource developer.
Human Services including program development, employment interviewing, personnel counseling, community relations, social worker, youth worker, employee assistance program specialist, host/hostess, supportive services manager, task force coordinator, and volunteer coordinator.
Advertising and Market Research including admissions recruiter, advertising trainer, customer service, marketing manager, patient service representative, and planner.
Public Relations including community activist, outreach coordinator, consultant, consumer relations, administrative program assistant, agency representative, development officer, grants coordinator, fund raising, and public information officer.
Hotel Management/Management of Residential Homes for mentally and/or physically disabled, foster home parent, living unit assistant, resident director, group leader, and resident counselor/director.
Retail or Production Management including salesperson, retail manager, circulation manager, clerical worker, airline reservations clerk, collection agent, field representative, textbook representative, insurance agent, and supervisor.
Health Care including direct health services, casework, psychiatric assisting, medical technician, chemical dependency counselor/coordinator, adolescent care technician, rehabilitation aid, and social security interviewer/director/adjudicator.
Child or Gerontology Care including daycare aid, child care counselor/worker, child protection worker, youth worker/coordinator, youth services bureau, and social worker.
Teaching and Training Programs including technical writing, developmental reading instructor, education adviser/coordinator, counselor, driving instructor, information specialist, in-service director, instructor, occupational information developer, program consultant/coordinator, social studies teacher, substitute teacher, and community outreach coordinator/organizer.
College/University Administration including alumni relations, student activities director/adviser, and admissions representative.
Probation and Parole Counseling including director of security, probation officer, crime prevention coordinator, correction officer, child protection worker, compliance officer, juvenile justice planner, police training officer, and security officer.
Research or Laboratory Assistant including behavior analyst, animal trainer/caretaker, investigator, research analyst/planner, and statistical assistant.
Recreation Director including park director, activity director, camp staff director, and sports facility instructor/manager. These positions require an understanding of human behavior, including sensitivity to individual differences and to environmental influences on behavior, and/or competence in the collection and analysis of data. Many require the ability to carefully formulate a question, to collect relevant information, to combine information from various sources in order to draw conclusions, and to communicate your conclusions to other people. These are all skills that students are likely to acquire as they pursue their studies in our department.
Volunteer or paid work experience while still a student can be especially important for those who hope to begin jobs soon after graduation. A summer or academic-year internship related to the type of work you hope to do later can lead to a more permanent position with the same organization. Sometimes, it lets you learn that you don't actually enjoy that line of work -- while there's still lots of time to change your mind. Past work experience can also be a useful topic to discuss in job interviews; interviewers may be more interested in hearing about how you handled various assignments or interpersonal situations in prior jobs than in hearing about your experiences in the classroom or while doing your homework.
