What do people do with Psychology Degrees?

If you're a person who's looking for a career that can impact the lives of others in a significant way, one of the fields you should consider is psychology. There are a great many specialized areas within the field, such as marriage and family therapy, social work counseling, online mental health, forensic psychology, clinical behavioral psychology, and industrial organizational psychology. Each of these career paths has the goal of assisting others by understanding the behavioral and mental processes of humans. In addition to offering a field of endeavor which is centered around assisting others, having a psychology degree will provide problem-solving skills, as well as communication skills that can open the door to a number of other fields.

Each branch within the general psychology field can provide you with a rewarding career path, and that means you'll be able to customize your interests to the ideal path that suits you. You may want to get a counseling degree online, you may want to help youngsters graduate from school, you may want to work with substance abuse patients, or you may want to work in a corporate setting to improve working conditions for everyone in the company. In each of these cases, your psychology degree will be the first step on that path. It is anticipated that virtually all jobs related to psychology will see tremendous growth in the coming decade, so choosing psychology will be financially rewarding as well as personally fulfilling. Here are some of the career paths you might want to consider within the general field of psychology

General Psychologists

General Psychologists are adept at understanding the behaviors and emotions of their clients. This type of work can include all kinds of specializations, whether they be in the area of scientific studies, private practice, or working with a large healthcare group. The majority of psychologists have a doctorate degree, but it's certainly possible to find positions that require no more than a license to practice and a master's degree. Anyone choosing this career should have good organizational and communication skills, since the work requires you to understand others before you can provide constructive assistance. If you're looking for a career path which is fulfilling and provides you with the opportunity to help others, psychology is the way to go.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $92,740

Job Growth: General psychologist positions are expected to grow by 6% between 2022 and 2032, which is faster than the average⁽²⁾⁽⁷⁾

Organizational Psychologists

Organizational psychologists generally work for a company, and have the specific goals of enhancing a work environment, fine-tuning operations, and boosting productivity. People who work in this field generally will be required to have a master's degree in psychology, although many also continue on to earn their doctorate degree. Even though you'll be working with an organization instead of individual patients, you'll generally have a huge variety of workplaces that you can be involved with. That means you might possibly work in a Fortune 500 company, a Mom and Pop business, or a huge hospital. In order to be successful in this field, you'll need to have good organization abilities, strong communication skills, and some background knowledge on the kind of business that your company is involved with. People who are most successful as an organizational psychologist are those who have a strong interest in psychology, are willing to socialize with a great many people, and have no problem augmenting their business skills.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $147,420

Job Growth: Organizational psychologist positions are expected to grow by 6% between 2022 and 2032, which is faster than the average⁽²⁾⁽⁷⁾

School Psychologists

School psychologists work with educational facilities to support students in terms of their ability to learn and their mental health. In some cases, you might work directly with students to handle their personal needs, or you might strive to improve the learning environment for all school students. This can be done by collaborating with teachers and staff members to install systems that work better and meet student needs better. This specific kind of psychologist could work at elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, or even colleges. In some cases, you might also find work at a juvenile justice center, so it's good to have a broad background in working with various types of individuals. The majority of school psychologists have at least a Master's degree in educational psychology, with experience in hands-on training. School psychologists will also need good interpersonal skills and the patience to deal with youngsters of various ages.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $84,940

Job Growth: School psychologist positions are expected to grow by 1% between 2022 and 2032⁽²⁾⁽⁷⁾

Community Service Managers

These professionals are sometimes known as Social Service managers, and they're responsible for coordinating community service programs. The key functions of this role are supervising staff, creating new programs, and working towards improvements of programs. Some organizations emphasize working on specific groups, such as the homeless, young people, or the elderly. Other organizations focus on social issues such as alleviating hunger in the community, or providing resources to unemployed individuals. You could be involved with budgeting, creating new initiatives, drafting proposals, or even hiring new employees within the organization. In most cases, a community service manager will have at least a bachelor's degree in psychology, or some other degree related to business or public health. Some will have a background in psychology, because this provides an excellent foundation for working with diverse groups of people and understanding their needs. Other useful skills might include a background in running a business and maintaining a budget, as well as public speaking skills.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $77,030

Job Growth: Community service manager positions are expected to grow by 9% between 2022 and 2032, which is much faster than average⁽³⁾

Social Workers

Social workers help communities and individuals work through their daily problems, as well as issues with their behavioral and mental health. Some of the duties of a social worker depend on education level, geographic location, and the specific type of social work you specialize in. This could be family and child social workers, school social workers, substance abuse social workers, or health care professionals. Each one of these specific specialties has a focus on assisting individuals within their particular scope of work. If you are primarily interested in administrative work, you can earn a bachelor's degree in social work or psychology to meet the requirements. Those more interested in working at a clinical level might be better served by earning a master's degree in social work and going on to get a license to practice in their state. In these cases, you'll generally have to earn a master's degree and perform two years of supervised work following your graduation. At that point, you'll also need to pass a licensing exam. To be a good social worker, you'll need exceptional problem-solving skills with good communication skills. Social work has a strong appeal to a number of individuals because there are so many different concentrations within the overall field, and because the field is expected to see tremendous growth in the next decade.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $58,380

Job Growth: Social worker positions are expected to grow by 7% between 2022 and 2032, which is faster than average⁽⁴⁾

Marriage Therapists

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFT) generally work with couples and families, to improve their problem management and their coping skills. Clients are urged to discuss their experiences and feelings openly with a therapist so that sense can be made of their emotions, their past experiences, and their future decisions. Therapists will typically work with their clients by offering techniques or advice that helps to develop coping skills and can modify any behavior patterns that are deemed to be damaging or negative in nature. Generally speaking, family and marriage will play a huge role in the life of clients involved in therapy sessions. Specialists in this field will need a master's degree in psychology, or in family and marriage therapy. You may also have to get a license to practice in your state, and that will generally require supervised work in your field after graduation. It will be very important that professionals in this field have strong communication skills, so as to communicate with a wide variety of people. Speaking and listening skills are critical to being successful in this line of work, and if you have these qualities, you'll be able to make it a Midas difference in your patients lives.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $58,510

Job Growth: Marriage and family therapist positions are expected to grow by 15% between 2022 and 2032, which is much faster than average⁽⁵⁾

Mental Health Counselors

Mental health counselors will generally be involved with clients who have issues with behavioral problems, chronic stress, anxiety, or depression. These professionals help clients to find appropriate treatment and to modify negative behavior patterns, so that their lives can be improved. This may involve working directly with the families of clients, considering treatment plans, or recommending resources for job placement. In most cases, mental health counselors will need to have a master's degree in psychology or some field which is closely related, as well as a license to practice. In order to be successful, you'll also need to have listening and speaking skills as well as a good measure of patience and compassion. This field is expected to grow in a major way in the coming decade, so mental health counseling can be a terrific way to embark on a career path that makes a major difference in other people's lives.

Median Pay/Average Salary: $53,710

Job Growth: Mental health counselor positions are expected to grow by 18% between 2022 and 2032, which is much faster than average⁽⁶⁾

Did You Know?

Community and Social Service positions are expected to grow much faster than average from 2022 to 2032, with 281,600 NEW jobs expected. What could you do with a Bachelor’s in Psychology⁽⁸⁾?

On average, psychologists made $56,000 more than the median annual wage in 2023^(2,10)

Workers with only a high school diploma experience a 3.9% unemployment rate, a rate that drops to 2.2% for those with bachelor’s degrees. At just 2%, the rate is even lower for those that go on to earn a master’s degree⁽¹⁰⁾