What Jobs Can You Get With a Psychology Degree?

Now that you’re wrapping up your time in school, you might be wondering, “What jobs can you get with a psychology degree?” Don’t worry, there are plenty of options for you to choose from, no matter what level of your degree you have. A psychology degree allows you to better understand how people operate in different situations. Having a deep knowledge of how the mind works allows you to work in numerous industries where you’re trying to solve human conflicts or struggles. In this post, we’ll share what jobs you can get with a psychology degree for bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees.

What Jobs Can You Get with a Bachelor’s Psychology Degree?

1. Human Resources Specialist

If you’re looking for what jobs you can get with a psychology degree when you only have a bachelor’s, consider a role in human resources. A human resources specialist can work in multiple functions. For example, they can work in recruitment and hiring where they write and post job descriptions online, vet candidates who apply, conduct interviews to determine culture fit, and handle the job offers, contracts, and onboarding. They might also work in employee relations, where they might mediate between conflicting coworkers to make the work atmosphere more positive. They might also be involved in managing payroll and perks like retirement plans and other popular benefits a company offers. Since they often work with people and set the tone for how employees should act at work, they’re often involved in training new hires, organizing orientation, coordinating training sessions, and tracking employee performance.

2. Market Research Analyst

Those with a bachelor’s degree in psychology can get jobs in market research. In this role, you’ll be involved in collecting and analyzing data. You might run surveys, conduct interviews, host focus groups, and more to gather data to help you better analyze and understand how something is working. You might analyze industry trends, do competitor research, look at demographic data, and more to provide a company with the insights needed to improve business performance. You’ll need to create reports, charts, and presentations where you share insights like sales forecasts, product demand, or market opportunities. If you enjoy conducting competitor research, this role will provide ample opportunities for it.

3. Career Advisor

A psychology degree can also help you land jobs in the career space as an advisor. You might have a selection of clients that you help by assessing their skills and personality through one-on-one conversations. You might conduct resume reviews, provide feedback on LinkedIn profiles, or help them improve their online networking. You might help job seekers with interview preparation or help them by doing mock interviews with them, giving them insights on how to better communicate their experiences. You might identify skill gaps in their employability that will help them level up. You might recommend different resources for upskilling, such as online courses or certification programs. You’ll stay informed and up-to-date about hiring trends and the most in-demand skills while also being knowledgeable about salaries, job growth, and career paths.

4. Substance Abuse Counselor Assistant

With a psychology degree, you can get a job as a substance abuse counselor assistant. You will work with clients who struggle with substance abuse and help them with daily living tasks while also helping them with their recovery activities. You’ll be an encouraging voice to them during their treatment. You might accompany them to group meetings, therapy sessions, or medical appointments. You could be involved in organizing group therapy sessions or educational workshops. At these events, you’ll track both attendance and progress from people actively in the programs. You’ll also observe people’s behavior and notice and changes in how they feel or act. You might have to report concerns or relapses to senior or medical staff members.

5. Probation or Parole Officer

If you’re wondering, “What jobs can you get with a psychology degree?” one that you might not think of off the bat is a probation or parole officer. In this job, you’ll regularly meet with offenders on probation or parole. You’ll be monitoring the offenders for curfews, employment, regular drug tests, and possibly even counseling. You might conduct visits to their home or workplace to ensure they adhere to their orders. You might be involved in creating their plans for rehabilitation or re-entry into the community. Some of your clients might need to be referred to substance abuse programs, anger management classes, or mental health services to which you’ll be the person creating the referral. You might tell the courts about your client’s progress or testify in hearings regarding compliance or violations.

What Jobs Can You Get with a Master’s Psychology Degree?

1. School Counselor

If you’re wondering what jobs you can get with a master’s psychology degree, a role as a school counselor is a possibility for you. You could play a pivotal role in helping students choose the best classes for them that align with graduation requirements and their career aspirations. YOu might support struggling students with recommendations for study skills, time management, and tutoring. You’ll collaborate with teachers to help them better identify and manage learning barriers. You might play a role in guiding students as they apply for college. You could help them navigate different career options by connecting them with assessments, internships, job shadowing, and more. You might counsel students on personal issues, such as school bullying, peer pressure, family problems, stress, and more. You’ll help teach students new skills in conflict resolution, communication, and emotional regulation. You’ll work with parents to help their children succeed academically. You might even refer students to psychologists, social workers, and more.

2. Marriage and Family Therapist

A Master’s degree in psychology can allow you to work in marriage and family counseling. In this job, you’ll provide couples counselling to manage different breakdowns in their relationship, such as communication, trust, and so on. You’ll help families work through divorce, parenting struggles, and blended-family dynamics. You might be involved in developing treatment plans, monitoring progress, and completing psychological assessments. This role isn’t for the faint of heart. In most cases, you’ll be dealing with families during crises, so being well-connected to community resources will allow you to help families thrive in the aftermath of loss, domestic violence, substance abuse, and more.

3. Forensic Psychology Specialist

Another job you can get with a psychology degree is a forensic psychology specialist. In this role, you’ll conduct psychological evaluations of people involved in court cases. You’ll determine whether someone is fit to stand trial or criminally responsible. You’ll evaluate the risk of a second crime or the likelihood of further displays of violent behavior. You’ll provide expert opinions about mental health in court and simplify the findings in basic form to be understood by judges and juries. You might advise attorneys on jury selection or whether or not a witness is a reliable source.

4. Sports Psychologist

A sports psychologist is a great job for someone with a master’s degree in psychology. You’ll use your psychology knowledge to teach things like visualization, goal setting, positive self-talk, and more. You’ll help athletes manage their anxiety when they’re competing and pump them up to help them overcome slumps in performance. You’ll be the person building their confidence and motivation. You’ll provide counselling for issues related to stress, depression, burnout, and being out of the game with an injury. You might even help them with transitions into retirement. You might help coaches master communication skills and improve how they motivate the team. You’ll work on uniting athletes to operate as a team.

5. Community Mental Health Manager

A job you can get with a master’s degree in psychology is a community mental health manager. In this role, you’ll supervise other counselors, social workers, case managers, and support staff. You might create initiatives to help the community with their mental health, like crisis hotlines, support groups, and so forth. You’ll be reviewing treatment plans to ensure that the best approaches are being used to help people recover at positive rates. You might be involved in managing budgets, grants, and funding for the initiatives you create. You’ll need to work alongside the government regulations and grant requirements to ensure you’re providing your services in a legal way. You might create surveys and other forms of data collection to measure the results of your program. You might partner with schools, hospitals, nonprofits, and other organizations to ensure that everyone in the community has access to mental health care. You’ll also be involved in awareness campaigns around common mental health illnesses and work to eliminate stigma around them.

What Jobs Can You Get with a Doctoral Psychology Degree?

1. Clinical Psychologist

If you have a doctoral psychology degree, you can get a job as a clinical psychologist. In your role, you’ll conduct psychological evaluations on patients by asking them questions, observing them, and conducting tests. You’ll be involved in diagnosing conditions, such as various mental illnesses. You’ll not only write reports but also provide treatment plans to patients so that they can recover and cope with their mental illness. You’ll provide psychotherapy to patients in various forms, such as CBT. You’ll be involved in teaching patients coping strategies, such as how to manage stress or modify certain behaviors. You’ll be the support system for patients in crisis and will collaborate with psychiatrists, emergency personnel, and more when further treatment is needed.

2. Neuropsychologist

A neuropsychologist is one of the jobs you can get with a psychology degree. In this role, you’ll conduct neuropsychological tests to help evaluate a patient’s memory, problem-solving, language, attention, and motor skills. You might be involved in diagnosing illnesses like Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injury, ADD, learning disabilities, and more. You’ll be able to separate the differences between neurological and psychiatric causes of symptoms. They might create rehab programs for patients with brain injuries or neurological illnesses. You might teach people new strategies regarding how to recall information if they’re struggling with their memory.

3. Developmental Psychologist

You can get a job as a developmental psychologist when you have a PhD in psychology. In this job, you’ll be involved in looking at how children develop throughout the stages of their lives. You’ll look at all of the things that shape one’s growth in life. You might be involved in conducting experiments, studies, and observations to help you understand a patient’s development. You might assess children for developmental delays, learning disabilities, and behavioral issues. You’ll also work with aging adults who may have early symptoms of cognitive decline. You might provide advice to teachers, doctors, social workers, and politicians on how to develop healthily so they can better support their students, patients, and constituents.

4. Health Psychologist

Those with doctoral degrees in psychology can also land a job as a health psychologist. In this role, you’ll help people adopt healthier habits, from eating nutritious meals to exercising. You might be involved in creating solutions for risky behavior, like handing out condoms in schools to prevent unsafe sex. You might be a teacher in stress management, relaxation techniques, or coping strategies. You’ll provide counseling to patients who are struggling to make key changes in their lives. You’ll work with medical professionals to help care for patients. You’ll be involved in the creation of wellness programs to educate patients on health.

5. Research Psychologist

Another job you can get with a psychology degree is a research psychologist. In this role, you’ll run experiments based on hypotheses to test out different psychological theories. You’ll create surveys, run lab experiments, and more to collect data that you can then analyze. You’ll study topics like mental health to better understand motivation, choices, and development. You’ll likely write research papers that get published in academic journals and then present those papers at conferences.

Conclusion

There are many more jobs you can get with a psychology degree. Whether you’ve graduated with a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or doctoral degree, the options are endless and will vary for you depending on your educational level. If you’re looking for a job as a psychologist, you’ll need to attain a doctoral degree, but not every psychology job requires that level of education. If you’re actively hunting for a job, you can use our resume builder by signing up for Huntr today.