What Kind of Jobs Can You Get with a
Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology?
CONTENTS
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What skills and abilities are employers seeking?
Samples of Careers
Job Seeking Skills
References
INTRODUCTION
While earning a graduate degree is required for many psychology jobs, the fact is that approximately 75% of
students who earn a bachelor's degree in psychology do not go to graduate school. According to one study, only
about 25% of psychology undergraduates end up working in a field that is closely related to their major. Charles
Brewer, a professor of psychology at Furman University, states that looking at your bachelor’s degree in
psychology as simply a step toward some advanced degree can be an error. "A lot of people think that in order to
do anything with a degree in psychology you must get a Ph.D. and become a psychologist," he said in an article
by CNN. "Most parents, even if they are professionals in their own right, don't understand what opportunities are
open to psych majors." The bachelor’s degree is very adaptable.
The rest of this webpage is to help for those who are seeking a degree in Psychology but do not wish to pursue
any kind of graduate degree.
It is important to know that for many liberal arts degrees like psychology, a choice in major does not equate
to a choice in career. This gives you a tremendous amount of freedom when it comes to finding a job. There
are no jobs designed specifically for psychology majors. The major in psychology is one of dozens of liberal arts
degrees intended to give you a broad education. Please recognize that you will complete 120 credits to earn your
degree and the major is only 36 credits, or less than a third of your overall college learning. How will twelve
courses in Psychology help you get a job? How will the other credits help you get a job? The answer is that your
degree should give you a wide range of skills that can be used for a wide range of jobs. You will be well prepared
for the job search if you have acquired and can identify what these skills are.
Ideally, you should have taken classes that have taught you many of these skills, even if you were not aware of it.
Make a list of things you learned in various classes to help you assess your skills and talents in order to find a job
best suited to your educational background and professional goals. While the opportunities that are available to
those with a bachelor's degree in psychology may be more limited, there are things that you can do to maximize
your potential and get the most out of your psychology degree. During your undergraduate years, focus on taking
courses that will help you later in the job market. Classes that increase your communication and writing skills,
enhance your understanding of human behavior, and provide knowledge about organizational behavior can all be
extremely useful later on during your job search. Check the syllabus or speak with instructors to see what kinds of
skills a class might teach you.
A psychology degree can be applied to a large number of entry-level positions in the human services arena. If you
want to work in the human services arena, you’ll want to make sure you have the following skills: the ability to
assess client needs, keep thorough and accurate records, express care and empathy, and to act as an advocate for
your client. Beyond human services, the psychology courses you take should have provided you with skills useful
in any job setting such as: Critical thinking, one-on-one and small group communication, effective written
communication skills, understanding of individual human behavior, knowledge of group and organizational
behavior, and problem solving skills. As an undergraduate, you might have done a considerable amount of
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research and writing. The skills you learned in doing that kind of work would be useful in many jobs such as a
library assistant, probation officer, business manager, case worker, library assistant, research assistant, and many
other related areas.
In addition to social services, a bachelor's in psychology can provide excellent training for many other types of
jobs. Some of the most important things you have learned during your undergraduate years are interpersonal skills.
The strong communication skills and understanding of human behavior you should have learned will set you up
for success for the following positions: marketing representative, sales director, executive assistant and legal
assistant. Since psychology undergraduate programs often include many research and writing opportunities, you
may also consider jobs that include those requirements. Your understanding of the human mind and behavior
make you a good candidate for jobs that require strong communication skills. Some examples jobs in this area
include those in sales, marketing, case management, and social services.
A very important experience in acquiring skills is to do a practicum related to your degree. A practicum involves
getting placed with a company, government agency or non-profit group where you earn credits while learning
about the organization: what they do, what kind of people they have as clients, and the structure of the
organization. In some cases, such practicum experience can lead directly to a job. In a similar vein, gaining any
kind of work experience while in college can help. Such experience teaches the importance of being reliable,
industrious, and friendly which are important qualities to have for any job seeker. These kinds of experiences can
also help you get letters of recommendation, which are needed for almost all jobs.
WHAT SKILLS AND ABILITIES ARE EMPLOYERS SEEKING?
HUMAN SERVICE SKILLS
These are skills necessary for successful employment in situations where direct services are provided to
individuals who are in need of help.
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Perform institutional research and evaluation.
Write reports and proposals clearly and objectively.
Organize and lead groups, organizations, or committees.
Recognize and understand behavioral and emotional disorders.
Select, administer, score, and interpret psychological tests.
Respond in an unbiased and tolerant way to individual differences.
Display fundamental counseling skills with individuals and groups.
Collect, record, and report statistical and qualitative information.
Perform crisis intervention techniques (e.g., listening and referral).
Perform interviews to learn about people's history, problems, and plans.
Contribute to program or treatment planning, evaluation, and implementation.
Demonstrate small group skills (e.g., team building and conflict management).
Communicate effectively and sensitively in both individual and group situations.
Obtain information about problems through library research and personal contacts.
Critically evaluate theories and research and apply the results to solve problems.
Analyze problems on the basis of personal experience and psychological principles.
Understand and modify your attitudes and actions in interactions with other people.
RESEARCH SKILLS
These are some of the types of skills essential to jobs in which information based on basic or applied research is
provided to assist decision making.
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Construct and administer questionnaires.
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Use a variety of types of research equipment.
Collect, organize, analyze, and interpret data.
Present verbal presentations clearly and persuasively.
Defend ideas in a clear, objective, and non-dogmatic manner.
Be familiar with a variety of research methods and designs.
Recruit research participants and treat them in an ethical manner.
Select, administer, score, and interpret various psychological tests.
Write reports clearly, concisely, objectively, and in the correct style.
Use library resources to research problems and prepare literature reviews.
Identify problems and suggest solutions on the basis of research findings.
Create easily understood graphs, tables, and verbal descriptions of results.
Select and compute appropriate statistical tests and interpret their results.
Assemble, interpret, and critically analyze research findings in specific areas.
Use computers to write reports, analyze data, and perform bibliographic searches.
Deal effectively with financial, temporal, and personnel constraints on research.
The items in the three major categories of the following outline (taken directly from Edwards and Smith, 1988)
are arranged in descending order of importance as rated by a large sample of employers from Midwestern
government, nonprofit, and commercial agencies, organizations, and companies that often hire undergraduate
psychology majors. Psychology students are urged to take advantage of all their undergraduate opportunities to
maximize the attainments of these skills, abilities, knowledge, and personal traits.
GENERAL SKILLS
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Writing proposals and reports
Identifying and solving problems based on research and knowledge of behavior
Conducting interviews
Performing statistical analyses
Designing and conducting research projects
Performing job analyses
Coding data
Using computer programs to analyze data
Systematically observing and recording behavior
Constructing tests and questionnaires
Administering standardized tests
KNOWLEDGE
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Formation and change of attitudes and opinions
Principles and techniques of personnel selection
How people think, solve problems, and process information
Structure and dynamics of small groups
Effects of the environment on people's feelings and actions
Organizational development
Principles of human learning and memory
How people perceive and sense their environment
Theories and research on personality and individual differences
Principles of human needs and motivation
Theories and research on organizational behavior, work, and productivity
Theories and research on human development and stages of life
Symptoms, causes, and treatments of abnormal behaviors
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PERSONAL TRAITS
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Ability to work with others in a team
Motivation to work hard
Positive attitude toward work and the organization
Organization
Leadership
Maturity
Flexibility
Ability to communicate well
Intelligence
Problem-solving ability
Integrity
Tolerance for stress and ambiguity
SAMPLES OF CAREERS
Here is a small sampling of careers for which a bachelor’s degree in Psychology is well suited and what you can
do now to plan for each one. This is not meant to limit you to only these types of jobs, so it will help to refer to
the website at this bottom of this list.
1. Sales Representatives
The psychology major can help students acquire a range of interpersonal skills, which can be applied in a number
of different sales and marketing positions. Employers for such positions value skills such as the ability to
communicate effectively with divers others and understand their needs. If you are interested in working in this
field, take classes that will improve your understanding of human behavior. Courses in social psychology,
personality and oral communication can be especially beneficial.
2. Advertising Agents
The skill of persuasion is a topic in psychology, which is why advertising is often an ideal career choice for
people with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Careers in this field involve researching the target audience for a
product and developing a message and advertising materials based on this research. If you are interested in a
career in this field, look for ways that you can gain practical experience now. Practicums are an excellent way to
get experience, find professional mentors and build networking relationships in your chosen field.
3. Psychiatric Technicians
A bachelor's degree in psychology certainly allows you to find work in other professions, but you can choose to
work directly in the field of mental health and human services. Job titles in this area include psychiatric
technicians, mental health technicians and social work assistants. These individuals usually work directly under
the supervision and guidance of a licensed professional. Duties involve helping patients with basic daily needs,
teaching life skills, conducting applied therapy sessions and performing related case management tasks.
4. Career Counselors
If you like helping people discover their potential, then working as a career counselor can be a fulfilling choice for
you. Career counseling involves helping people select a career, assisting those in the process of changing careers
or providing vocational rehabilitation to individuals returning to the workforce. Some graduates with psychology
degrees choose to work with disabled adults who may need skills training, job search help, on-the-job training and
regular workplace supervision, but some of these areas require advanced degrees.
5. Probation and Parole Officer
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For those interested in the field of criminal justice, you might want to consider a career as a probation or parole
officer. Probation and parole officers are typically hired by local or state governments. They work directly with
individuals who have been convicted of criminal offenses and have been placed on probation or released on
parole. These professionals supervise offenders at home, work and school settings to track behaviors, make
recommendations to the courts and coordinate with drug treatment professionals or therapists.
6. Writers
A college degree should have required you to learn to write well. After graduation, put those writing skills to
work in a writing-related career. Some potential job titles in this area include technical writers, advertising copy
writers and newspaper reporters. If you think this is something you want to pursue, you should take as many
courses as you can that teach you how to write better.
7. Market Researchers
A bachelor's degree in psychology prepares students for work in this field by training graduates in statistical and
scientific methodologies. People working in the field of market research perform a variety of tasks, including
conducting interviews, performing opinion polls, collecting data and interpreting results.
8. Child Care Workers
Another way to employ your bachelor's degree in psychology is to become a child care worker. You can be a
partial care worker in a mental health setting providing support for mental health professionals as a paraprofessional. Other options include working in a daycare or after-school program, or even opening up your own
child care office.
9. Laboratory Assistants
If you enjoyed your classes in research and experimental psychology, working as a psychology laboratory
assistant could be a great way to put your bachelor's degree to work. Some settings that might employ psychology
lab assistants include university psychology programs, government agencies and businesses that study human
behavior. You can get valuable research experience today by signing up for a research assistant position at your
university, or consider taking an internship in a psych lab. Psy 499 credits are partly designed for this purpose.
10. Social Service Specialists
Individuals with a bachelor's degree in psychology can also find career opportunities working in the social
services sector for government agencies or non-profits. These positions might entail helping individuals locate
psychological resources in their community, providing counseling services directly to clients and other types of
case management services.
11. Conflict Resolution and Arbitration
Conflict resolution uses dialogue to get people talking, consider options and arrive at a mutually beneficial
solution. Arbitrators and mediators meet with clients to clarify issues and understand any underlying concerns.
They identify the needs of clients and what they feel is a reasonable resolution to the conflict. They have to be
able to listen and communicate to draw out information and analyze the information to understand different
perspectives and offer possible resolutions.
12. Addiction and Substance Abuse Counseling
Although this usually requires an advanced degree in social work or certification, drug abuse and addiction
counselors work in private practice with clients one-on-one or in group settings. They also work with family
members separately or as a group with the client, or conduct “interventions” which bring together family
members and others close to the client as a means of confronting them with reality and to agree to undergo
treatment. With a bachelor’s degree you can assist in agencies that do this work.
For a list of over 170 possible careers, please visit: https://www.uni.edu/walsh/DOTdescrips.htm
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For each job, there is a link that will tell you what kind of work it is.
JOB SEEKING SKILLS
Do not make the mistake of thinking that you can get a good job simply because you have a college degree.
Finding a job is full time work by itself and you need to develop your skills in finding a job. Here are some things
you need to work on to find that good job:
1. Resume writing
As some of the websites below will tell you, the basic idea of a resume is not to get you a job but to get you an
interview. If you don’t want prospective employers to put your resume in the shredder, please give these sites a
careful study.
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/resume-writing-tips/
http://www.rockportinstitute.com/resume_03
http://www.careeronestop.org/resumeguide/introduction.aspx
2. Networking
The old saying that “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” is half right. It is important to know a lot, but it
is also important to know the right people. As a new graduate you might think, “I don’t know anybody,” but you
might surprise yourself. It is very important that you meet a lot of people in person; that is, do not rely on social
media sites to make these very critical contacts. Check out these sites:
http://www.helpguide.org/life/job_networking_how_to_find_job.htm
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/find_a_job_with_massive_structured_networking.html
http://www.communityinclusion.org/article.php?article_id=62
3. Cover letters
Not all jobs applications want or require a cover letter, but if they do, you need to know how to write one and
write it very well, so you stand out.
http://jobsearch.about.com/od/coverletters/a/aa030401a.htm
http://ucs.yalecollege.yale.edu/content/cover-letters
4. Interviewing
This is the part where most people have major anxieties. The most important thing is to be yourself and try to
relax as much as you can. It helps to be well prepared, so many advisers suggest doing some research about the
position and the organization so you know what they want from you. One point to make about the sites below is
that the dress code for Hawaii is different; most employers will not expect you to wear a suit.
This site is awesome! Click on the links under “Interview Tips”:
http://advice.careerbuilder.com/?q=interviewing
http://www.iseek.org/jobs/interviewtips.html
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Check out Manoa’s Career Center
Last and far from the least, you should go to UH Manoa’s Career Center for information and resources on all of
the above topics.
REFERENCES
Cherry, K. (2012). What can you do with a bachelor’s degree in psychology? About.com. Retrieved March 5,
2013 from, http://psychology.about.com/b/2012/05/14/what-can-you-do-with-a-bachelors-degree-inpsychology.htm
Cherry, K. (2013). Career options with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. About.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013
from, http://psychology.about.com/od/careersinpsychology/a/careersbach.htm
Department of Psychology (2013). Indiana State University. Retrieved March 6, 2013 from:
http://www.indstate.edu/psychology/academic_advising/whatCanIDo.htm
Edwards, J., & Smith, K. (1988). What skills and knowledge do potential employers value in baccalaureate
psychologists? In P. J. Woods (Ed.), Is Psychology for them? A guide to undergraduate advisors (pp. 102-111).
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
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