Interested in career opportunities for Psychology Graduates?
Online Resources
There are a number of different career paths for students who have studied psychology. The best online resources I have come across are from the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) and
American Psychological Association (APA) web pages: http://www.cpa.ca/Psychologist/QFacts.htm
Here you'll find links on "What is a psychologist?", and "Where do Psychologists Work?". Also describes the training and credentials that psychologists need in order to practice psychology in
Canada.
http://www.cpa.ca/careers/
Links on this page will show you what kinds of career positions are currently being advertised in psychology.
http://www.apa.org/students/brochure/brochurenew.pdf
Check out the "What Psychologists Do" and "Getting Ready to Work in Psychology" sections. http://www.apa.org/students/student1.html
This APA site has some general resources for students considering a career in Psychology
You may want to check out some of the following websites, each of which provides information about careers for Psychology graduates : http://www.psychwww.com/careers/index.htm
A good website at which to start http://www.psywww.com/careers/jobs.htm
Describes jobs that can be considered after a BA or BSc degree; jobs are listed at http://www.psychwww.com/careers/entry.htm
http://dept.ju.edu/psychology/bainpsy.htm
More info on employment opportunities and strategies for those with a Bachelors degree in Psychology http://www.socialpsychology.org/facq.htm
Particularly relevant to careers in social psychology, but has useful info on grad schools and job listings for all areas of psychology http://www.lemoyne.edu/OTRP/otrpresources/helping-online.html
A guide to careers in the helping professions, e.g., Clinical and counseling psych, social worker, occupational therapy and speech pathology http://www.psych-central.com/careers.htm
Many links describing careers in Psychology; the La Sierra
University site is particularly useful: http://www.lasierra.edu/departments/psychology/careers/index.html
Career Services here on campus (232 King Street, 1st floor) also have loads of material on career planning: http://info.wlu.ca/career/students_alumni/cpjs/advising.shtml
If you are wondering about how long a person has to study to become a psychologist in Ontario, or what the difference is between a psychologist and a psychiatrist , you might check out: http://www.lifesatwitch.com/tricks15.html
(about half way down the page).
For info on the differences between clinical and counseling psychology , I suggest you check out http://www.psichi.org/pubs/articles/article_73.asp
.
For information on Applied vs. Research careers , check out: http://www.gpc.edu/~bbrown/psyc1501/psychology/careers.htm

In Ontario, one can become a Psychological Associate with only a Masters degree (see http://workdestinations.org/view_profile.jsp?occupationUserDatumId=17736&profileUserDatumId=17740&lang=en ) , but to practice psychology independently , one would need a PhD (see http://workdestinations.org/view_profile.jsp?occupationUserDatumId=17192&profileUserDatumId=17424&lang=en ).
Another useful brochure on Employment and Careers in Psychology has been put out by the
University of Alberta’s Psych Department: www.psych.ucalgary.ca/students/careers/careers_manual.pdf
.
You may also want to check out The Ontario Rehabilitation Sciences Programs Application
Service (ORPAS : http://www.ouac.on.ca/orpas / ), which is a centralized application service for
Physiotherapy/Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT), Audiology (AUD) and Speech-
Language Pathology (SLP) programs at McMaster University, Queen's University, University of
Toronto, and The University of Western Ontario.
Often, students with a Bachelors degree in Psychology have gone on to complete a college program; a combination of a three- or four-year BA with a one- or two-year college diploma, or Post-degree
College program (“Graduate Certificate”) may set you up for a number of interesting career opportunities, e.g., Addictions Counselling, Law Enforcement, Autism and Behavioural Science,
Business Management, Child and Youth Worker.
Check out some college web pages (links to Ontario colleges can be found at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/list/college.html
and www.ontariocolleges.ca
), including
Conestoga College here in K-W. Here is a link to Conestoga programs most likely to be considered by Psych graduates (e.g., Business, Community Services, Health Sciences, Liberal
Sciences including Teaching English as a Second Language): http://www.conestogac.on.ca/jsp/programs/index.jsp
I'd suggest you come in and take a look at some of the books and brochures I have for borrowing which provide more info on careers in Psych. To make an appointment to see me, contact Ann Reid
(884-0710 ext 3664, areid@wlu.ca
) in the Psychology General Office (N2006).
Get in touch with me if you have any questions!
-Max Gwynn
Maxwell Gwynn, Undergraduate Advisor
Department of Psychology
Wilfrid Laurier University
(519) 884-0710 ext 3854 mgwynn@wlu.ca
Updated January 2007