Psychology provides a broad, liberal arts background. Some students may choose to study psychology because they enjoy the subject but wish to pursue careers requiring “any major”. In this scenario, it is critical to develop desirable skills through internships, part-time or summer jobs, or volunteer experiences. Some skills valued most by employers include: communication, interpersonal, leadership, teamwork, and computer skills.

Other students may major in psychology because they want to work in a related field. Many entry-level helping positions are available; however, the amount of actual assessment and intervention work is limited for those who have a bachelor’s degree. Students may wish to pursue graduate education in psychology, social work, counseling, college student personnel, or other related fields to increase opportunities and earning potential. Research career fields to learn what type of degree (master’s or doctoral) and subject area are most appropriate. A non-comprehensive list of careers is provided below:

Human Services

• Applied Behavior Analysis*
• Behavior Technician*
• Case Management
• Community Relations
• Court Liaison
• Crises Prevention Work – Special Populations
• Direct Patient Care Worker
• Governmental Research Analyst
• Juvenile Forensic Case Manager
• Physical Health and Wellness
• Police Officer*
• Probation Officer
• Program Development and Fundraising
• Rehabilitation Psychology
• Victim Advocate

Business/Human Resources

• Customer Service
• Insurance
• Compensation & Benefits
• Business Management
• Employment & Recruitment
• Product Design
• Labor Relations
• Marketing
• Public Relations
• Sales
• Selection
• Real Estate
• Training & Development
• Advertising
• Business Administration

Master’s Degree

• Social Worker
• Counselor
• Child Life Specialist
• School & Career Counselor
• Substance Abuse & Behavioral Disorder Counselor
• Rehabilitation Counselor
• Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
• Statistics & Biostatistics
• Information/Library Sciences
• Forensic Psychologist
• Speech Language Pathologist
• Public Health
• Health Educator

Research

• Research Analyst
• Research Assistant

Doctoral Degree

• Counseling Psychologist
• Clinical Psychologist
• Experimental Psychologist
• Sports Psychologist
• Industrial Organizational Psychologist
• Social Psychologist
• Developmental Psychologist
• Forensic Psychologist
• Health Psychologist
• Psychiatry (MD)
• Lawyer
• Epidemiologist

Specialist Level Degree

• School Psychologist

For more information on each of these careers, please visit: https://www.gvsu.edu/psychology/employment-options-for-psychology-majors-228.htm

This website includes general information about the career, salary information, suggested courses, and extracurricular opportunities available to students.

Additional Resources for General Information

• American Psychological Association:  https://www.apa.org/
• All Psychology Schools: https://www.allpsychologyschools.com/
• Association for Psychological Science: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/
• National Board for Certified Counselors: https://www.nbcc.org/
• The Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: https://my.siop.org/Sign-In?returnurl=%2f
• Society for Human Resource Management: https://www.shrm.org/Pages/default.aspx
• American Counseling Association: https://www.counseling.org/
• American Association for Marriage & Family Therapy: https://www.aamft.org/

Detailed Career Information and Resources

• Online Psychology Career Center: https://www.socialpsychology.org/career.htm
• Size of the job market (by area): https://www.socialpsychology.org/market.htm
• Nonprofit Career Network: https://www.nonprofitcareer.com/
• Idealist: https://www.idealist.org/en/?type=JOB
• Psychologist from the Occupational Outlook Handbook: https://www.bls.gov/home.htm

*Some employment within these fields require training, certification or coursework