Are you considering earning your bachelor’s degree in psychology? Are you already enrolled in a program, but beginning to think about what life will look like after graduation? In either case, it’s important to have a
sense of which career paths your degree will prepare you for, and which job titles you will be qualified to pursue. Below, we answer a question that is commonly asked by students: What exactly can you do with a bachelor’s degree in psychology? Average salary: $65,975 per year Social workers
are professionals trained to help people cope with the problems and stresses that they may encounter over the course of their lives. This may include helping a client cope with a significant illness, bereavement, divorce, addiction, abuse, or other situation. Social workers educate their clients about the different resources and benefits available to them (such as nutritional assistance, housing, childcare, utilities, etc.). The job will also often include helping the client apply to such
programs, as well as to jobs. Social workers may also be involved in screening, diagnosing, and treating various behavioral or mental health issues. Other, related job titles that you might look for if this career interests you include: Caseworker, Veterans Counselor, Victims’ Advocate, Substance Abuse Counselor, Social Services Aide, Child Welfare/Placement Caseworker, Correctional Treatment Specialist, Disability Policy Worker, and Disability Case Manager.Careers for Bachelor’s in Psychology
1. Social Worker
The tasks above all require a thorough understanding of how people process emotions and stress, making this an ideal career path for those with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Many people who spend time working in the field then decide that they would like to advance into a more senior level position. Often, this will include pursuing a Master of Social Work (MSW) or related graduate degree.
2. Marketing Specialist
Average salary: $71,753 per year
Marketers perform a wide variety of tasks related to helping businesses market and advertise their products or services. The tasks involved in the job can vary significantly depending on whether one works at a marketing agency (where they will serve multiple clients) or as an in-house marketer (where they will focus on one company). Generally speaking, marketing specialists can be involved in generating marketing assets, web copy, marketing emails, social media copy, advertisements, and much more.
Other, related job titles that you might look for if this career interests you include: Marketing Strategist, Marketing Content Specialist, Marketing Content Writer, Digital Strategist, Internet Marketing Specialist, Paid Search Strategist, Paid Social Strategist, SEO Specialist, Communications Specialist, and others.
Effective marketing requires an individual to understand the different ways that a person might interact with a piece of marketing content, and to use this understanding to tailor the content in order to guide the individual to the desired outcome. This makes marketing a popular path amongst those with a bachelor’s in psychology.
While not required, many who choose to advance within the field will choose to pursue a graduate degree such as a master’s in strategic communication or related field.
3. Market Researcher
Average salary: $58,460 per year
Market researchers play a critical role in the development of products and services. The role essentially requires the individual to research the existing and potential market for said products and services. This research and analysis is used for a variety of purposes, including to set prices, test products prior to launch, crowdsource potential functions or features which may be added to a product, and more.
Market researchers collect this data in a number of ways. They may, for example, design and conduct in-person or online surveys of existing or potential customers. Alternatively, they may scrape data from existing databases and then perform various types of statistical analysis to distill insights from it. All of these skills are skills typically held by individuals who have completed their bachelor’s in psychology.
Other, related job titles that you might look for if this career interests you include: Market Research Analyst, Market Research Interviewer, Marketing Data Analyst, Product Research Analyst, Insights Analyst, and others.
Published Date October 08, 2021
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, you may decide to continue your education and earn a Master’s or Doctoral degree in Psychology or a related field.
With a B.A. in Psychology, you are also prepared to apply for jobs in a number of different areas.
The following resources will help you explore some career opportunities available with a B.A. or advanced degrees.
Career Center
We recommend students visit the career center throughout their time at the University of Mississippi and attend events sponsored by them. The Career Center is a free resource that can assist you to help determine the best type of career to pursue as well as help you search for, apply to jobs, successfully interview for jobs, and negotiate salaries once you have an offer. We also recommend students register with Handshake, which is the University’s job and internship search database. Here is the student’s guide for getting an account and here is a handout with helpful tips for students. We also recommend watching this video created by the Career Center regarding potential careers with a BA in psychology.
Potential careers in psychology
There are many potential careers you can pursue with an undergraduate degree in psychology (see the table below for some). There are also multiple websites and resources that can help you explore potential careers. Here are some:
- An Online Career-Exploration Resource for Psychology Majors (2016) by Drew C. Appleby (Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis). This resource includes an “80-page student section consists of more than 2,400 hotlinks psychology majors can use to explore 300 careers they can prepare to enter that have been organized into 15 broad occupational categories to facilitate searching.”
- American Psychological Association’s facts about careers
- The U.S. Department of Labor: Occupational Outlook Handbook: Psychologists
- Assess your Employable Skills Self-Efficacy The authors of this questionnaire, Ciarocco and Strohmetz (2016) suggest that once you have taken the questionnaire and scored it, you can use the results “as the start of a personal professional development plan. Students could self-assess their strong and weak skills and then develop a long-term plan through curricular and experiential opportunities to develop weak skills. They could re-assess their skills set after they implement their professional development plan.” (p. 6).
- Career Decision Tree for Psychology majors (Dr. Retta E. Poe of Western Kentucky University, as modified by Hanover College)
- Dr. Margaret A. Lloyd, of Georgia Southern University, has established a website for the undergraduate psychology major. This site helps the student plan their time as an
undergraduate and provides Career Options. - Fifteen Careers in Psychology and Related Fields are described by Dr. Melissa J. Himelein of University of North Carolina at Asheville.
- Potential Careers in Psychology and Law has multiple subspecialties. See this webpage of the American Psychology-Law Society for more information about those specialties.
- Exploring Careers in Aging
Post baccalaureate Research Assistant Job Opportunities
Potential Careers with an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology (Table compiled from old website CareersInPsych)
| Administration in Education (K – 12 or in Higher Ed in careers such as Alumni Affairs or in Student Support Services) | Government Worker (multiple potential careers in Local, State, and Federal government) | Psychological Assistant |
| Advertising | Health Care Educator/Worker | Psychological Technician |
| Aide to Elderly | Human Resource Management | Research Laboratory Assistant |
| Alumni Relations Officer | Investigative Researcher | Residence Life Officer |
| Animal Trainer | Joining the AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or Teach for America | Sales (e.g., Real Estate Agent) |
| Arbitrators/Mediators | Library Assistant | Social Work Assistant |
| Campus Recreation/Intramurals Coordinator | Medical Lab Technician | Student Admissions Counselor |
| Child Care Worker | Medical Scribe | Study Abroad Advisor |
| Child Protection Worker | Mental Health Technician | Teacher in K – 12 (would require additional training/certification) |
| Corrections Officer | Nutritionist/Dietician | Truancy Officer |
| Court Liaison | Paralegal/Legal Assistant | Veterinary Technician |
| Crime Analyst | Pharmaceutical Sales | Victim Advocate |
| Elder Advocate/Fundraising | Police Officer | Wildlife Care and Conservation |
| Financial Aid Advisor | Probation Officers | Working at a non-profit |
| Forensics Case Manager | Psychiatric Technician |