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?
Careers for Bachelor’s in Psychology
1. Social Worker
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.
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.
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4. Human Resources Associate
Average salary: $52,901 per year
Human resources associates are typically employed by larger corporations where the HR department consists of more than one person. They perform a variety of tasks, including maintaining employee records, processing and maintaining applications and resumes, conducting background checks on job applicants, contacting candidate references, and more. They are also often involved in educating existing employees about various policies, dispersing company policies and resources to employees, and helping employees enroll in various programs by completing forms, etc.
The job requires the individual to work closely with a variety of different people from all walks of life, and often requires a healthy sense of empathy and emotional intelligence.
Other, related job titles that you might look for if this career interests you include: Human Resources Assistant, Human Resources Representative, Human Resources Administrator, Employee Relations Specialist, Employee Health Maintenance Program Specialist, Benefits Specialist, Personnel Recruiter, Staffing Specialist, Benefits Manager, Human Resource Advisor, Human Resources Manager, and more.
5. Higher Education Administrator
Average salary: $67,791 per year
Higher education administrator is a very broad job title that can apply to individuals performing a variety of different tasks at a higher education institution such as a college or university.
Often, higher education administrators are responsible for coordinating the budget, faculty, and facilities for either an individual department or the university as a whole. When they are employed at the department level, they will often be involved in academic advising, curricula development, and more.
Higher education administrators can also be employed by the university’s Bursar’s Office, Office of Financial Aid, Center for Career Development, and other areas of the institution. Duties will vary significantly depending on exactly where the individual is employed.
Other, related job titles that you might look for if this career interests you include: Academic Advisor, Career Advisor, Admission Specialist, Admission Evaluator, Enrollment Specialist, Fundraiser, Financial Aid Counselor, Alumni Relations Specialist, and more.
While not required for the entry-level positions discussed above, many who want to move into more senior positions within higher education administration will often pursue a related graduate degree, such as an EdD in Higher Education Leadership.
6. Psychiatric Technician
Average salary: $36,049 per year
Psychiatric technicians are entry-level mental health professionals. They perform a variety of tasks related to caring for individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness. These tasks can include recording patient’s medical and mental health history and concerns, observing patient behavior, administering medications, leading recreational activities, helping patients with the activities of daily life (eating, bathing, etc.) admitting/discharging patients, and more.
Many aspiring psychologists or counselors will work as psychiatric technicians while they are pursuing their undergraduate degree in order to gain experience in the field. This is an entry-level position which does not require the advanced graduate degrees that many other careers in mental health require.
Other, related job titles that you might look for if this career interests you include: Mental Health Technician, Psychiatric Aide, Psychiatric Attendant, Psychological Stress Evaluator, and more.
Advancing Your Career
Don’t know what you want to do with your degree yet? That’s okay! As you can see above, there are many potential career paths that you can follow with your BA in Psychology. There’s nothing wrong with taking a bit of time to test the waters with different careers before making a decision.
It’s worth noting that many of the positions above are entry level positions. Advancing in any of these careers may require you to gain a significant amount of experience, or even earning an additional degree or certification. For example, someone who begins working in human resources might eventually return to graduate school in order to earn a master’s degree in human resources management, while someone working as a social worker or case manager might return to college to earn their Master of Social Work.
In particular, there are many careers that individuals immediately consider when pursuing their undergraduate degree in psychology, such as becoming a psychologist or a counselor. In order to pursue these careers, an advanced degree will be necessary. For individuals interested in becoming a counselor, a degree such as a master’s degree in counseling is likely the next logical step after completing your undergraduate degree. In order to become a psychologist, you will need to earn your PhD.
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