Are you interested in the psychology field but not quite sure what you could do with a degree? Having a bachelor's degree in psychology can open up a wide range of entry-level career opportunities for your future. Individuals with a psychology degree can pursue careers in the areas of counseling and therapy, social services, human resources, and education, to name just a few. While a graduate education is required to qualify for certain roles, there are still a variety of paths open to those with a bachelor’s degree. Let's explore some of these career options in more detail.
1. Social Services and Community Organizing
If you’re passionate about improving the well-being of individuals and communities, earning a psychology bachelor's degree can be a stepping stone to a career in social services. Graduates can work in a variety of settings, including child welfare agencies, family services, mental health clinics, and community organizations, doing their part to create a more equitable and just society. Social service careers may involve helping individuals and families to address mental health issues, substance abuse problems, domestic violence, and other social problems.
Community organizers bring people together to identify and address issues impacting a community. These professionals build relationships with community leaders and stakeholders, facilitate meetings and discussions, conduct outreach and education, and advocate for policy changes or other solutions to improve the quality of life for residents. In doing so, community organizers empower and engage groups of people to make their voices heard, take action, and spark positive social change.
2. Human Resources
Human resources (HR) is another field you can explore after earning a psychology degree. HR roles can include recruiting and hiring employees, developing employee training programs, managing employee benefits, and overseeing employee relations. In this field, psychology graduates can apply their knowledge of human behavior and social psychology for everything from assisting with conflict resolution to figuring out how to attract new employees to creating a positive workplace culture. The research skills learned in a psychology program can also help with researching HR strategies and policies as well as with analyzing and reporting on HR data. After establishing their foundation in the HR field, those interested in HR management can also pursue advanced education.
3. Education
Individuals with a psychology degree should also consider career options in education. These opportunities can include roles as career counselors, academic advisors, or behavioral intervention specialists (who help students replace disruptive, negative behaviors with positive ones). By applying your psychology knowledge, you could help students to succeed academically and emotionally and to prepare for their futures. Understanding learning and cognition as well as human growth and development can help psychology graduates to excel in these roles.
4. Counseling and Therapy
Many counseling and therapy roles require licensure and a graduate education in a program such as our Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. One role that bachelor’s degree graduates may pursue immediately is a counselor aide (also called a mental health technician or psychiatric aide). Counselor aides assist licensed counselors and mental health professionals in providing therapy and other support services to clients. Their tasks can include assisting with group therapy sessions, preparing and maintaining client records, monitoring clients, and assisting with crisis intervention. Counselor aides may also provide services like helping clients with grooming and hygiene tasks or escorting them to appointments or activities.
Build Your Psychology Knowledge and Skills at South University
Available on campus and online, South University’s well-rounded Bachelor of Arts in Psychology curriculum and initial training can prepare you for a range of entry-level positions in this fascinating field. Our program covers subjects that include:
● Psychological disorders
● Human growth and development
● Statistics and research
● Cognitive psychology (touching on attention, language, vision, memory, and more)
● Social psychology (including conformity, altruism, aggression, prejudice, persuasion, group dynamics, self-concept, self-esteem, and more)
● Personality development and assessment
To discuss whether our Psychology program is right for you, request information today or contact us at 855-884-2408 to speak with an Admissions Representative.
