Mia
Since its inception, psychology has made great strides. Despite our common belief that considers psychology as contemporary social science, the seeds were sown by philosophers as early as Aristotle. While Freud is known as the father of modern psychology, he wasn’t the founder. In fact, its origins are difficult to trace back to a single individual.
Nowadays, we can see how much the field has grown and how many professions it has become associated with. The various sub-disciplines in psychology have popped up so rapidly that anyone with a general psychology degree is sure to find a career that suits them. Moreover, increasing mental health awareness has given the field a boost, which has resulted in the diversity it sees in society today. Obtaining a psychology degree can also lead you to a number of other careers. Let’s explore them in detail.
Education
The education industry is always looking for more people to join the ranks and make a place for themselves. Although there are a variety of options within the field, a psychology degree is always beneficial when working with children from diverse backgrounds. As such, the roles can include teaching, administration, counseling, and career counseling. It also allows you to know how to address the student’s needs, whatever they may be. And if we’re to break it down to subfields, an Educational Psychology Degree will make you a master’s in the niche and give you the mobility you need to move around.
Many schools opt for inclusive classrooms that cater to differently-abled students. Owning an educational psychology degree will only help you in a role like this and help you thrive in the job.
Forensics
The field of criminology is always on the lookout for sharp psychology graduates who can add to the force. Becoming an officer of the law is no easy task. Therefore, you may only want to consider this if you have the stomach to investigate homicides.
A psychologist can help narrow down suspects and make sure that the perpetrator is brought to justice. Through a series of interviews and interrogations, they can help sort through a pool of suspects and use various tools and tricks to bring justice.
They can also help envision things from the criminal’s point of view. Tracking someone down is the hardest part, but items become considerably easier with a degree in psychology.
Psychological Testing
Testing is perhaps one of the most important branches of psychopathology. Sometimes the DSM isn’t enough to make diagnoses, and you need to use more than that to make an accurate deduction.
Psychometrics is the backbone of the psychological industry. Without proper testing and diagnostic tools, things would look starkly different than society as we know it today. Though the field itself has more to do with statistics, having a background in psychology helps ensure that diagnoses have sound reasoning behind them.
Human Resources
Psychologists best handle recruitment, downsizing, and solving domestic issues within the company. It’s important to fall back on their knowledge of personality and how to handle situations like this. Moreover, most psychology graduates have advanced communication skills, which almost always play HR roles.
Other than that, dealing with personal issues that the employees present is just one of the many roles of an HR generalist. The empathetic touch and the ability to handle people are what you need when hiring for an HR role.
However, there are times when the empathetic aspect can be abused. It’s important to maintain a healthy balance of empathy, positive regard, and assertiveness to make it in an HR career.
Sales
Much like the role in HR, knowing how people think, how to talk to them, and how to influence them (ethically) is a very important aspect of sales. Consumer psychology is an in-depth branch that focuses on advertising to the consumer using psychological principles. If you have a background in psychology and make your way into sales, you will almost always see positivity in your career.
Little tricks here and there when making a sale can go a long way in swaying a customer to buy your products. Many people pursue a minor in psychology and their business degree to earn their place in sales and advertising. Though it may seem unconventional at first, once you think of the reasoning behind the subject merger you will see how fruitful the idea is. Communications, knowledge of personality, and the ability to influence others are just some ways psychology and sales overlap.
Conclusion
There we have some career options that you can pursue with a degree in psychology. From education to sales, we have talked about several careers that may yield success in your future if you give them a chance. We understand that it’s not easy to diversify; however, you may have to sometimes with the ever-volatile market.
In addition, many people change their career paths after graduating. The idea of change should always be entertained if you feel unfulfilled in your current career. Moreover, the working world requires you to take risks at times to weigh your options. It’s up to you whether you want to take that step.
