Career Paths for Psychology students

By Stuti Saria

As a psychology graduate, you have several doors open ahead of you. From arts to science, the number of fields that you can enter with a psychology degree are endless. Depending on your specialisation and interests, you can pursue careers in healthcare, education, social work, therapy, counseling, etc. Here are some potential careers paths to explore: 

1. Psychotherapy

As a psychotherapist, you will work with individuals, couples or families to make positive changes on mental health. Depending on your specialisation, you may use different approaches such as cognitive behavioral methods, arts therapy, psychoanalytic therapy, hypno psychotherapy, etc. 

2. Education 

As a psychology major, you can obtain a further qualification such as a PhD and enter careers in tertiary education. Alternatively, you can pursue a career as an educational psychologist, which would be concerned with the development of young people in educational settings, with the aim of helping them with learning difficulties or in dealing with social issues. 

3. Research

You can choose to work for a research agency or combine your skills in  research and education to work at a university. As a psychology major, you also have research careers in the government and nonprofit sectors open for you. Your research areas may involve speech impediments, child development, brain damage, etc.    

4. Counselor

As a counselor, your role will be to help people deal with issues related to work, personal relationships, education, etc. You will work with your clients in confidence and will be expected to be an active listener. You must also be able to empathise with your clients and give them your patience and respect. 

5. Human resources 

Psychology involves the study of understanding people and how they think. Thus, careers in human resources may be a great fit for you. These roles may include areas such as employee satisfaction, training, public relations, etc.