Current Job Outlook for Psychology Graduates
Psychologists have many job options when deciding their career path. As mentioned earlier, psychologists are able to work in a variety of fields of study such as research or human resource management. With the variety of job options available, it may be overwhelming to navigate the job market. Let us take a deeper look at how the job market for psychology degree holders fares in today’s economy.
Job Opportunities
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of psychologists is expected to grow about as fast as the job market. This is because while fields such as health care, neurobiology, and microbiology are continuing to grow, other fields relying on traditional psychological theories are being replaced by more technically demanding fields. Given this, it is important in today’s job market for psychology to learn technical skills such as statistical methods. Furthermore, many research programs are beginning to stress experience in technical tools such as SPSS in order to aggregate data collection and data testing.
Another way to increase your chances of employment is to obtain certifications and graduate degrees in specialized fields. There are a variety of certifications that signify your successes in different fields of psychology. For example, people looking to go into forensic psychology should look into getting a certification in forensic psychology, as the certification signals your understanding in key concepts of forensic psychology. In addition, a graduate degree builds upon your undergraduate education. By requiring that each graduate student creates a thesis, graduate degrees demonstrate that students are qualified to conduct research studies in future employment.
Expected Salary
Salaries for psychology-related fields are heavily dependent on the specific jobs involved. In general, the median annual wage for psychology-related jobs range anywhere between $48,700-$82,800. Entry-level jobs paid around $37,000 a year, while management positions and prominent research positions paid well upwards of $100,000 a year. When considering wages, it is important to realize that obtaining higher levels of education is one of the key factors in determining wage rates. Furthermore, having technical skills and understanding is another factor that differentiates high-paying jobs from lower-paying ones.
Another important factor to consider is the amount of self-employed psychology-related jobs that are present. In 2008, about 34% of psychologists were self-employed. This may include business consultants, private practice psychologists, or individual research projects. Having different work schedules may allow career options to result in different pay structures, as some jobs may pay by salary, while others may pay by individual projects.
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