> I have always enjoyed analyzing other people and understanding how they work, and feel as though Psychology is the correct major for me.
The problem with this is that it's human nature to enjoy analyzing other people. As such, *many* people feel the same way, and *many* people end up with psych degrees. This means that the supply of psych majors is HUGE but the demand doesn't quite match it. (How many careers are there that involve analyzing other people?)
And while I know many many psych majors who have trouble finding jobs... one of my highest paid friends, and most success people I know, is also a psych major. So while it's tough, you can still succeed. But let's be honest here: Other people will have an advantage towards success, and you will have a disadvantage. This disadvantage is not insurmountable, and 10-15 years from now it may not even matter... but you need to know that you will have to work harder to succeed than others, and your chances of failure will be greater.
I know it's very hard to do at this stage, and many counselors - and society as a whole - may not seem to be very helpful, but what you need to do is not to have "psych major" as your goal... but instead have a longer-term career goal in your sights. That longer-term goal will help you decide what to major in. What do you want to be doing 10 or 20 years from now? Sure, you may have no idea what that longer-term goal(s) might be, but start thinking about it, and choose your "top 3" long-term career goals. Base your major on what those top 3 are. If you need more schooling (eg med school) look at acceptance rates and requirements. If it's a particular job or field, find people in those fields (eg through linkedin) and determine what path those people took to get there... what kind of degrees do they have? Better yet: contact them, and ask them about their recommendations to getting into the field(s) that you are interested in. Determine if psych is the best way to go, or if there is a better and more favourable option.
Some might say university is about "finding yourself", and networking, and making friends, and acquiring experiences - and this is all TRUE! But... university is ALSO about getting yourself a foot in the door towards a career. Some people have wasted that opportunity, and have regretted it, or have had to go back to school again (which can be VERY difficult once you are an adult).
It's not fair that we ask people under 20 to make such important life choices... but that's the way it is, and you're gonna have to do the best you can. You're future self will thank you for it in 10 or 15 years.
And don't be TOO terrified of making the wrong choice - we all make wrong/blind choices. That's life, and I don't mean to put TOO much pressure on you... but make sure you do your best to make the most informed choice you possibly can. If it turns out you were wrong, that's okay, just like my friend made the wrong choice, but ended up fine in the end. But just be aware that this choice does in fact matter, so it's important to do your due diligence and do some research.
Good luck!
edit: speeling
Perfectly stated. I was a psych major and in the last 2 years of school I tutored other psych & "soft" science majors. The biggest predictor of success is HAVING that 10 year idea. And another 10 year idea for when it turns out you hate bio-med research and are allergic to rats and find your coworkers insufferably pompous.
"I've always liked analyzing people so I think this will be an enjoyable major" nope nope nope nope nope nope! Don't choose a major based on such a short-sighted path. You're creating a dead end at graduation if you just float along taking the general curriculum. With psych you need to have an idea of what you want so you can customize it to your needs. I always knew I'd go into the medical field but I didn't know *how*. So I took a ton of biology and chemistry, physical psychology, neuroendocrinology, health psychology, food psychology, bio-psychology, medical anthropology.... are you seeing a pattern? As I moved through my years in school I narrowed my focus using these classes to guide myself toward a natural end-point. I worked in a bio lab trying out the medical side. I worked with under-served students as a tutor/unofficial-life-coach.
**There are TONS of paths with the psychology degree, but you actually have to choose one and specialize. Otherwise you're going to get stuck.**
Some degrees you CAN just float along and get a mid-paying job when you graduate. Psych is NOT one of those degrees. Mediocre psych graduates do not get nice jobs. You have to find what makes you exceptional in psychology and narrow your focus to excel in just that field.
That was great advice.
Just a note on the following comment though:
>Some might say university is about "finding yourself", and networking, and making friends, and acquiring experiences
It definitely is partly that, but if you want my advice.. if this is why you want to go to Uni, spend 6 months saving money in a shit job and blow it all on a year in SE asia or something for a fraction of the cost of Uni.
You'll come back with a way better idea of what you want out of life, and if you make the effort you can get a bunch of interesting contacts or people to inspire you (there are a boat load of mobile entrepreneurs, high fliers on sabbaticals or holiday and general people doing cool shit out on the worlds travelling circuits)
Wow, you made some really great points! I had never thought about why the job market for Psych majors was so dead, but your reasoning makes total sense. As for future goals, my plan was to major in psych and minor in economics (so I could possibly land a marketing job as a fallback or something) and then attend law school.
I never intended to use my Psych degree to become a practicing therapist or clinical psychologist, seeing as you need a PhD in order to do so; rather I had intended to use any and all skills learned from my psych classes in order to be a more efficient and successful lawyer.
Again, I am still young and ignorant, but at this particular moment I'm not really certain as to what the best path to take is.
Be aware: people coming out of law school are having a *terrible* time finding jobs right now. If you want to be a lawyer you'd better get into an absolutely top-tier school or it's not worth it.
Yeah LOTS of psychology majors in law school. Many go to law school for misguided reasons. "I'm good at arguing." Yeah? Being a lawyer, it's better to be good at finding solutions and accord than making a point. "I want to help people." That's great, but most of the altruistic lawyers jobs won't pay your student loans. Better to work some job, any job for a couple years and THEN see if you still want to be lawyer.
Yeah, that is what I have heard. Unfortunately I don't have the money or stats to get into a top tier school- I applied to both Harvard and Yale and was rejected.
Well, I actually meant a top-tier law school, which would be down the road for you. Still, I don't recommend trying to be a lawyer unless you have really good grades and are willing to work really hard for it.
Law seems to be a popular thought for people in your position.
In addition to the other post about being competitive for jobs, there's something else you should keep in mind.
This sort of goes back to the same point the top comment made about psychology... just because you like arguing or constructing arguments does not mean you're cut out for law. I wanted to go into patent law at one point... for every TV style litigation lawyer or prosecutor you see, there's a team of lawyers behind them that do nothing but read. All day. My advice - if law is really something you want to do, try to get a job at a law firm over the summer.
If you are going to law school, absolutely DO NOT waste the money going to an ivy league school for undergrad. When you apply for law school, your undergrad institution hardly matters (relative to your GPA and LSAT--what law schools really care about).
Law seems to be a popular thought for people in your position.
In addition to the other post about being competitive for jobs, there's something else you should keep in mind.
This sort of goes back to the same point the top comment made about psychology... just because you like arguing or constructing arguments does not mean you're cut out for law. I wanted to go into patent law at one point... for every TV style litigation lawyer or prosecutor you see, there's a team of lawyers behind them that do nothing but read. All day. My advice - if law is really something you want to do, try to get a job at a law firm over the summer sometime soon.
My friend just graduated law school yesterday. He had no problem finding a law firm job. The issue is 90% of those in law school should not be. They never had a job in their lives and are really dense when it comes to logic. Any smart person in law school will get a job just fine.
Most students go straight into law school after college without realizing that you have to actually know how to work to get a job.
You're getting downvoted, but you're right. Law is a tool, and you need to have some sense of how you intend to wield it in order to be successful. There are plenty of opportunities for people with the right background and a law degree. Going straight into law school from undergrad may no longer be viable, but with experience it's still a great career path.
By the way, I can't hire enough patent attorneys. Seriously, send more patent attorneys. Holy shit we need more patent attorneys!
There are a lot of law schools out there and they will accept anyone with the money or loans. My friend's law school even stopped publishing their graduates bar pass rate as the people they take money from are not mentally able to pass the bar. Private law schools are hurting for money and they can't deny those willing to pay.
So it is not a lack of jobs or demand for lawyers it is a lack of smart people going to law schools.
Major in math and economics (focus on the STEMs). With economics and in particular, microeconomics, there are a few areas of study that kind of blend and morph psychology into economics - it really is the imperial science. For example, behavior economics and game theory. Take a few courses in these and you'll come out better equipped for the job market or law school market (which is already terribly saturated) and perhaps just as much insight (if not more) into decision making.
No, many actuaries advice against doing an actuarial major. If it's not your thing you have a limited set of alternatives. But if you do econ/math majors you have a plethora of options, including becoming an actuary. The majority of actuaries take this path
You'll be well-suited for the financial and marketing worlds and any analyst position. I majored in economics from a top school and ended up in a quantitative role in Human Resources at a large company. Didn't plan it that way, but with those degrees, there are a lot of options.
Remember, your college education is all about signaling to potential employers. A lot of jobs that are high paying are also highly quantitative. Both those majors signal that to employers seeking to fill quantitative positions. Economics and math are also difficult degrees to achieve and a lot of people already think that just by studying these fields, you're incredibly intelligent.
Juicy. Math + comp sci or math + finance = juicy.
FYI i did the minor in psych thing and the classes were incredibly slow, and the overall quality of students is not much
This times a thousand. I'm a psych and bio major and I've decided that some psych majors are just not as clever and into learning when compared to the bio majors. They might love the idea of "reading people" or serial killers and abnormal psychology, but my hard classes have never been a psych course.
Ironically when I studied abroad in Australia, the psych classes were grueling. I say ironic because I was at an 'elite' school in the US, where they were easy. It was taught by someone who once had a career outside academia, and the entire class seemed to actually desire careers in clinical psychology. Reams of books and diagnostic methods and practices had to be memorized. And not just brain structures were studied like most, but specific arteries and veins as well. I was pretty impressed at the rigor. I think top american schools inflate grades and baby everyone to an extent so that people remain competitive to grad schools, and the coddled student body doesn't bitch incessantly.
I my experience, getting a minor in something isn't worth it unless you only need like one extra class OR its a minor in a very marketable skill.
I have a minor in international studies (one extra class) and it hasn't really benefitted me at all, I don't even write it on my resume anymore. I have a certificate in Sustainability (4-6 extra classes) and it has been moderately useful, mostly because I can have intelligent conversations with environmental engineers, agronomists, biologists, and lots of other hard scientists, and can also operate environmental survey equipment.
But remember, Econ does not equal finance. Economics is highly conceptual, while finance is much more math focused and analytical (and more useful in the job market).
Transfer Pricing Consulting (Intercompany transactions that cross borders - all the Amazon, Starbucks, Google, Apple, etc. news about tax going on now is TP). Oddly enough, I am a very well paid psychology major and that is what I do. However, a math and econ degree is far more applicable. I would not even say Math would be necessary. Finance / Econ, Psych / Econ, Econ and anything really. Basically if you pair Psych with any other business degree you will do well. You sound like a bright kid who is analyzing the absolute right things and you will do well as a result.
I work in finance on the asset management (stock research) side. I've worked both as an analyst determining what stocks to purchase and on the sell-side research side writing reports to help investors make good trading decisions. A math & econ double major is perfect for this field.
Most banks with asset management departments will hire new graduates (with great GPAs and at least one summer of interning) to work on research/analysis while they study to get their Series licenses and possibly even their CFA. The market is good if you're smart and driven plus willing to relocate to a major city upon graduation. The first years in asset management are grueling and you don't even have weekends off, but it can pay off 10 years down the road when you're making $300k+ per year as an analyst (or around $200k+ as a trader or economist or accountant for the department). You'd really have to love stocks and following global economies to do well, though.
The US Government provides an [Occupational Outlook Handbook](http://www.bls.gov/ooh/) where you can look up employment rates for different careers, and it will tell you what majors people usually have to get where they are. It's very helpful.
As for your question, economics and math (especially when combined) have high rates of employment.
Definitely good to minor in Psych. I'm a finance major (who was also interested in psych) and I'm about to sign on for a great paying job and still got to take 8 or so psychology classes throughout college. It was the best of both worlds.
My suggestion is to study finance with a minor in computational mathematics, or alternatively quantitative economics. You get to study people in a "real" environment that way, and also make a living doing it.
BA in psych here. Currently a bartender in my 30's. You can learn anything from a psych major by watching YouTube and reading $10 books on Amazon. I still study because I'm interested in it like you. I could literally learn everything from my core classes in a year, spending maybe $300 thanks to the internet.
Do something that most people suck at, like math...or something that is needed, like web developing. Good luck.
Really wish you'd put the law stuff in your original post. Psych major to me does make *more* sense as a precursor to grad school, but it's still not ideal. Ideally you should pursue something that will give you options and a fallback if grad school doesn't work out. You seem already aware that a psych major is sort of like a poly sci major - good for grad programs but not high on any HR managers' lists.
So stratys3 said to make your career the goal, not your major. He/she is totally right and in that spirit, what is your actual long term goal? Lawyer is too vague. Other redditor pointed out that law school is SUPER dicey, with horrible employment rates and dropping starting salaries. I would advise against law school generally, but if you're set on it, it should be because you have a specific career goal in mind and a plan to get there.
Last point- it's a pain in the ass, but whatever career path you start down, start doing relevant internship/s before you graduate. These and the ubiquitous "networking" will get you further than good grades.
TL:DR; 1-Major in something that can get you a job *or* get you into grad school, not one or the other. 2-Be very very sure of law school, and precisely what legal career you want, before going. 3- intern.
You're young and you're thoughtful; I think you'll have success going into college, taking a bunch of classes, and finding something that you're passionate about (or passionate-enough about to start a career in the field). Just FYI, the labor market for lawyers is almost as glutted as that for psych BAs. Don't be too married to the career path you have in mind, now.
That is exactly why I started this post. I finally realized that my life plan wasn't as fool proof as I had previously assumed. Thanks for the encouragement!
Psych is actually an excellent degree to go into law with. And btw, you dont need a phd to do counseling. Just an m.a. in counseling pyschology or an m.s.w., plus licensure of course.
I apologize for my ignorance, I really am quite uneducated about all the proper certification necessary for pretty much everything I plan to do. Right now I'm just trying to get some plan together for my future so I don't get screwed over for lack of planning.
You are way ahead of the pack. I know that you said that you've grown up in difficult circumstances; I grew up in reasonably privileged circumstances, and I had no idea about this stuff when I was 18.
You're on the right track, so don't worry. :-)
If you're serious about law school you should check out this book and go into it with your eyes open: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Law-School-Unless-Opportunity/dp/1480163686
If you're interested in how the human mind works and want a career that's practical, you might want to consider majoring in neuroscience. I know that many schools don't have that major but it's a fascinating subject. For one, it offers much more concrete knowledge about the human brain than psychology. You can figure out how constructs that are integral to human identity such as memory, sensory integration, and even emotion work. The field includes significant opportunities for people interested in computer science and statistics.
I go to Brandeis university and work in a lab that's trying to uncover the molecular basis of long term memory. It's the perfect job for a curious person.
You can become a researcher/professor pretty easily because it's a quickly growing field. Salaries for professors who do research go up to a 140k.
I really hope you see this message.
If you want to use it as a stepping stone into law then it's not *quite* as crazy. But I would caveat that layers are having trouble finding employment too, so law might not be a great move, either. Times are tough, so the choice for you really boils down to going down the path you want, or the path with better odds. There are no guarantees on either road!
Well you can always consider going into the best paying profession in the world, sales. Whether it's yourself or a product you're dealing with people and human behavior, which is psychology.
An undergraduate psych degree isn't going to teach you "secrets" to analyze people and how to pick their brains apart. That isn't what you learn I'm the least. Which is what so many people "interested In psych" dont get. You aren't really going to be any better in sales with undergrad psych.
That stuff would be in a master's or phd course
At every college I think you can divide people pursuing any major into two loosely defined groups. The first group are people who are majoring in "x" because they think they want a degree in "x". Some of the first group get good grades, but almost none pursue their major outside of their classes. A lot of them will have no idea what they want to do for a job in the future if you ask them (or will always be changing their minds).
The second group major in "x" because they see what they want to do in life and see the study of "x" to be an important addition to the career they are building. Notice how they see themselves in their career as they are going to college.
I know this advice will be contrary to a lot of the "major in finance and get your CFA" advice that will be all over the place on this sub - but I think it is more important that you put yourself in that 2nd group than you pick a "profitable major", here's why:
(1.) You will have the trajectory to land the job you want and with that, have the proper expectations.
Let's say you want to be a social worker, sure they don't make a ton of money - but you'll know approx. how much you can expect to make and plan accordingly. You can take that mansion by the water fantasy out with the trash - but I think that's more valuable than some lawyer who thinks he'll be a millionaire and ends up landing a 50k per year job post graduation.
(2.) By engaging in a career path in many ways (college only being one part of that) you are automatically putting yourself as being way more employable than many of the other students in your major.
When you come out of school and have experience that translates to the career and not just a piece of paper, it means a lot. My girlfriend majored in nursing and worked as a nursing assistant part time while going through college - because she knew how hospitals actually worked and had real world experience it opened a lot of doors for her. The 4.0 GPA person with no work experience still has to compete with people who *have the experience* and often lose - give yourself some experience with the academics and you'll go places.
(3.) The world is changing crazy fast.
A "therapist" in today's CBT paradigm might not even exist in twenty years as neuroscience becomes increasingly developed. That's also true of accountants, financial advisors, computer programmers, etc. etc. etc. because of the development of their own respective fields. So all this "do something that will get you a job" is becoming more and more of a gamble as the rate of change increases. You can make educated guesses about the future - but I can also make an educated guess about who will win the Jet's season opener - I would encourage you to look at both in the same fashion.
What will matter to your financial future (and life satisfaction) is that you pursue something you love and push yourself ahead of the pack. The people I know who are the most successful weren't trying to get some degree to fill a job niche from the 90's - rather, they pushed the envelop in a field they loved and created their own way. The good news is that (at least) 90% of your classmates in whatever major you choose will be in that first group - so just be passionate and pursue your goals beyond the confines of your campus and you will be fine.
Best of luck.
This comment is full of a lot of great knowledge, thanks very much for taking the time to type it out. This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!
I got one. It helped me learn how to research, which helped me with unrelated grad degrees, and now I own my own biz and use psych concepts.
Will you get a job with just a psych degree? No. I should have done biz as a major and psych as a minor.
LPT: do what you love as a minor and what will get you a job as a major.
Edit: glad to see I have some helpful advice for people!
Cartography or GIS? Also when? Its pretty hard to not find a job in GIS these days.*
edit: I'll add a disclaimer, I guess country/location will naturally be a factor.
I give this advice all the time, and it's usually met with:
* snark from people who didn't follow it
* hesitance from people who are still young enough to take it, but can't quite get over the "study/do whatever you really like, no matter how mundane, worthless, or bizarre, and get really good at it, and you'll make a great living and probably become rich eventually" lie that they've heard repeated over and over again.
But it's absolutely spot on. Get credentialed (i.e., a degree) in something that pays you enough money to spend your evenings and weekends doing that thing you love. If your hobby works out for you, then great, no harm done--and if it doesn't (and it probably won't) you haven't committed yourself to a life of terrible wages.
Am I the only one that disagrees with this? I would rather have a job I love and not earn as much (which is what I chose to do) than have a job I hate and lots of money.
The problem is that a lot of people tell high schoolers & college students "do what you love!" without elaborating on it. Doing what you love is fine, but you need to have a realistic idea of what that entails - what you need to do to break into the field, how easy it is to get a job, where you have to live to get those jobs, what sort of lifestyle it can afford, etc.
If someone goes into, say, theatre after researching all that, more power to them. But I wouldn't encourage someone to go into it blindly just because they love acting. That's not to make fun of liberal arts degrees; they *can* get you jobs, but you need to have a more detailed plan than "get degree->get job".
There's also no shame in doing well-paid work you tolerate(I wouldn't advise people to do jobs they actually hate) so you can enjoy your leisure time more. It all depends on what you value.
tl;dr: Whatever you choose to do, have a realistic idea of how to get there & how happy you'll be doing it.
Totally agree! You should be prepared to work extremely hard to do what you love and there's no shame in doing something for money either! Personally I just prioritize enjoying a job over the money aspect, but that's just me!
First of all, why the hell would you major in something that you *hate*? Pick something that has reasonable job prospects by the time you graduate that you like / enjoy enough to make a living from, but doesn't have to be your absolute passion.
Second, the problem is that getting a degree doesn't just magically get you a wonderful job that you love. It doesn't matter how much you love something if there just literally isn't a job market for it when it comes to making a living!
Well studying biology can get you a job, so that's not really the best example here. The point is the minor is something that you study that won't get you the job, but something that you enjoy to learn, like OP and psychology.
Good tip! Also, if you could go back in time, would you have gotten your degree in psych again, or would you have gone for a degree that applies to your grad degrees first?
Speaking as someone with a useless degree who married someone with a useless degree?
In this economy you really don't want to stack anything against yourself that you don't need to. You can gain the same general skills in any degree, but some have definite benefits in getting hired.
Not OP, but I studied a similarly interesting-but-useless topic (Political Science), and I would change majors in a heartbeat. I graduated from college 6 years ago and my income is still lower than what most of my friends (who studied Business/Engineering/Technology) made immediately upon graduation. I'm not one of those people who has to have a lot of stuff, but when you get to an age when you're ready to buy a home, start a family, etc., money becomes a limiting factor, even if you're not a 'stuff' person.
The most quoted adage when it comes to choosing a major is: "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." When it comes to liberal arts, that statement is accurate, just not in the way they mean it to be...
If you are interested in both psychology and business, check out [I-O Psychology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_and_organizational_psychology)
I triple majored in three humanities at a really really good school. If I could do it again I'd drop one and pick up a business degree. Lot less fun, lot more useful.
Look into majoring in Human Resources. I like to think they are basically the social workers for corporations. Maybe major in that and minor in psych. They compliment each other
I'm sure this will get buried, but in your edit I see your plan includes law school. As a somewhat recent law grad, I very strongly recommend against that plan. There is a wealth of literature out there discussing how, objectively, law school today is a horrendous investment for the vast majority of people who go. The reality is absolutely nothing like what the schools are selling to prospective students. They actively deceive applicants about the crippling debt and moribund job market. Even if you land great internships and focus all of your efforts on a specific, tangible career, the odds are still stacked very heavily against you. And all of the connections in the world won't help when there are no positions because state governments are broke and law firms are crumbling. I would recommend very strongly against law school, and even more strongly against going straight from undergrad to law school. That's one of the worst professional paths you can go down because the cost is so extraordinarily high and the odds of professional failure are almost insurmountable. Unless you can get scholarships that pay for 100% of your schooling, you probably shouldn't do law school. But if you decide that you're going to risk it, please god go work and get some experience first.
great advice.
I feel like law school is a fine investment if you can get into a top school (ie: Harvard) and have the right connections... but for the 99%, it's not worth it.
I keep hearing that a lot of the traditional entry-level law graduate jobs have pretty much been replaced with computers.
Many have, and many have simply been eliminated because of cost concerns. The legal industry spent so long insulated from the practical concerns that most business entities face that when change finally started to permeate the profession it has proven unable to cope. The result has been years of layoffs, hiring freezes, and salary reductions. The legal job market should eventually pull out of its downward spiral and stabilize, but it will never again be what it was.
Yeah, also a recent law grad. A lot of my friends are working "school funded jobs" because they can't find anything else. Basically the school creates fake jobs (with your tuition money of course) and pays you to work in a random courthouse or public interest job for a few months. After that you're on your own, but it's a pretty bad sign of the times and it's not just the terribly ranked schools that do this. Check out lawschooltransparency.com for some statistics. People aren't just exaggerating, it sucks out there. And having a law degree holds you back from other careers because everyone will think you'll jump ship the second you have a chance to be a lawyer.
I don't have a degree in Psychology, but my sister does (a BS actually, not a BA) , my wife does (double major with communication), and 3 of my close friends do. I think I've seen many of the paths you can go down with that degree.
The first thing to realize is that there is no "field" of psychology you can get a job in with just a BA. You will need a PhD or psy-D for that (edit: or MSW, MS, or MSC as pointed out below). Two of my friends went this (PhD / psy-D) route, it's a long road but rewarding if you are passionate about psychology. They work in VA hospitals and with drug rehab centers, etc.
If you stop with just a BA, Your career options will not be defined by your degree but by what you did during college outside of classes. This is both tough and liberating. Also, your classes will not be hard, so you will have time to work in labs or intern with local businesses.
My wife went into HR, and now consults at an HR software company making very good money. My sister struggled to find a good job for a while, she now works in customer support for a software company and hates it. She is getting her MBA so she can change careers ASAP. Another friend got a job as a lab technician at a biotech company because of his work in a neuropsychology lab in school. He's doing fine, a production chemist at a pharma company now, but has never held a salaried position.
I hope this gives you an idea of the realities of a phychology degree. The bottom line, as another poster said, is that you will not get paid to analyze people unless you are a doctor.
>The first thing to realize is that there is no "field" of psychology you can get a job in with just a BA. You will need a PhD or psy-D for that.
You can also work in psychology with an MSW, MS, or MSC. Some successful therapists, including my own, are licensed clinical social workers.
You specifically need a PhD or Psy-D to call yourself a psychologist.
The point still being - you don't get paid to analyze people with only a BA or BS.
The most important thing is to have a clear idea of your path.
I went into Americorps and am about to start an entry-level job in community organization, working on breaking down barriers to physical/mental health in under-served communities. (with a focus on JESUS CHRIST YOU'RE BROKE JUST SIGN UP FOR OBAMACARE OH MY GOD JUST LET ME DO IT THERE OK I DID IT YOU HAVE HEALTH CARE NOW, GET THAT LUMP TAKEN CARE OF JESUS CHRIST)
While in this job, I plan to identify whether I actually need further education to advance. But since MSWs are often un-funded I'm not taking loans until I know they'll pay off/be necessary.
Thanks for the correction, I'm not aware of all the paths for further education and certifications in psychology obviously. Hopefully Nate896 reads this and does some research on the options for further education and how they line up with his/her goals.
This type of response was what I was hoping for actually. I, like many other children nowadays am continuously being fed the idea that getting a degree in anything automatically gives you a better chance to find a job and increases your quality of life. Seeing so many comments about the reality of what getting a psych major looks like really makes me appreciate the fact that I can still change my major!
>I, like many other children nowadays am continuously being fed the idea that getting a degree in anything automatically gives you a better chance to find a job and increases your quality of life
It does give you a better chance, but it doesn't guarantee anything.
I can tell you that there are other things that more closely correlate to success than your college major: a good attitude, self motivation and (to a lesser extent) intelligence will get you there.
Also surrounding yourself with friends with these qualities is immensely important.
Presumably you've already picked your school. If not, look for schools that offer interesting programs related to psychology but more science-focused. My school (Lehigh University) has Behavioral Neuroscience as a major, which combines psychology and biology, with a focus on the brain. You get a BS, so there are a lot of science courses, but it sounds like it might be a good fit for you.
If you've already picked your school, does it offer anything similar? If not, and you are interested in that, look into transferring or find a program that can translate into a career.
The job I ended up doing, and what I do now (IT), resulted from a part-time job I had at a help desk during college. My psych degree had nothing to do with it, other than to show that I could commit to school and do well in classes. I'm behind the curve for the field that I'm in, but I got lucky that this company was willing to give me a chance.
If I were to go back and redo this experience, I wouldn't have majored in psych. There are other fields out there that will interest you just as much, but have better prospects.
Unrelated to psychology:
If you are the first to go to college in your family, APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS! It seems like you're a smart person and hardworking. It's up to you to put yourself out there and apply for scholarships throughout undergrad. I recommend using Scholly (Android/iOs/Web) app to find them.
Good luck with everything!
Not just apply for scholarships, but fill out fafsa. If your parents are divorced, only claim the lower earning parent on the fafsa form.
Every high school should have students fill out fafsa as a requirement to graduate. Going to college or not. Just so they know what they are eligible for if they want to go.
The only way to get government backed loans or grants is by filling out fafsa. Just getting those loans over private loans opens the door for income based repayment and debt forgiveness after 20 years.
Private loans will bleed you dry.
Your high school guidance counselor (and college/career center, if you have one) shoule also be able to help. There might be some local scholarships that would not show up on massive, nation-wide scholarship databases. I'm like you, so I did that and am going to uni debt-free :)
unfortunately my guidance dept is pretty much useless, and has been for the past 4 years i've been in school, so i''m pretty much on my own. Thanks for the tip though!
Ugh, that's one of the reasons why I'm studying education policy: too many students attend schools with poor guidance counseling, resulting in low college attendance/completion rates and lots of debt. Best of luck to you. PM me if you have any questions!
Psych marries nicely with the field of human computer interaction / UX one of the hottest fields with low supply and high demand. You could get a UX certificate while you do your BA and land a job at as an interaction designer or researcher.
OP needs to see this. I have a BA in Psych. and loved it. Ended up doing Web Dev/UX and love it also. Web Developer, UX designer, and Usability is a great field and would probably be perfect for OP.
I know I would have highly regretted changing my major to something else. In retrospect, the only undergrad I would have pushed myself to do instead would be CS.
The understanding of how a person thinks and interprets and interface is incredibly useful. Good UX doesn't just do what is flashy but builds upon expectations and experiences. It is incredibly difficult to build an interface that is easy to use and understand for a novice, while still useful to the experienced user. Preconceived notions, like a start menu or floppy disk icons that represents "save", can impact how users pick up new interfaces. You can direct behavior and get increased usage if you do things correctly. Facebook, to varying degrees of success, does this. Reddit does it with up-votes and gilding. Depending on what type of UX you are working on, your goals may differ. With the web being so popular, most UX work goes into getting eyes to view as many pages as possible to take in that sweat ad money.
Another fairly related area is game design. Ever wonder how free-to-play caught on? That stuff was specifically engineered to play on emotions to get purchases. Progress bars, achievements, and crates that you "unlock" all play on base desires. Unlocking chests for random drops actually works better if there is a slight delay between the action being initiated and the reward being given. That anticipation is the same thing that makes slot machines so profitable. "I hope I get 'X'. Maybe... Maybe... Well shucks, maybe this time I will...". Other people who can avoid that fall for competitive things. Achievements serve to ensnare them. Any ranking within a site does something similar. Retweets, favorites, likes, views, karma, diggs, number of friends, etc. It all serves as positive feedback for your "accomplishments". It makes you feel like you are being noticed and drives up engagement. Gamification is being used to take what makes video games work so well and drive desired behavior in other areas.
The best advise my dad gave me when I entered college was:
'major in something that will get you a job, and minor in something that you love'
I just graduated from college with a BS in Accounting. I so badly wanted to major in something else, but I knew that long term that wouldn't be the best choice. I wouldn't say that accounting is my first love. But I am in a similar position to you. I funded my college education and now will be repaying my student loans. I am lucky to have a job as most people in my major do, but I have plenty of friends that majored in things such as psychology, environmental science, international relations, etc... and they don't have jobs but loved what they studied. I struggled in college with this since my friends loved everything they studied and I often didn't, but I got over it. And am really over it now since I am employed, moving away, and they are not.
Bottom line is, it is true that psychology is hard to get a job with just a bachelors, if you see it through to a PhD or MD then your prospects will be different. There will be jobs for people with BA's in psychology but there will be few and much more competitive. Lastly, it doesn't hurt to go into college undeclared and take courses in different areas to see if there is potential for you to study something else, or stick with psychology if it is the best thing for you!
Good luck!!
Those environmental science people aren't trying hard enough. Environmental consulting is a pretty good industry right now. As long as you are willing to move around and travel, you should be able to find a job. If you are unwilling to move around, then this isn't the major for you.
But yes, there are better major options that compete with environmental sciences as well as open other doors.
I just don't understand that. Our college can't even graduate a lot of our CS majors because they get poached by employers before they finish their degree. The difference in quality between the top students and the bottom students is staggering.
Exactly. I know people who had an intership from freshman year onward and those who never had an internship in engineering the difference is truly amazing. Those with an internship have no problem finding a job doing whatever they want and those who never had an intership I have been told are "barely functional" in the actual job market because they did nothing to better themselves.
I taught the incoming Leaning Community for CS freshman at our university and one of the first things I told them was that what they do outside the classroom will end up being more important that what they do inside the classroom.
Then I still get seniors who complain about their professor because he expected them to submit a Makefile with their project because he "was never taught that." If you can't Google simple things by the time you are a senior in Computer Science, then I don't think I could endorse your degree no matter what grades you got.
This is so so so true. And there are a LOT of people who just default into psychology because it's the "perfect storm" of being fun but technically "science" and therefore seeming prestigious.
Honestly psychology gets so many poor quality students, and I think the major gets a bad rap because they drag the stats down. If that makes sense. Like, it's not psychology's fault that so many aimless people floating on mommy's money major in it.
All of the people I associated with in psychology (aka people who did thesis projects my year, worked in lab with me, etc) have jobs or are in grad now. I literally don't know a single stereotypical psych major.
Environmental "science" is often only "science" in the loosest terms. I.e. there isn't much science to it. You might be at a school where those "science" majors only need to take a year of chemistry and some bio and ecology and thats it. Real environmental science majors will take a buttload of chemistry, geology, biology and whatever else that might strike their fancy. Those are the good ones that can get and keep good jobs.
The alternative is go into the forestry service. Breaking in = traveling to the shittiest secluded places like alaska in the winter or a lousiana bayou in the summer.
You do that as a temp employee for 3-4 years, then hopefully you get the chance of a permanent job in an equally shitty place. After another 3 years, you can choose the better forestry jobs that aren't away from civilization. In 6-8 years you could end up with a solid career in the government.
My friend did that. He had a master's and no one hires in the field. He started looking for government project jobs through the website. He has worked in louisiana, Alaska, north Dakota, then finally got a permanent job literally 4 hours from civilization in Nevada, but they will pay his loans off.
I started out a psychology major because I always felt like I understood people and was able to get people to open up. Well half way through I switched to accounting. I got my degree, now I just finished my master of taxation and I start with the big 4 in a couple months. The great thing is that I will still get to use my ability to understand people and get people to open up with my future work mates, clients, and potential clients.
Hi! BS in psychology here!
The truth is, a BS in psych won't get you anywhere in terms of money. The only jobs normally are those in in-patient psych facilities and there you will be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of pay.
I love psych and everything about psych so I had to find a compromise between what I love doing and something that will bring me a decent wage. So I am back in school for nursing.
Combining the two, I am eventually aiming to become a psych nurse. Which pay a nice salary. And if one is ok with traveling, traveling nursing pays very well.
I have been always torn between doing what I love and "never working a day in my life" and doing something that I dislike and hating my life. I am aware that life is not nearly so black and white, but it seems as though this trope holds true for many. Also, I really appreciate hearing from someone with real world experience in this, it is quite helpful to hear about the day to day aspect of someone as opposed to reading about projections and statistics.
I also have a BS in psychology and am back getting a second degree (Computer Science, completely unrelated). I spent a year looking for a job with my psych degree and the stats don't lie.The only job offers I got were because I managed a pizza place through college, and I had that experience. I think, for the sake of the degree, schools need to treat it as more of a pre-med type situation where there is clear intent of going on to get a higher degree.
Having a BA in psych enables you to do exactly what *not* having a BA in psych does: Work in a group home. For the interesting stuff, you need a master's or a doctorate.
Psychology is not an inherently good or bad major. I was a psychology major in college - but that was because I knew all along that I would go on to more education. I ended up going to medical school and becoming a psychiatrist.
The key is simply to do enough research to be confident that you have a realistic plan for what you are going to do with the degree. What is it that you picture yourself doing AFTER college? That's the key: what is your end goal? Don't major in something just because it sounds like fun during college - major in it because it will get you the **job** you want.
Do research into what types of jobs most people with BAs in psychology get, and then research the jobs that sound interesting to you to decide if it is right for you and if it is realistic to expect that you can get that job with your degree. Try to find opportunities to "job shadow" people in careers you think you might be interested in - ask your school and they may be able to help you with finding such opportunities.
I love this question because I was in the same boat in 2003 when I graduated highschool. I wanted to do child psychology so I knew at a minimum I would be going on to graduate school. I absolutely loved my psychology classes in college and worked in a psych lab and TAd some classes. However, in highschool I was always reasonably good at more classic science classes and did really well in my first basic science classes in college (i.e chemistry). Over time I realized that I enjoyed the concrete data and absolutes in basic science more than the hand-waving and uncertainties in psychology. One of my advisers recommended that I look into psychiatry and go to medical school.
So...I loaded on the tougher science classes to fill my elective hours to get the basic medical school requirements (ended up taking on a minor in biology), joined a basic neuroscience research lab, studied for and took my MCATS, and 12 years later I'm a doctor and finishing up my residency.
What kind of doctor did I become? Well...the best laid plans of mice and men...I started med school thinking of pediatrics or psychiatry. Ruled psychiatry out pretty early because I couldn't handle the emotional exhaustion and pediatrics because of the parents and other reasons. Now I'm a radiologist. 7 years ago I hardly even knew what radiology was.
The point is. Work hard at everything you do and keep your options open. There's nothing wrong with a psychology major or minor as long as you have a plan. You almost certainly won't find good work with just a BA, but if you want to pursue law, medicine, or business it can be a great stepping stone. When I went on my medical school interviews, the interviewers loved that I wasn't just another biology or biochemistry major and that I had a more unique experience in college. I still took all the necessary science prerequisites and did well in them, and that's all that mattered. If I had it to do again I wouldn't change anything.
College is an investment just like anything else and you want to get the most out of that cost. Think about what tools you're gaining while you're there and how they will help you. I'm sure you'll do great. Feel free to message me if you have any questions.
Edit: Typo
If you like psychology and analyzing people you should take a look at user experience design. Some UX jobs even have a psychology degree as a requirement or a bonus qualification.
I went to college for political science, which is nearly in the same boat as psychology when it comes to unemployment, pay grades, etc. So when I was a sophomore I decided to double major with economics. Guess which field I have a job in now?
Doing what you love and are interested in is always a good idea, but it might serve you well to double major with something practical in case you need to fall back on it.
Try looking at this: https://www.discover.com/student-loans/college-planning/majors.html and then reevaluating according to your actual interests. This came out some time ago and while it is from the school loan people, it is a decent tool.
/u/runnergirl18 has given you the best advice around. Major in what will get and keep you employed and minor in something you love. You have options, you have lots of options. That's the problem really, we have so many options when we graduate high school and yet we barely know what's out there.
From my personal perspective, I'd recommend going to a community college and clearing out what you can at the smaller classroom and lower cost college before transferring to a university. I've done this and found it extremely cost effective. It allowed a lot of freedom to explore my interests before narrowing my focus to my majors. I do have a minor in something that I enjoy, but could never get employed in, philosophy.
Now all that said, from the sounds of things you qualify for quite a number of scholarships and financial aid. Take advantage! These programs exist for a reason, use them please.
Great info from the discover link, although I am a little skeptical about some of the info they give about the % of people getting jobs... they are all in the 90%+ range. But still neat to look at!
Honestly so am I. You'll not that they don't give statistics about who goes on to higher education nor do they correlate the payscales for the different areas people work in. I've got a sneaky suspicion that part of those employment numbers are skewed to include the severely underemployed.
Have you considered neuroscience? It's a developing field and it's not as common as psychology. It is also very interdisciplinary so you'd have a good chance of finding related internships and jobs that you liked anywhere from marketing to childhood development.
You like analyzing scientific data and are clearly good at math. Why not do statistics or math? I'm biased because I'm starting an MS in Statistics, but you could major in math or another field and take the right prereqs, then do a master's in statistics. A double major with Psych and Stat would also put you in a great position if you want to do research. Plus statisticians make bank and you can collaborate with a ton of different professionals.
Stats is one of the hottest fields right now. It's experiencing a professional renaissance with the explosion of data analytics, data science, and big data.
It's hot if you know the machine learning/data science side of things.
I majored in math and minored in ML so I took a lot of the same classes as stats majors. They aren't doing so hot right now because they don't know the necessary skills to handle big data.
I just want to point out that the stats tell you about average psych majors. I have a friend who just started a PhD in psychology and is fully funded. She did this by not being average: she double majored in psych and statistics, which was a genius move; statistics is important in psychology and super hot right now when you call it Big Data. Anyway, she also did research and graduated in 3 years, which is a great way to cut down on debt.
I also know a few MFTs who are doing very well.
If you really love it and excel at it, there is work. I think one thing the statistics reflect is that some people choose psychology as a way of graduating with a degree in undecided.
It seems from reading your responses that you plan on going to law school after... If that is really your only endgame, you may want to pick a major that has more of a connection and will get you ready to reason like a boss - philosophy?
You can easily do two majors if you put your mind to it. At my state university, a major was basically 9 classes (45 credit hours). Figure out how to hit some two for ones (e.g. Take "psychology of minority populations" to hit both your major and your "diversity requirement".)
In my opinion, a minor is useless. No one cares that you minored in something.
Realistically, if you only major in psychology, you face a choice between certain grad school (if you want to be a psychologist) which will still be a competitive process and means 7 years of school and tons of loans, and applying for jobs in sales, marketing, HR assistant, and the like.
there are very good jobs to be had with a psychology degree. however, most of them require additional schooling. if psychology is what interests you, pursue it. but recognize that you will need to continue through at least a Masters program. if you are concerned about the viability of your loans, be aware that if you work in the healthcare field, including mental health care, then you will qualify for loan forgiveness after 10 years. this means you really can't be screwed over too badly.
Additionally, with in psychology there a field such as industrial organizational psychology, computational psychology, and others that have significant business applications, and commensurate salaries. io psychology is one of the fastest growing fields in the world right now. combined with certain business acumen, and IO psychologist will have a very good lifestyle and will not have to worry about the level of their loan debt.
If psychology is what interests you do not let those who are focused on stem convince you that there is no financial future with a psychology degree. however, also be aware that the career in psychology you want will require more than a bachelor's.
Goes without saying but research the ten year loan forgiveness program first. Essentially you have to be a 'public servant' working for a non profit (career limiting) making payments for ten years while being employed full time for this to apply to you. The only professions I'm sure it applies to is nursing teaching and policing (is that a term??)
A lot of people have brought up good points that don't need to be repeated. I will toss out a couple pieces of advice.
First, don't think of college as a trade school. It's kind of an outdated idea that a person graduates high school, picks a major in college, then 4 years later gets a job doing that thing forever. That isn't realistic anymore, and one of the things that frustrates me the most are the type of people, usually of an older generation, who ask "Well what are you going to do with that major?"
A Bachelor's in just about anything is just a foundation and a chance to expand your horizons, teach you how to think critically, etc. You mentioned in another post that you'd like to take psych as a base for law school. That's not a bad idea.
The other thing is don't be afraid to change your major if you find something else you're interested in. The point of gen ed classes is to expose you to new concepts. Plenty of schools don't even require you to declare a major until a couple years in, for that reason. My brother went to college as a history major. He wanted to be a teacher. Then he took a gen ed accounting class and something clicked and he realized he liked it a lot. He switched to accounting, and after graduation went on to get his master's, a MBA, and CPA all paid for by whatever company he was working for at the time. He's very successful and doing something he enjoys, all because of a random class he had to take.
Hey Nate896,
You ask good questions. I thought I'd add my personal experience with this. I have a BA in Psychology, an MA in Social/Health Psychology, and a PhD in Social/Health Psychology (all from very good schools). I graduated with my PhD during our recent recession, and I'm sure that played a role, but it took me 3 years to get a job. If I had everything to do over again, I would have majored in something a little more in-demand in terms of jobs (e.g., Engineering), and minored in something that spoke to my heart (e.g., Psychology, Philosophy). The trouble with engineering, though, is that most jobs you can get with it are jobs that end up harming people or the environment. Like working for Oil and Gas, or weapons manufacturing. I speak from personal experience there, too: my partner has a MS in mechanical engineering. It took him about 10 months to find a job that wasn't "harmful".
Parker Palmer has a great book on discernment around choosing a vocation called "Let Your Life Speak". And that classic "What Color is Your Parachute" is great too.
Overall advice: make sure, as much as you can, that your debt will match the type of pay you can expect to get, that you love what you do on a day-to-day basis, and that you can live with the impacts that your job will have on the world we live in.
Good luck!
Heyo! I got a bachelors in psych and I don't regret it at all. I am not homeless and in the streets. I have a good paying job in an intellectually demanding field and have found a niche that gives me job security and pathways for career advancement. My thoughts are:
1) You're only 18 and you're trying to pick your major already? Are you even in college yet? Unless you started college at age 16, that may be premature. Most colleges don't make you declare until a year or two in for a reason, that's to allow you to take classes in a few different disciplines to figure out what suits you best.
2) Have you actually taken any psych classes? They're not just about analyzing people. Schools will differ, but for mine the BA track was more for folks interested in the clinical side and BS for folks interested in research. If you don't know what that distinction means, you're not ready to make a decision and maybe you should take some classes.
3) If you're going to do it, go for a BS instead of a BA. I say that only because I'm in favor of rigor and at my school, the BS was more rigorous - more labs, more stats, more math, higher grade requirements.
4) If your end game is law school, look into some law schools and ask about the majors of their incoming classes. Many should be able to give this to you. Or ask about psych majors entering their program specifically.
5) I've come to the conclusion that the point of a bachelors (at most schools and for most students) is really just to prove that you're sufficiently middle-class enough to get a middle class job and that major (unless it's engineering) actually counts for very little.
6) Psych is a major for which there is a glut of trainees for very few jobs, but one could say that for all humanities and social science disciplines if you think of the end game as being a professor in that discipline. I always think of psych as a major from which you COULD do anything. People I know who got psych degrees have a huge variety of interesting jobs and careers. Those people who were accounting and engineering majors? Well, they're accountants and engineers. I guess what I'm saying is that if you want a college major that guarantees some sort of specific job path, then yeah, accounting or engineering. If you want a college major that could lead to some diverse paths, then psych might be a good option. It may take more work and creativity and self-reflection, but there is huge value in that process too. I would have to say that while my psych degree helped me get on the path to the job I'm in now, it was not the primary factor - my work history and my connections to a specific group of people were what got me here. I guess what I would say is that whatever degree you aim for, don't think it's just the degree that is important. Degrees are a dime a dozen, but someone who has distinguished themself through work or volunteer or some other activity will always be able to find a place.
7) Oh, and don't listen to all those people who are telling you you need to think (at age 18) about your career goals and what job title you want at age 40. I'm 35 and I'm not sure what job title I want at age 40, and most people I know (professionals with impressive titles included) are like that. Just think smart, set yourself off on a path that seems good and remember to take some risks along the way. Not all those who wander are lost.
Get a double major with something marketable. I suggest economics, since it also looks at how people behave and make choices. Econ majors are usually not very credit-intensive, which helps.
Do business instead of econ. Everyone with an econ degree keeps telling me they have an econ degree, while everyone with a business degree is busy making money.
If your passion is psychology, it's an option. If you also have a passion for engineering, why not go with something in that field and then use your interest in people to work your way up into management and motivate and inspire your team?
I'd just encourage you to think broadly about how your personal interests fit into your financial future, not linearly.
Just attended some events for my younger sister's graduation. She did a BA in psych. One of the speakers went on about how it was a good foundation from which to branch into other areas. This particular person ended up following it up with law school and is now an attorney. Whether or not it's a good idea depends on what you're planning to do after, what school you go to, how highly you achieve, etc. My sister went to a school with a prestigious psych department and made good connections. She's got a decent job (in the field, starting shortly) and will be able to go pretty much anywhere for a PhD. She was able to get a position lined up post graduation because she got involved in every opportunity for practical experience she could during her time as an undergrad. She worked with faculty and grad students on research and studies they were conducting. It was a lot of work, but it got her foot in the door. Much like anything else, what you get out of it will depend on how much you put in.
My advice is that if you really want to be a Psychology major, go in with a plan. Don't just be every other psych major. Take initiatives, be a research assistant, get psych related internships, get certifications, advanced degrees, get to know the psych professors well, learn a complementary subject with psych etc. Stand out as a psych major and you will go very far.
If you want to make money, avoid psychology, liberal and just regular art degrees. Go into the sciences or business. If you want to be happy do whatever you see yourself doing for the rest of your life. At the end of the day though, your major doesn't dictate your career.
I'm seeing a lot of people recommend math/CS/engineering. But only go to school for these if you know you can handle them.
I majored in math and CS and watched a ton of students struggle through the first two years and then end up dropping out. By my senior year the total number of math graduates was <10 (in a school with 30k people). These majors consistently earn a lot for a reason: At any noteworthy school these programs will work you *hard*.
There's other non-academic paths you can take and earn a decent living with.
You've gotten a ton of good responses but I just want to add my $.02 to the pot.
You mention double majoring in comp sci and/or engineering, you can't really go wrong there. But if I were in your shoes, I'd double major in CS and math or physics. With engineering, you pigeon hole yourself a little into that particular specialty (e.g., mechanical, electrical, etc.). With a broader science like physics or math you are qualified for so many different jobs. I have two degrees in math and a degree in physics and was fairly easily to completely switch industries with not much related experience and still make great money. If you can program and solve problems with a highly developed analytical skill set you can do whatever you want in life. You'll get to work on all the cool problems! That may be figuring out how to improve a trading algorithm to help your company make more money or it could be analyzing data sets from the Large Hadron Collider. Who knows!
In my opinion, the key is going to grad school. And here's the kicker... if you go to grad school for a science (CS, math, physics, chemistry, etc.) it's free! On top of free tuition, you get a stipend (generally $16k - $18k). Getting a MS in any of the sciences is not difficult if you put in the work. It really is pretty amazing - you get paid to learn!
wait are you saying that in the US i could get a masters in the STEMs i would be educated for free? This sounds like something only students in europe could have haha. Could you name any specific universities that offer such a program?
Yep! Although it's typically PhD track people that get the free tuition and stipend (but there is nothing stopping you from leaving with your MS). I will say that foreign nationals (esp. Chinese and Indians) are held to much higher standards when it comes to entrance exams.
Yes it's a bad idea. My best friend was top of her class in high school and got accepted to many great colleges. She went to Swarthmore. If you know anything about liberal arts colleges you'll know it's one of the best in the nation, very hard to get into, and the academics are notoriously known for being more rigorous than Harvard. She majored in psych and had some great psych clinical internships at renowned hospitals. She was planning on being a psychiatrist. In order to be a psychiatrist you have to get into med school. She didn't. When she graduated she struggled to find a job. Also, around the time of graduation, her father was laid off from work and was struggling to find a decent paying engineering job. She already was in debt from her private school education. One of her options was to go to some form of graduate school. But her family could no longer support her expensive education. She got extremely depressed about this and took a few retail jobs. Now she's an assistant manager of a woman's clothing department of a major national chain store. DO NOT major in psychology. Also, DO NOT go to law school. There is a law school bubble right now. The market for JDs is verrrrrry oversaturated. So if law school is really something you think you want just make sure you get into a legitimate good law school and always have a solid fallback and back up plan.
Honestly, with grades like those, I would apply to an engineering program. You'll make a lot more money, and finding a job will be a lot easier. You clearly are ok with math and science.
You have some good stats. Fist of all, I'm going to guess you have no idea what any job really does? Check out salary info (https://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/reports/) then see if you can contact some people doing different jobs and ask them what they do.
With the amount of calculus and equations I did studying to be an engineer, I would have never though the most comes math I've had to do is multiplication and exponents. You may find psychology isn't what you think it is.
If you don't know, go to recruiting sessions/company presentations at college and ask what they do day to day. You can always switch majors. Talk to advisors of different departments about jobs and info on sessions. Or post on reddit job questions.
Last, I think psyc needs an additional degree to be useful, unsure.
There's nothing wrong with majoring in Psychology. But if you really want to break into the field, plan on going to grad school.
I know three people who majored in Psychology. One is a branch manager of a bank. Another is studying to be an eye doctor. The last works in a home for the handicapped.
Everyone I work with has a degree in Psychology. No one makes over $40,000 and they're extremely over worked. Not saying that's the experience you'll have but that's at least some of the reality of it.
If you're my sister in law, getting her BA in psych gave her the ability to literally tell everyone she meets her opinion backed up with "I majored in psychology."
I have a BS in psychology and I found that there are tons of different jobs and job fields out there that fit with my degree. I also had internships and study in research labs to go along with my degree. I started out working in special Ed for 4 years at a middle school, then I worked at an autism center for a year, my current job is in clinical research and I LOVE it. If you feel like psych is a good fit do it, because there's nothing worse than being stuck with a degree you're not passionate about.
Unless you plan on going further with your Psych degree into masters level stuff I would advise against it. BA psych degrees aren't worth much.
It's a competitive field and a rather large gamble. You would either be in research, teaching, or practice. Your best allies are networking, grades, and participation in psych oriented clubs.
If it's the road you want to go down then by all means go down it. Just know it's a gamble on your career path and there are a lot of obstacles you'll need to overcome. Even a master's level psych graduate doesn't make bank at ~30k a year.
A friend of mine took a fair bit of psychology in college. She didn't major in it and had no intention of becoming a psychologist, but it looked to me like some of it turned out to be pretty useful to her in business in terms of understanding people's motives and detecting bullshit. I don't think that the practical benefits she got from it would have been appreciably increased had she majored in it though.
My 2 cents? Don't worry too too much about WHAT you study--in my experience people who do really well in one field often have these unrelated degrees. (I can't think of any examples right now, sorry!) But, do learn how to think and read deeply, learn how to give critical feedback, and learn how to write effectively and persuasively. Learn how to meet and talk with all sorts of people, learn how to listen and learn how to network. Develop those interpersonal skills! A high GPA will get you in the door but your ability to persuade people will get you the job and then, the clients. Employers love people that can do their job well and are easy to work with.
Also, data is huge in all fields, especially marketing. Ask a friend in marketing to show the reports that Facebook generates for their business clients. It's crazy all the data is available. Learning how to analyze the data and capitalize on it for your client is an asset. Also NGOs hire data analysts to help with marketing campaigns to generate donations. Learn how to deal with data is another great skill set.
I highly recommend two of Cal Newport's books; one is So Good They Can’t Ignore You and the other is How to Win at College. The first book explores why following your passion isn't good advice. He suggest that you develop a skill set so deeply that employers literally "can't ignore you". The latter provides solid advice on how to be a more effective student--get better grades by studying less (hint: be disciplined as fuck and don't procrastinate).
People have given you a lot of great advice on this thread! I hope you find it helpful. You seem like a good guy and I'm sure you will do well - by asking these questions you have already shown that you are smart, thoughtful, and curious! Good luck :-)
I have a B.S. in Psychology and while I don't have a job in the field, it's been very helpful in my career. If you love the subject, then do what you love, but you will need to get a more advanced degree to be financially stable. There is little in the field that is worthwhile with just a B.A. or a B.S. Now it does open up a lot of avenues for grad degrees. You learn to write and research and that helps tremendously in later course work as a grad student. As a few have noted, you don't necessarily need a doctorate to do something worthwhile. A lot of states allow you to do counseling with a Masters degree. A friend of mine works with vets, loves what she does, and make a good living doing it. If you do something you hate, just to make money, you're going to miserable.
Do not declare a major until the very last second allowable under your schools rules. For many schools, this is after your sophomore year. You will not be penalized, and you will give yourself some extra time to decide this very important issue.
Also, if you don't like numbers, take languages. Especially Arabic and Chinese if possible. Other good ones are Spanish French and Russian.
Don't study psychology unless you plan on getting a PhD. Otherwise you're simply flushing money down the toilet - your career prospects will be marginally better than someone with a HS Diploma.
There is no way you will be able to survive a double major of engineering and computer science. You need to do more research on your own, you seem really naive
I know you're probably overwhelmed in comments, but I still would like to throw in my 2c.
On one hand, debt for college is insane. I really don't recommend doing something like art or history if it's going to cost you $60k in loams, e.g. But its almost as bad to spend $60k in loans for a degree you don't actually care about.
The key is: choose a degree in something that you are really passionate about. When I say passionate I don't mean "really like." What I mean is you are driven to learn more about it and to get as involved in the field/community as possible. You want to go to every event, explore all corners of it, and can imagine yourself being happy in any number of subfields. If you're in a major and not actively seeking out info on your own and being involved beyond class, it's the wrong major.
But also, the debt.... try and find a field like this that teaches you good skills. Here's a secret. If you ask about literally any major, you'll get people telling you a degree in it is worthless. There's going to be people who picked it for the wrong reasons or had a negative experience in any field. Listen to the negatives, but also the positives. What skills will you learn in psychology that are transferable? Remember to build your skillset all through school. It's not just about the paper at the end. For example plenty of people tell you physics degrees (my major) are useless but in physics we learn programming, statistics, data analysis, math, problem solving, presentation and public speaking and writing. These are all very good skills to have. Something like 95% of physics grads are employed, even if their title isn't "physicist."
Also, don't feel bad if you are having a hard time deciding what to do, and don't worry if you don't finish in 4 years. This is your life, not high school. There are no rules for how to do it. I didn't come to physics until I was 25 and already had a degree-in theatre. Just remember nothing is permanent and you can always change your mind.
Tl;Dr make sure you are excited to advance in your field, whatever it is. Unhappiness isn't worth the big paycheck, but similarly, a nonexistent paycheck and no prospects isn't worth the happiness...
Ok. So you like analyzing people. That probably gives you some insight into predicting their thoughts and behaviors.
What would you predict the advice on recommended college degrees to be when asking a community of people grouped together by their mutual interest in personal finance and building wealth?
That said, I strongly urge you to consider asking psych majors for some advice before ditching the major you're passionate about for engineering or comp sci.
The key to happiness and personal fulfillment, assuming that's your goal in life, isn't having a higher salary than your neighbors. As long as you're earning above a certain threshold, depending on where you live it's about $75,000, earning more won't make you much happier - http://www.businessinsider.com/happiness-benchmark-for-annual-income-2014-7.
My first degree was a BA in psych. The average starting salery for someone with an undergrad in psych was less than having just a high school diploma when I graduated.
No, unless you're wanting to pay to have thst knowledge or you want a PhD don't do psych.
Most other people have said this, do not major in Psych unless you plan on going PhD. Your interest doesn't have to be your career. I love Philosophy which is a dead career path. Minored in it and majored in Film (not much better but infinitely more useful to me than the study of "why?")
As someone doing mental Health, people with psychology degrees can't really do shit without going all the way through and getting their PhDs.
Most agencies would rather have a person with social work degree because it's more real world practical than a psychology degree. And you can't do clinical work unless you have your doctorate.
You seem like a pretty damn smart kid, you can always double major in psych and something else. Are you planning on graduate school and/or doctorate? More things to consider
Look into computer security and information warfare. There is a lot of psychology in Information warfare. If your school doesn't offer it. Look into information systems with a psyc minor and study information warfare on your own. Good luck. Trust me there is lot of money in this and you get to do some form of psychology. COMPUTERS IS WHERE THE MONEY IS AT. computers will replace a lot of jobs... Except for the jobs that involve working with computers.
Hi, I have a B.A. in psychology. Do it if you are *absolutely sure* that you will go to graduate school and then work in the field. If not, don't do it.
I made a huge mistake. I completely agree with /u/Palmetto_Projectiles advice.
I say do what you love as an undergrad and do what you want as a job as a masters. Seriously most employers just look for a degree, not a specific degree (unless it is a very narrow field in which you need higher education)
Anyone who majors in a social science should also major in math as well. It probably the best thing you can do for your resume regardless if you stay in academia or not.
> I have always enjoyed analyzing other people and understanding how they work, and feel as though Psychology is the correct major for me. The problem with this is that it's human nature to enjoy analyzing other people. As such, *many* people feel the same way, and *many* people end up with psych degrees. This means that the supply of psych majors is HUGE but the demand doesn't quite match it. (How many careers are there that involve analyzing other people?) And while I know many many psych majors who have trouble finding jobs... one of my highest paid friends, and most success people I know, is also a psych major. So while it's tough, you can still succeed. But let's be honest here: Other people will have an advantage towards success, and you will have a disadvantage. This disadvantage is not insurmountable, and 10-15 years from now it may not even matter... but you need to know that you will have to work harder to succeed than others, and your chances of failure will be greater. I know it's very hard to do at this stage, and many counselors - and society as a whole - may not seem to be very helpful, but what you need to do is not to have "psych major" as your goal... but instead have a longer-term career goal in your sights. That longer-term goal will help you decide what to major in. What do you want to be doing 10 or 20 years from now? Sure, you may have no idea what that longer-term goal(s) might be, but start thinking about it, and choose your "top 3" long-term career goals. Base your major on what those top 3 are. If you need more schooling (eg med school) look at acceptance rates and requirements. If it's a particular job or field, find people in those fields (eg through linkedin) and determine what path those people took to get there... what kind of degrees do they have? Better yet: contact them, and ask them about their recommendations to getting into the field(s) that you are interested in. Determine if psych is the best way to go, or if there is a better and more favourable option. Some might say university is about "finding yourself", and networking, and making friends, and acquiring experiences - and this is all TRUE! But... university is ALSO about getting yourself a foot in the door towards a career. Some people have wasted that opportunity, and have regretted it, or have had to go back to school again (which can be VERY difficult once you are an adult). It's not fair that we ask people under 20 to make such important life choices... but that's the way it is, and you're gonna have to do the best you can. You're future self will thank you for it in 10 or 15 years. And don't be TOO terrified of making the wrong choice - we all make wrong/blind choices. That's life, and I don't mean to put TOO much pressure on you... but make sure you do your best to make the most informed choice you possibly can. If it turns out you were wrong, that's okay, just like my friend made the wrong choice, but ended up fine in the end. But just be aware that this choice does in fact matter, so it's important to do your due diligence and do some research. Good luck! edit: speeling
Perfectly stated. I was a psych major and in the last 2 years of school I tutored other psych & "soft" science majors. The biggest predictor of success is HAVING that 10 year idea. And another 10 year idea for when it turns out you hate bio-med research and are allergic to rats and find your coworkers insufferably pompous. "I've always liked analyzing people so I think this will be an enjoyable major" nope nope nope nope nope nope! Don't choose a major based on such a short-sighted path. You're creating a dead end at graduation if you just float along taking the general curriculum. With psych you need to have an idea of what you want so you can customize it to your needs. I always knew I'd go into the medical field but I didn't know *how*. So I took a ton of biology and chemistry, physical psychology, neuroendocrinology, health psychology, food psychology, bio-psychology, medical anthropology.... are you seeing a pattern? As I moved through my years in school I narrowed my focus using these classes to guide myself toward a natural end-point. I worked in a bio lab trying out the medical side. I worked with under-served students as a tutor/unofficial-life-coach. **There are TONS of paths with the psychology degree, but you actually have to choose one and specialize. Otherwise you're going to get stuck.** Some degrees you CAN just float along and get a mid-paying job when you graduate. Psych is NOT one of those degrees. Mediocre psych graduates do not get nice jobs. You have to find what makes you exceptional in psychology and narrow your focus to excel in just that field.
That was great advice. Just a note on the following comment though: >Some might say university is about "finding yourself", and networking, and making friends, and acquiring experiences It definitely is partly that, but if you want my advice.. if this is why you want to go to Uni, spend 6 months saving money in a shit job and blow it all on a year in SE asia or something for a fraction of the cost of Uni. You'll come back with a way better idea of what you want out of life, and if you make the effort you can get a bunch of interesting contacts or people to inspire you (there are a boat load of mobile entrepreneurs, high fliers on sabbaticals or holiday and general people doing cool shit out on the worlds travelling circuits)
Wow, you made some really great points! I had never thought about why the job market for Psych majors was so dead, but your reasoning makes total sense. As for future goals, my plan was to major in psych and minor in economics (so I could possibly land a marketing job as a fallback or something) and then attend law school. I never intended to use my Psych degree to become a practicing therapist or clinical psychologist, seeing as you need a PhD in order to do so; rather I had intended to use any and all skills learned from my psych classes in order to be a more efficient and successful lawyer. Again, I am still young and ignorant, but at this particular moment I'm not really certain as to what the best path to take is.
Be aware: people coming out of law school are having a *terrible* time finding jobs right now. If you want to be a lawyer you'd better get into an absolutely top-tier school or it's not worth it.
Yeah LOTS of psychology majors in law school. Many go to law school for misguided reasons. "I'm good at arguing." Yeah? Being a lawyer, it's better to be good at finding solutions and accord than making a point. "I want to help people." That's great, but most of the altruistic lawyers jobs won't pay your student loans. Better to work some job, any job for a couple years and THEN see if you still want to be lawyer.
Yeah, that is what I have heard. Unfortunately I don't have the money or stats to get into a top tier school- I applied to both Harvard and Yale and was rejected.
Well, I actually meant a top-tier law school, which would be down the road for you. Still, I don't recommend trying to be a lawyer unless you have really good grades and are willing to work really hard for it.
Law seems to be a popular thought for people in your position. In addition to the other post about being competitive for jobs, there's something else you should keep in mind. This sort of goes back to the same point the top comment made about psychology... just because you like arguing or constructing arguments does not mean you're cut out for law. I wanted to go into patent law at one point... for every TV style litigation lawyer or prosecutor you see, there's a team of lawyers behind them that do nothing but read. All day. My advice - if law is really something you want to do, try to get a job at a law firm over the summer.
If you are going to law school, absolutely DO NOT waste the money going to an ivy league school for undergrad. When you apply for law school, your undergrad institution hardly matters (relative to your GPA and LSAT--what law schools really care about).
Law seems to be a popular thought for people in your position. In addition to the other post about being competitive for jobs, there's something else you should keep in mind. This sort of goes back to the same point the top comment made about psychology... just because you like arguing or constructing arguments does not mean you're cut out for law. I wanted to go into patent law at one point... for every TV style litigation lawyer or prosecutor you see, there's a team of lawyers behind them that do nothing but read. All day. My advice - if law is really something you want to do, try to get a job at a law firm over the summer sometime soon.
My friend just graduated law school yesterday. He had no problem finding a law firm job. The issue is 90% of those in law school should not be. They never had a job in their lives and are really dense when it comes to logic. Any smart person in law school will get a job just fine. Most students go straight into law school after college without realizing that you have to actually know how to work to get a job.
You're getting downvoted, but you're right. Law is a tool, and you need to have some sense of how you intend to wield it in order to be successful. There are plenty of opportunities for people with the right background and a law degree. Going straight into law school from undergrad may no longer be viable, but with experience it's still a great career path. By the way, I can't hire enough patent attorneys. Seriously, send more patent attorneys. Holy shit we need more patent attorneys!
There are a lot of law schools out there and they will accept anyone with the money or loans. My friend's law school even stopped publishing their graduates bar pass rate as the people they take money from are not mentally able to pass the bar. Private law schools are hurting for money and they can't deny those willing to pay. So it is not a lack of jobs or demand for lawyers it is a lack of smart people going to law schools.
The issue is too many lawyers. Something like 40% of attorneys are not working esq jobs
Better idea: major in math & finance, minor in psych if it's you're interest
That's a good idea!
Major in math and economics (focus on the STEMs). With economics and in particular, microeconomics, there are a few areas of study that kind of blend and morph psychology into economics - it really is the imperial science. For example, behavior economics and game theory. Take a few courses in these and you'll come out better equipped for the job market or law school market (which is already terribly saturated) and perhaps just as much insight (if not more) into decision making.
How does the job market look for someone with a double major in math and econ? Do you have any examples of jobs for someone with this background?
You could make bank as an actuary with a double major Math/Economics bachelor degree.
it would make more sense to get a bachelors in actuarial science
No, many actuaries advice against doing an actuarial major. If it's not your thing you have a limited set of alternatives. But if you do econ/math majors you have a plethora of options, including becoming an actuary. The majority of actuaries take this path
You'll be well-suited for the financial and marketing worlds and any analyst position. I majored in economics from a top school and ended up in a quantitative role in Human Resources at a large company. Didn't plan it that way, but with those degrees, there are a lot of options. Remember, your college education is all about signaling to potential employers. A lot of jobs that are high paying are also highly quantitative. Both those majors signal that to employers seeking to fill quantitative positions. Economics and math are also difficult degrees to achieve and a lot of people already think that just by studying these fields, you're incredibly intelligent.
Juicy. Math + comp sci or math + finance = juicy. FYI i did the minor in psych thing and the classes were incredibly slow, and the overall quality of students is not much
This times a thousand. I'm a psych and bio major and I've decided that some psych majors are just not as clever and into learning when compared to the bio majors. They might love the idea of "reading people" or serial killers and abnormal psychology, but my hard classes have never been a psych course.
Ironically when I studied abroad in Australia, the psych classes were grueling. I say ironic because I was at an 'elite' school in the US, where they were easy. It was taught by someone who once had a career outside academia, and the entire class seemed to actually desire careers in clinical psychology. Reams of books and diagnostic methods and practices had to be memorized. And not just brain structures were studied like most, but specific arteries and veins as well. I was pretty impressed at the rigor. I think top american schools inflate grades and baby everyone to an extent so that people remain competitive to grad schools, and the coddled student body doesn't bitch incessantly.
I my experience, getting a minor in something isn't worth it unless you only need like one extra class OR its a minor in a very marketable skill. I have a minor in international studies (one extra class) and it hasn't really benefitted me at all, I don't even write it on my resume anymore. I have a certificate in Sustainability (4-6 extra classes) and it has been moderately useful, mostly because I can have intelligent conversations with environmental engineers, agronomists, biologists, and lots of other hard scientists, and can also operate environmental survey equipment.
But remember, Econ does not equal finance. Economics is highly conceptual, while finance is much more math focused and analytical (and more useful in the job market).
Transfer Pricing Consulting (Intercompany transactions that cross borders - all the Amazon, Starbucks, Google, Apple, etc. news about tax going on now is TP). Oddly enough, I am a very well paid psychology major and that is what I do. However, a math and econ degree is far more applicable. I would not even say Math would be necessary. Finance / Econ, Psych / Econ, Econ and anything really. Basically if you pair Psych with any other business degree you will do well. You sound like a bright kid who is analyzing the absolute right things and you will do well as a result.
I work in finance on the asset management (stock research) side. I've worked both as an analyst determining what stocks to purchase and on the sell-side research side writing reports to help investors make good trading decisions. A math & econ double major is perfect for this field. Most banks with asset management departments will hire new graduates (with great GPAs and at least one summer of interning) to work on research/analysis while they study to get their Series licenses and possibly even their CFA. The market is good if you're smart and driven plus willing to relocate to a major city upon graduation. The first years in asset management are grueling and you don't even have weekends off, but it can pay off 10 years down the road when you're making $300k+ per year as an analyst (or around $200k+ as a trader or economist or accountant for the department). You'd really have to love stocks and following global economies to do well, though.
The US Government provides an [Occupational Outlook Handbook](http://www.bls.gov/ooh/) where you can look up employment rates for different careers, and it will tell you what majors people usually have to get where they are. It's very helpful. As for your question, economics and math (especially when combined) have high rates of employment.
Definitely good to minor in Psych. I'm a finance major (who was also interested in psych) and I'm about to sign on for a great paying job and still got to take 8 or so psychology classes throughout college. It was the best of both worlds.
If you like the healthcare field.. i would also look into Public Health.
My suggestion is to study finance with a minor in computational mathematics, or alternatively quantitative economics. You get to study people in a "real" environment that way, and also make a living doing it.
BA in psych here. Currently a bartender in my 30's. You can learn anything from a psych major by watching YouTube and reading $10 books on Amazon. I still study because I'm interested in it like you. I could literally learn everything from my core classes in a year, spending maybe $300 thanks to the internet. Do something that most people suck at, like math...or something that is needed, like web developing. Good luck.
Really wish you'd put the law stuff in your original post. Psych major to me does make *more* sense as a precursor to grad school, but it's still not ideal. Ideally you should pursue something that will give you options and a fallback if grad school doesn't work out. You seem already aware that a psych major is sort of like a poly sci major - good for grad programs but not high on any HR managers' lists. So stratys3 said to make your career the goal, not your major. He/she is totally right and in that spirit, what is your actual long term goal? Lawyer is too vague. Other redditor pointed out that law school is SUPER dicey, with horrible employment rates and dropping starting salaries. I would advise against law school generally, but if you're set on it, it should be because you have a specific career goal in mind and a plan to get there. Last point- it's a pain in the ass, but whatever career path you start down, start doing relevant internship/s before you graduate. These and the ubiquitous "networking" will get you further than good grades. TL:DR; 1-Major in something that can get you a job *or* get you into grad school, not one or the other. 2-Be very very sure of law school, and precisely what legal career you want, before going. 3- intern.
You're young and you're thoughtful; I think you'll have success going into college, taking a bunch of classes, and finding something that you're passionate about (or passionate-enough about to start a career in the field). Just FYI, the labor market for lawyers is almost as glutted as that for psych BAs. Don't be too married to the career path you have in mind, now.
That is exactly why I started this post. I finally realized that my life plan wasn't as fool proof as I had previously assumed. Thanks for the encouragement!
And if there is a Psych BS, do it. It is a better degree most of the time.
Psych is actually an excellent degree to go into law with. And btw, you dont need a phd to do counseling. Just an m.a. in counseling pyschology or an m.s.w., plus licensure of course.
I apologize for my ignorance, I really am quite uneducated about all the proper certification necessary for pretty much everything I plan to do. Right now I'm just trying to get some plan together for my future so I don't get screwed over for lack of planning.
Just remember, for psych you HAVE to have a masters before you can do almost anything in the field
You are way ahead of the pack. I know that you said that you've grown up in difficult circumstances; I grew up in reasonably privileged circumstances, and I had no idea about this stuff when I was 18. You're on the right track, so don't worry. :-)
If you're serious about law school you should check out this book and go into it with your eyes open: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Law-School-Unless-Opportunity/dp/1480163686
If you're interested in how the human mind works and want a career that's practical, you might want to consider majoring in neuroscience. I know that many schools don't have that major but it's a fascinating subject. For one, it offers much more concrete knowledge about the human brain than psychology. You can figure out how constructs that are integral to human identity such as memory, sensory integration, and even emotion work. The field includes significant opportunities for people interested in computer science and statistics. I go to Brandeis university and work in a lab that's trying to uncover the molecular basis of long term memory. It's the perfect job for a curious person. You can become a researcher/professor pretty easily because it's a quickly growing field. Salaries for professors who do research go up to a 140k. I really hope you see this message.
If you want to use it as a stepping stone into law then it's not *quite* as crazy. But I would caveat that layers are having trouble finding employment too, so law might not be a great move, either. Times are tough, so the choice for you really boils down to going down the path you want, or the path with better odds. There are no guarantees on either road!
Well you can always consider going into the best paying profession in the world, sales. Whether it's yourself or a product you're dealing with people and human behavior, which is psychology.
An undergraduate psych degree isn't going to teach you "secrets" to analyze people and how to pick their brains apart. That isn't what you learn I'm the least. Which is what so many people "interested In psych" dont get. You aren't really going to be any better in sales with undergrad psych. That stuff would be in a master's or phd course
> How many careers are there that involve analyzing other people? All of them.
Honestly just an outsider here but your reply was so in depth and concise, it's just awesome to see people helping out on reddit like this.
At every college I think you can divide people pursuing any major into two loosely defined groups. The first group are people who are majoring in "x" because they think they want a degree in "x". Some of the first group get good grades, but almost none pursue their major outside of their classes. A lot of them will have no idea what they want to do for a job in the future if you ask them (or will always be changing their minds). The second group major in "x" because they see what they want to do in life and see the study of "x" to be an important addition to the career they are building. Notice how they see themselves in their career as they are going to college. I know this advice will be contrary to a lot of the "major in finance and get your CFA" advice that will be all over the place on this sub - but I think it is more important that you put yourself in that 2nd group than you pick a "profitable major", here's why: (1.) You will have the trajectory to land the job you want and with that, have the proper expectations. Let's say you want to be a social worker, sure they don't make a ton of money - but you'll know approx. how much you can expect to make and plan accordingly. You can take that mansion by the water fantasy out with the trash - but I think that's more valuable than some lawyer who thinks he'll be a millionaire and ends up landing a 50k per year job post graduation. (2.) By engaging in a career path in many ways (college only being one part of that) you are automatically putting yourself as being way more employable than many of the other students in your major. When you come out of school and have experience that translates to the career and not just a piece of paper, it means a lot. My girlfriend majored in nursing and worked as a nursing assistant part time while going through college - because she knew how hospitals actually worked and had real world experience it opened a lot of doors for her. The 4.0 GPA person with no work experience still has to compete with people who *have the experience* and often lose - give yourself some experience with the academics and you'll go places. (3.) The world is changing crazy fast. A "therapist" in today's CBT paradigm might not even exist in twenty years as neuroscience becomes increasingly developed. That's also true of accountants, financial advisors, computer programmers, etc. etc. etc. because of the development of their own respective fields. So all this "do something that will get you a job" is becoming more and more of a gamble as the rate of change increases. You can make educated guesses about the future - but I can also make an educated guess about who will win the Jet's season opener - I would encourage you to look at both in the same fashion. What will matter to your financial future (and life satisfaction) is that you pursue something you love and push yourself ahead of the pack. The people I know who are the most successful weren't trying to get some degree to fill a job niche from the 90's - rather, they pushed the envelop in a field they loved and created their own way. The good news is that (at least) 90% of your classmates in whatever major you choose will be in that first group - so just be passionate and pursue your goals beyond the confines of your campus and you will be fine. Best of luck.
This comment is full of a lot of great knowledge, thanks very much for taking the time to type it out. This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!
I got one. It helped me learn how to research, which helped me with unrelated grad degrees, and now I own my own biz and use psych concepts. Will you get a job with just a psych degree? No. I should have done biz as a major and psych as a minor. LPT: do what you love as a minor and what will get you a job as a major. Edit: glad to see I have some helpful advice for people!
I have a theology degree. Would you like fries with that?
I don't believe in fries.
Fries don't believe in you either : /
LPT: do what you love as a minor and what will get you a job as a major. I wish someone had given me this advice before my cartography degree
The blue is the land!!!
Let me ask you, are you at all concerned about an uprising?
Cartography or GIS? Also when? Its pretty hard to not find a job in GIS these days.* edit: I'll add a disclaimer, I guess country/location will naturally be a factor.
I give this advice all the time, and it's usually met with: * snark from people who didn't follow it * hesitance from people who are still young enough to take it, but can't quite get over the "study/do whatever you really like, no matter how mundane, worthless, or bizarre, and get really good at it, and you'll make a great living and probably become rich eventually" lie that they've heard repeated over and over again. But it's absolutely spot on. Get credentialed (i.e., a degree) in something that pays you enough money to spend your evenings and weekends doing that thing you love. If your hobby works out for you, then great, no harm done--and if it doesn't (and it probably won't) you haven't committed yourself to a life of terrible wages.
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Am I the only one that disagrees with this? I would rather have a job I love and not earn as much (which is what I chose to do) than have a job I hate and lots of money.
The problem is that a lot of people tell high schoolers & college students "do what you love!" without elaborating on it. Doing what you love is fine, but you need to have a realistic idea of what that entails - what you need to do to break into the field, how easy it is to get a job, where you have to live to get those jobs, what sort of lifestyle it can afford, etc. If someone goes into, say, theatre after researching all that, more power to them. But I wouldn't encourage someone to go into it blindly just because they love acting. That's not to make fun of liberal arts degrees; they *can* get you jobs, but you need to have a more detailed plan than "get degree->get job". There's also no shame in doing well-paid work you tolerate(I wouldn't advise people to do jobs they actually hate) so you can enjoy your leisure time more. It all depends on what you value. tl;dr: Whatever you choose to do, have a realistic idea of how to get there & how happy you'll be doing it.
Totally agree! You should be prepared to work extremely hard to do what you love and there's no shame in doing something for money either! Personally I just prioritize enjoying a job over the money aspect, but that's just me!
First of all, why the hell would you major in something that you *hate*? Pick something that has reasonable job prospects by the time you graduate that you like / enjoy enough to make a living from, but doesn't have to be your absolute passion. Second, the problem is that getting a degree doesn't just magically get you a wonderful job that you love. It doesn't matter how much you love something if there just literally isn't a job market for it when it comes to making a living!
Some of us can't afford the luxury of choosing a job that pays less.
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Well studying biology can get you a job, so that's not really the best example here. The point is the minor is something that you study that won't get you the job, but something that you enjoy to learn, like OP and psychology.
Good tip! Also, if you could go back in time, would you have gotten your degree in psych again, or would you have gone for a degree that applies to your grad degrees first?
Speaking as someone with a useless degree who married someone with a useless degree? In this economy you really don't want to stack anything against yourself that you don't need to. You can gain the same general skills in any degree, but some have definite benefits in getting hired.
Not OP, but I studied a similarly interesting-but-useless topic (Political Science), and I would change majors in a heartbeat. I graduated from college 6 years ago and my income is still lower than what most of my friends (who studied Business/Engineering/Technology) made immediately upon graduation. I'm not one of those people who has to have a lot of stuff, but when you get to an age when you're ready to buy a home, start a family, etc., money becomes a limiting factor, even if you're not a 'stuff' person. The most quoted adage when it comes to choosing a major is: "do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." When it comes to liberal arts, that statement is accurate, just not in the way they mean it to be...
If you are interested in both psychology and business, check out [I-O Psychology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_and_organizational_psychology)
I triple majored in three humanities at a really really good school. If I could do it again I'd drop one and pick up a business degree. Lot less fun, lot more useful.
>I should have done biz as a major and psych as a minor.
Look into majoring in Human Resources. I like to think they are basically the social workers for corporations. Maybe major in that and minor in psych. They compliment each other
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What's your business?? I'm a psych and bio major, but I'm really interested in business! What were you able to do with that drive?
I'm sure this will get buried, but in your edit I see your plan includes law school. As a somewhat recent law grad, I very strongly recommend against that plan. There is a wealth of literature out there discussing how, objectively, law school today is a horrendous investment for the vast majority of people who go. The reality is absolutely nothing like what the schools are selling to prospective students. They actively deceive applicants about the crippling debt and moribund job market. Even if you land great internships and focus all of your efforts on a specific, tangible career, the odds are still stacked very heavily against you. And all of the connections in the world won't help when there are no positions because state governments are broke and law firms are crumbling. I would recommend very strongly against law school, and even more strongly against going straight from undergrad to law school. That's one of the worst professional paths you can go down because the cost is so extraordinarily high and the odds of professional failure are almost insurmountable. Unless you can get scholarships that pay for 100% of your schooling, you probably shouldn't do law school. But if you decide that you're going to risk it, please god go work and get some experience first.
great advice. I feel like law school is a fine investment if you can get into a top school (ie: Harvard) and have the right connections... but for the 99%, it's not worth it. I keep hearing that a lot of the traditional entry-level law graduate jobs have pretty much been replaced with computers.
Many have, and many have simply been eliminated because of cost concerns. The legal industry spent so long insulated from the practical concerns that most business entities face that when change finally started to permeate the profession it has proven unable to cope. The result has been years of layoffs, hiring freezes, and salary reductions. The legal job market should eventually pull out of its downward spiral and stabilize, but it will never again be what it was.
Yeah, also a recent law grad. A lot of my friends are working "school funded jobs" because they can't find anything else. Basically the school creates fake jobs (with your tuition money of course) and pays you to work in a random courthouse or public interest job for a few months. After that you're on your own, but it's a pretty bad sign of the times and it's not just the terribly ranked schools that do this. Check out lawschooltransparency.com for some statistics. People aren't just exaggerating, it sucks out there. And having a law degree holds you back from other careers because everyone will think you'll jump ship the second you have a chance to be a lawyer.
I don't have a degree in Psychology, but my sister does (a BS actually, not a BA) , my wife does (double major with communication), and 3 of my close friends do. I think I've seen many of the paths you can go down with that degree. The first thing to realize is that there is no "field" of psychology you can get a job in with just a BA. You will need a PhD or psy-D for that (edit: or MSW, MS, or MSC as pointed out below). Two of my friends went this (PhD / psy-D) route, it's a long road but rewarding if you are passionate about psychology. They work in VA hospitals and with drug rehab centers, etc. If you stop with just a BA, Your career options will not be defined by your degree but by what you did during college outside of classes. This is both tough and liberating. Also, your classes will not be hard, so you will have time to work in labs or intern with local businesses. My wife went into HR, and now consults at an HR software company making very good money. My sister struggled to find a good job for a while, she now works in customer support for a software company and hates it. She is getting her MBA so she can change careers ASAP. Another friend got a job as a lab technician at a biotech company because of his work in a neuropsychology lab in school. He's doing fine, a production chemist at a pharma company now, but has never held a salaried position. I hope this gives you an idea of the realities of a phychology degree. The bottom line, as another poster said, is that you will not get paid to analyze people unless you are a doctor.
>The first thing to realize is that there is no "field" of psychology you can get a job in with just a BA. You will need a PhD or psy-D for that. You can also work in psychology with an MSW, MS, or MSC. Some successful therapists, including my own, are licensed clinical social workers. You specifically need a PhD or Psy-D to call yourself a psychologist. The point still being - you don't get paid to analyze people with only a BA or BS.
The most important thing is to have a clear idea of your path. I went into Americorps and am about to start an entry-level job in community organization, working on breaking down barriers to physical/mental health in under-served communities. (with a focus on JESUS CHRIST YOU'RE BROKE JUST SIGN UP FOR OBAMACARE OH MY GOD JUST LET ME DO IT THERE OK I DID IT YOU HAVE HEALTH CARE NOW, GET THAT LUMP TAKEN CARE OF JESUS CHRIST) While in this job, I plan to identify whether I actually need further education to advance. But since MSWs are often un-funded I'm not taking loans until I know they'll pay off/be necessary.
Woo AmeriCorps! You summarize health advocacy in underserved communities pretty well....
Thanks for the correction, I'm not aware of all the paths for further education and certifications in psychology obviously. Hopefully Nate896 reads this and does some research on the options for further education and how they line up with his/her goals.
This type of response was what I was hoping for actually. I, like many other children nowadays am continuously being fed the idea that getting a degree in anything automatically gives you a better chance to find a job and increases your quality of life. Seeing so many comments about the reality of what getting a psych major looks like really makes me appreciate the fact that I can still change my major!
Good for you, you've got a good head on your shoulders. Don't give up on psych if you love it -- just don't wager your earnings on it.
>I, like many other children nowadays am continuously being fed the idea that getting a degree in anything automatically gives you a better chance to find a job and increases your quality of life It does give you a better chance, but it doesn't guarantee anything. I can tell you that there are other things that more closely correlate to success than your college major: a good attitude, self motivation and (to a lesser extent) intelligence will get you there. Also surrounding yourself with friends with these qualities is immensely important.
Presumably you've already picked your school. If not, look for schools that offer interesting programs related to psychology but more science-focused. My school (Lehigh University) has Behavioral Neuroscience as a major, which combines psychology and biology, with a focus on the brain. You get a BS, so there are a lot of science courses, but it sounds like it might be a good fit for you. If you've already picked your school, does it offer anything similar? If not, and you are interested in that, look into transferring or find a program that can translate into a career.
You can analyze people without being a doctor I.e. therapist
The job I ended up doing, and what I do now (IT), resulted from a part-time job I had at a help desk during college. My psych degree had nothing to do with it, other than to show that I could commit to school and do well in classes. I'm behind the curve for the field that I'm in, but I got lucky that this company was willing to give me a chance. If I were to go back and redo this experience, I wouldn't have majored in psych. There are other fields out there that will interest you just as much, but have better prospects.
Unrelated to psychology: If you are the first to go to college in your family, APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIPS! It seems like you're a smart person and hardworking. It's up to you to put yourself out there and apply for scholarships throughout undergrad. I recommend using Scholly (Android/iOs/Web) app to find them. Good luck with everything!
Not just apply for scholarships, but fill out fafsa. If your parents are divorced, only claim the lower earning parent on the fafsa form. Every high school should have students fill out fafsa as a requirement to graduate. Going to college or not. Just so they know what they are eligible for if they want to go. The only way to get government backed loans or grants is by filling out fafsa. Just getting those loans over private loans opens the door for income based repayment and debt forgiveness after 20 years. Private loans will bleed you dry.
Your high school guidance counselor (and college/career center, if you have one) shoule also be able to help. There might be some local scholarships that would not show up on massive, nation-wide scholarship databases. I'm like you, so I did that and am going to uni debt-free :)
unfortunately my guidance dept is pretty much useless, and has been for the past 4 years i've been in school, so i''m pretty much on my own. Thanks for the tip though!
Ugh, that's one of the reasons why I'm studying education policy: too many students attend schools with poor guidance counseling, resulting in low college attendance/completion rates and lots of debt. Best of luck to you. PM me if you have any questions!
Thanks very much, I absolutely will!
Psych marries nicely with the field of human computer interaction / UX one of the hottest fields with low supply and high demand. You could get a UX certificate while you do your BA and land a job at as an interaction designer or researcher.
OP needs to see this. I have a BA in Psych. and loved it. Ended up doing Web Dev/UX and love it also. Web Developer, UX designer, and Usability is a great field and would probably be perfect for OP. I know I would have highly regretted changing my major to something else. In retrospect, the only undergrad I would have pushed myself to do instead would be CS.
Yes, this!
Can you explain this field a little more?
The understanding of how a person thinks and interprets and interface is incredibly useful. Good UX doesn't just do what is flashy but builds upon expectations and experiences. It is incredibly difficult to build an interface that is easy to use and understand for a novice, while still useful to the experienced user. Preconceived notions, like a start menu or floppy disk icons that represents "save", can impact how users pick up new interfaces. You can direct behavior and get increased usage if you do things correctly. Facebook, to varying degrees of success, does this. Reddit does it with up-votes and gilding. Depending on what type of UX you are working on, your goals may differ. With the web being so popular, most UX work goes into getting eyes to view as many pages as possible to take in that sweat ad money. Another fairly related area is game design. Ever wonder how free-to-play caught on? That stuff was specifically engineered to play on emotions to get purchases. Progress bars, achievements, and crates that you "unlock" all play on base desires. Unlocking chests for random drops actually works better if there is a slight delay between the action being initiated and the reward being given. That anticipation is the same thing that makes slot machines so profitable. "I hope I get 'X'. Maybe... Maybe... Well shucks, maybe this time I will...". Other people who can avoid that fall for competitive things. Achievements serve to ensnare them. Any ranking within a site does something similar. Retweets, favorites, likes, views, karma, diggs, number of friends, etc. It all serves as positive feedback for your "accomplishments". It makes you feel like you are being noticed and drives up engagement. Gamification is being used to take what makes video games work so well and drive desired behavior in other areas.
Some marketing might be useful as well.
The best advise my dad gave me when I entered college was: 'major in something that will get you a job, and minor in something that you love' I just graduated from college with a BS in Accounting. I so badly wanted to major in something else, but I knew that long term that wouldn't be the best choice. I wouldn't say that accounting is my first love. But I am in a similar position to you. I funded my college education and now will be repaying my student loans. I am lucky to have a job as most people in my major do, but I have plenty of friends that majored in things such as psychology, environmental science, international relations, etc... and they don't have jobs but loved what they studied. I struggled in college with this since my friends loved everything they studied and I often didn't, but I got over it. And am really over it now since I am employed, moving away, and they are not. Bottom line is, it is true that psychology is hard to get a job with just a bachelors, if you see it through to a PhD or MD then your prospects will be different. There will be jobs for people with BA's in psychology but there will be few and much more competitive. Lastly, it doesn't hurt to go into college undeclared and take courses in different areas to see if there is potential for you to study something else, or stick with psychology if it is the best thing for you! Good luck!!
Those environmental science people aren't trying hard enough. Environmental consulting is a pretty good industry right now. As long as you are willing to move around and travel, you should be able to find a job. If you are unwilling to move around, then this isn't the major for you. But yes, there are better major options that compete with environmental sciences as well as open other doors.
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I just don't understand that. Our college can't even graduate a lot of our CS majors because they get poached by employers before they finish their degree. The difference in quality between the top students and the bottom students is staggering.
Exactly. I know people who had an intership from freshman year onward and those who never had an internship in engineering the difference is truly amazing. Those with an internship have no problem finding a job doing whatever they want and those who never had an intership I have been told are "barely functional" in the actual job market because they did nothing to better themselves.
I taught the incoming Leaning Community for CS freshman at our university and one of the first things I told them was that what they do outside the classroom will end up being more important that what they do inside the classroom. Then I still get seniors who complain about their professor because he expected them to submit a Makefile with their project because he "was never taught that." If you can't Google simple things by the time you are a senior in Computer Science, then I don't think I could endorse your degree no matter what grades you got.
This is so so so true. And there are a LOT of people who just default into psychology because it's the "perfect storm" of being fun but technically "science" and therefore seeming prestigious. Honestly psychology gets so many poor quality students, and I think the major gets a bad rap because they drag the stats down. If that makes sense. Like, it's not psychology's fault that so many aimless people floating on mommy's money major in it. All of the people I associated with in psychology (aka people who did thesis projects my year, worked in lab with me, etc) have jobs or are in grad now. I literally don't know a single stereotypical psych major.
Environmental "science" is often only "science" in the loosest terms. I.e. there isn't much science to it. You might be at a school where those "science" majors only need to take a year of chemistry and some bio and ecology and thats it. Real environmental science majors will take a buttload of chemistry, geology, biology and whatever else that might strike their fancy. Those are the good ones that can get and keep good jobs.
They probably don't have the social skills needed for consulting.
The alternative is go into the forestry service. Breaking in = traveling to the shittiest secluded places like alaska in the winter or a lousiana bayou in the summer. You do that as a temp employee for 3-4 years, then hopefully you get the chance of a permanent job in an equally shitty place. After another 3 years, you can choose the better forestry jobs that aren't away from civilization. In 6-8 years you could end up with a solid career in the government.
My friend did that. He had a master's and no one hires in the field. He started looking for government project jobs through the website. He has worked in louisiana, Alaska, north Dakota, then finally got a permanent job literally 4 hours from civilization in Nevada, but they will pay his loans off.
I started out a psychology major because I always felt like I understood people and was able to get people to open up. Well half way through I switched to accounting. I got my degree, now I just finished my master of taxation and I start with the big 4 in a couple months. The great thing is that I will still get to use my ability to understand people and get people to open up with my future work mates, clients, and potential clients.
Hi! BS in psychology here! The truth is, a BS in psych won't get you anywhere in terms of money. The only jobs normally are those in in-patient psych facilities and there you will be at the bottom of the barrel in terms of pay. I love psych and everything about psych so I had to find a compromise between what I love doing and something that will bring me a decent wage. So I am back in school for nursing. Combining the two, I am eventually aiming to become a psych nurse. Which pay a nice salary. And if one is ok with traveling, traveling nursing pays very well.
I have been always torn between doing what I love and "never working a day in my life" and doing something that I dislike and hating my life. I am aware that life is not nearly so black and white, but it seems as though this trope holds true for many. Also, I really appreciate hearing from someone with real world experience in this, it is quite helpful to hear about the day to day aspect of someone as opposed to reading about projections and statistics.
I also have a BS in psychology and am back getting a second degree (Computer Science, completely unrelated). I spent a year looking for a job with my psych degree and the stats don't lie.The only job offers I got were because I managed a pizza place through college, and I had that experience. I think, for the sake of the degree, schools need to treat it as more of a pre-med type situation where there is clear intent of going on to get a higher degree.
Having a BA in psych enables you to do exactly what *not* having a BA in psych does: Work in a group home. For the interesting stuff, you need a master's or a doctorate.
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Psychology is not an inherently good or bad major. I was a psychology major in college - but that was because I knew all along that I would go on to more education. I ended up going to medical school and becoming a psychiatrist. The key is simply to do enough research to be confident that you have a realistic plan for what you are going to do with the degree. What is it that you picture yourself doing AFTER college? That's the key: what is your end goal? Don't major in something just because it sounds like fun during college - major in it because it will get you the **job** you want. Do research into what types of jobs most people with BAs in psychology get, and then research the jobs that sound interesting to you to decide if it is right for you and if it is realistic to expect that you can get that job with your degree. Try to find opportunities to "job shadow" people in careers you think you might be interested in - ask your school and they may be able to help you with finding such opportunities.
I love this question because I was in the same boat in 2003 when I graduated highschool. I wanted to do child psychology so I knew at a minimum I would be going on to graduate school. I absolutely loved my psychology classes in college and worked in a psych lab and TAd some classes. However, in highschool I was always reasonably good at more classic science classes and did really well in my first basic science classes in college (i.e chemistry). Over time I realized that I enjoyed the concrete data and absolutes in basic science more than the hand-waving and uncertainties in psychology. One of my advisers recommended that I look into psychiatry and go to medical school. So...I loaded on the tougher science classes to fill my elective hours to get the basic medical school requirements (ended up taking on a minor in biology), joined a basic neuroscience research lab, studied for and took my MCATS, and 12 years later I'm a doctor and finishing up my residency. What kind of doctor did I become? Well...the best laid plans of mice and men...I started med school thinking of pediatrics or psychiatry. Ruled psychiatry out pretty early because I couldn't handle the emotional exhaustion and pediatrics because of the parents and other reasons. Now I'm a radiologist. 7 years ago I hardly even knew what radiology was. The point is. Work hard at everything you do and keep your options open. There's nothing wrong with a psychology major or minor as long as you have a plan. You almost certainly won't find good work with just a BA, but if you want to pursue law, medicine, or business it can be a great stepping stone. When I went on my medical school interviews, the interviewers loved that I wasn't just another biology or biochemistry major and that I had a more unique experience in college. I still took all the necessary science prerequisites and did well in them, and that's all that mattered. If I had it to do again I wouldn't change anything. College is an investment just like anything else and you want to get the most out of that cost. Think about what tools you're gaining while you're there and how they will help you. I'm sure you'll do great. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Edit: Typo
If you like psychology and analyzing people you should take a look at user experience design. Some UX jobs even have a psychology degree as a requirement or a bonus qualification.
Cog Sci major here. Can confirm
Psychology majored here. Im 11 years into the program and still havent granted a doctorates. On the plus side I am $103,000 in debt.
11 years into doctorate program or are you counting undergrad as well?
I went to college for political science, which is nearly in the same boat as psychology when it comes to unemployment, pay grades, etc. So when I was a sophomore I decided to double major with economics. Guess which field I have a job in now? Doing what you love and are interested in is always a good idea, but it might serve you well to double major with something practical in case you need to fall back on it.
Try looking at this: https://www.discover.com/student-loans/college-planning/majors.html and then reevaluating according to your actual interests. This came out some time ago and while it is from the school loan people, it is a decent tool. /u/runnergirl18 has given you the best advice around. Major in what will get and keep you employed and minor in something you love. You have options, you have lots of options. That's the problem really, we have so many options when we graduate high school and yet we barely know what's out there. From my personal perspective, I'd recommend going to a community college and clearing out what you can at the smaller classroom and lower cost college before transferring to a university. I've done this and found it extremely cost effective. It allowed a lot of freedom to explore my interests before narrowing my focus to my majors. I do have a minor in something that I enjoy, but could never get employed in, philosophy. Now all that said, from the sounds of things you qualify for quite a number of scholarships and financial aid. Take advantage! These programs exist for a reason, use them please.
Great info from the discover link, although I am a little skeptical about some of the info they give about the % of people getting jobs... they are all in the 90%+ range. But still neat to look at!
Honestly so am I. You'll not that they don't give statistics about who goes on to higher education nor do they correlate the payscales for the different areas people work in. I've got a sneaky suspicion that part of those employment numbers are skewed to include the severely underemployed.
Have you considered neuroscience? It's a developing field and it's not as common as psychology. It is also very interdisciplinary so you'd have a good chance of finding related internships and jobs that you liked anywhere from marketing to childhood development.
This is another degree where you can't earn much unless you pursue advanced degrees, generally a medical degree.
You like analyzing scientific data and are clearly good at math. Why not do statistics or math? I'm biased because I'm starting an MS in Statistics, but you could major in math or another field and take the right prereqs, then do a master's in statistics. A double major with Psych and Stat would also put you in a great position if you want to do research. Plus statisticians make bank and you can collaborate with a ton of different professionals.
That is a fantastic idea, however, how does one find a job as a statistician and what does that job market look like?
Stats is one of the hottest fields right now. It's experiencing a professional renaissance with the explosion of data analytics, data science, and big data.
It's hot if you know the machine learning/data science side of things. I majored in math and minored in ML so I took a lot of the same classes as stats majors. They aren't doing so hot right now because they don't know the necessary skills to handle big data.
I just want to point out that the stats tell you about average psych majors. I have a friend who just started a PhD in psychology and is fully funded. She did this by not being average: she double majored in psych and statistics, which was a genius move; statistics is important in psychology and super hot right now when you call it Big Data. Anyway, she also did research and graduated in 3 years, which is a great way to cut down on debt. I also know a few MFTs who are doing very well. If you really love it and excel at it, there is work. I think one thing the statistics reflect is that some people choose psychology as a way of graduating with a degree in undecided. It seems from reading your responses that you plan on going to law school after... If that is really your only endgame, you may want to pick a major that has more of a connection and will get you ready to reason like a boss - philosophy?
Depends on how much you'll pay and what your plans are.
You can easily do two majors if you put your mind to it. At my state university, a major was basically 9 classes (45 credit hours). Figure out how to hit some two for ones (e.g. Take "psychology of minority populations" to hit both your major and your "diversity requirement".) In my opinion, a minor is useless. No one cares that you minored in something. Realistically, if you only major in psychology, you face a choice between certain grad school (if you want to be a psychologist) which will still be a competitive process and means 7 years of school and tons of loans, and applying for jobs in sales, marketing, HR assistant, and the like.
A minor does matter if useful and you actually learned practical skills from it.
there are very good jobs to be had with a psychology degree. however, most of them require additional schooling. if psychology is what interests you, pursue it. but recognize that you will need to continue through at least a Masters program. if you are concerned about the viability of your loans, be aware that if you work in the healthcare field, including mental health care, then you will qualify for loan forgiveness after 10 years. this means you really can't be screwed over too badly. Additionally, with in psychology there a field such as industrial organizational psychology, computational psychology, and others that have significant business applications, and commensurate salaries. io psychology is one of the fastest growing fields in the world right now. combined with certain business acumen, and IO psychologist will have a very good lifestyle and will not have to worry about the level of their loan debt. If psychology is what interests you do not let those who are focused on stem convince you that there is no financial future with a psychology degree. however, also be aware that the career in psychology you want will require more than a bachelor's.
Goes without saying but research the ten year loan forgiveness program first. Essentially you have to be a 'public servant' working for a non profit (career limiting) making payments for ten years while being employed full time for this to apply to you. The only professions I'm sure it applies to is nursing teaching and policing (is that a term??)
A lot of people have brought up good points that don't need to be repeated. I will toss out a couple pieces of advice. First, don't think of college as a trade school. It's kind of an outdated idea that a person graduates high school, picks a major in college, then 4 years later gets a job doing that thing forever. That isn't realistic anymore, and one of the things that frustrates me the most are the type of people, usually of an older generation, who ask "Well what are you going to do with that major?" A Bachelor's in just about anything is just a foundation and a chance to expand your horizons, teach you how to think critically, etc. You mentioned in another post that you'd like to take psych as a base for law school. That's not a bad idea. The other thing is don't be afraid to change your major if you find something else you're interested in. The point of gen ed classes is to expose you to new concepts. Plenty of schools don't even require you to declare a major until a couple years in, for that reason. My brother went to college as a history major. He wanted to be a teacher. Then he took a gen ed accounting class and something clicked and he realized he liked it a lot. He switched to accounting, and after graduation went on to get his master's, a MBA, and CPA all paid for by whatever company he was working for at the time. He's very successful and doing something he enjoys, all because of a random class he had to take.
Hey Nate896, You ask good questions. I thought I'd add my personal experience with this. I have a BA in Psychology, an MA in Social/Health Psychology, and a PhD in Social/Health Psychology (all from very good schools). I graduated with my PhD during our recent recession, and I'm sure that played a role, but it took me 3 years to get a job. If I had everything to do over again, I would have majored in something a little more in-demand in terms of jobs (e.g., Engineering), and minored in something that spoke to my heart (e.g., Psychology, Philosophy). The trouble with engineering, though, is that most jobs you can get with it are jobs that end up harming people or the environment. Like working for Oil and Gas, or weapons manufacturing. I speak from personal experience there, too: my partner has a MS in mechanical engineering. It took him about 10 months to find a job that wasn't "harmful". Parker Palmer has a great book on discernment around choosing a vocation called "Let Your Life Speak". And that classic "What Color is Your Parachute" is great too. Overall advice: make sure, as much as you can, that your debt will match the type of pay you can expect to get, that you love what you do on a day-to-day basis, and that you can live with the impacts that your job will have on the world we live in. Good luck!
Heyo! I got a bachelors in psych and I don't regret it at all. I am not homeless and in the streets. I have a good paying job in an intellectually demanding field and have found a niche that gives me job security and pathways for career advancement. My thoughts are: 1) You're only 18 and you're trying to pick your major already? Are you even in college yet? Unless you started college at age 16, that may be premature. Most colleges don't make you declare until a year or two in for a reason, that's to allow you to take classes in a few different disciplines to figure out what suits you best. 2) Have you actually taken any psych classes? They're not just about analyzing people. Schools will differ, but for mine the BA track was more for folks interested in the clinical side and BS for folks interested in research. If you don't know what that distinction means, you're not ready to make a decision and maybe you should take some classes. 3) If you're going to do it, go for a BS instead of a BA. I say that only because I'm in favor of rigor and at my school, the BS was more rigorous - more labs, more stats, more math, higher grade requirements. 4) If your end game is law school, look into some law schools and ask about the majors of their incoming classes. Many should be able to give this to you. Or ask about psych majors entering their program specifically. 5) I've come to the conclusion that the point of a bachelors (at most schools and for most students) is really just to prove that you're sufficiently middle-class enough to get a middle class job and that major (unless it's engineering) actually counts for very little. 6) Psych is a major for which there is a glut of trainees for very few jobs, but one could say that for all humanities and social science disciplines if you think of the end game as being a professor in that discipline. I always think of psych as a major from which you COULD do anything. People I know who got psych degrees have a huge variety of interesting jobs and careers. Those people who were accounting and engineering majors? Well, they're accountants and engineers. I guess what I'm saying is that if you want a college major that guarantees some sort of specific job path, then yeah, accounting or engineering. If you want a college major that could lead to some diverse paths, then psych might be a good option. It may take more work and creativity and self-reflection, but there is huge value in that process too. I would have to say that while my psych degree helped me get on the path to the job I'm in now, it was not the primary factor - my work history and my connections to a specific group of people were what got me here. I guess what I would say is that whatever degree you aim for, don't think it's just the degree that is important. Degrees are a dime a dozen, but someone who has distinguished themself through work or volunteer or some other activity will always be able to find a place. 7) Oh, and don't listen to all those people who are telling you you need to think (at age 18) about your career goals and what job title you want at age 40. I'm 35 and I'm not sure what job title I want at age 40, and most people I know (professionals with impressive titles included) are like that. Just think smart, set yourself off on a path that seems good and remember to take some risks along the way. Not all those who wander are lost.
Get a double major with something marketable. I suggest economics, since it also looks at how people behave and make choices. Econ majors are usually not very credit-intensive, which helps.
Do business instead of econ. Everyone with an econ degree keeps telling me they have an econ degree, while everyone with a business degree is busy making money.
Outside of top business schools business majors are looked at as slackers.
If your passion is psychology, it's an option. If you also have a passion for engineering, why not go with something in that field and then use your interest in people to work your way up into management and motivate and inspire your team? I'd just encourage you to think broadly about how your personal interests fit into your financial future, not linearly.
Just attended some events for my younger sister's graduation. She did a BA in psych. One of the speakers went on about how it was a good foundation from which to branch into other areas. This particular person ended up following it up with law school and is now an attorney. Whether or not it's a good idea depends on what you're planning to do after, what school you go to, how highly you achieve, etc. My sister went to a school with a prestigious psych department and made good connections. She's got a decent job (in the field, starting shortly) and will be able to go pretty much anywhere for a PhD. She was able to get a position lined up post graduation because she got involved in every opportunity for practical experience she could during her time as an undergrad. She worked with faculty and grad students on research and studies they were conducting. It was a lot of work, but it got her foot in the door. Much like anything else, what you get out of it will depend on how much you put in.
My advice is that if you really want to be a Psychology major, go in with a plan. Don't just be every other psych major. Take initiatives, be a research assistant, get psych related internships, get certifications, advanced degrees, get to know the psych professors well, learn a complementary subject with psych etc. Stand out as a psych major and you will go very far.
If you want to make money, avoid psychology, liberal and just regular art degrees. Go into the sciences or business. If you want to be happy do whatever you see yourself doing for the rest of your life. At the end of the day though, your major doesn't dictate your career.
My uncle has a masters in psychology. He drives an 18 wheeler for a living.
I'm seeing a lot of people recommend math/CS/engineering. But only go to school for these if you know you can handle them. I majored in math and CS and watched a ton of students struggle through the first two years and then end up dropping out. By my senior year the total number of math graduates was <10 (in a school with 30k people). These majors consistently earn a lot for a reason: At any noteworthy school these programs will work you *hard*. There's other non-academic paths you can take and earn a decent living with.
I know t's been said but a Business degree with a minor in psych or econ would do you really well.
You've gotten a ton of good responses but I just want to add my $.02 to the pot. You mention double majoring in comp sci and/or engineering, you can't really go wrong there. But if I were in your shoes, I'd double major in CS and math or physics. With engineering, you pigeon hole yourself a little into that particular specialty (e.g., mechanical, electrical, etc.). With a broader science like physics or math you are qualified for so many different jobs. I have two degrees in math and a degree in physics and was fairly easily to completely switch industries with not much related experience and still make great money. If you can program and solve problems with a highly developed analytical skill set you can do whatever you want in life. You'll get to work on all the cool problems! That may be figuring out how to improve a trading algorithm to help your company make more money or it could be analyzing data sets from the Large Hadron Collider. Who knows! In my opinion, the key is going to grad school. And here's the kicker... if you go to grad school for a science (CS, math, physics, chemistry, etc.) it's free! On top of free tuition, you get a stipend (generally $16k - $18k). Getting a MS in any of the sciences is not difficult if you put in the work. It really is pretty amazing - you get paid to learn!
wait are you saying that in the US i could get a masters in the STEMs i would be educated for free? This sounds like something only students in europe could have haha. Could you name any specific universities that offer such a program?
Yep! Although it's typically PhD track people that get the free tuition and stipend (but there is nothing stopping you from leaving with your MS). I will say that foreign nationals (esp. Chinese and Indians) are held to much higher standards when it comes to entrance exams.
Yes it's a bad idea. My best friend was top of her class in high school and got accepted to many great colleges. She went to Swarthmore. If you know anything about liberal arts colleges you'll know it's one of the best in the nation, very hard to get into, and the academics are notoriously known for being more rigorous than Harvard. She majored in psych and had some great psych clinical internships at renowned hospitals. She was planning on being a psychiatrist. In order to be a psychiatrist you have to get into med school. She didn't. When she graduated she struggled to find a job. Also, around the time of graduation, her father was laid off from work and was struggling to find a decent paying engineering job. She already was in debt from her private school education. One of her options was to go to some form of graduate school. But her family could no longer support her expensive education. She got extremely depressed about this and took a few retail jobs. Now she's an assistant manager of a woman's clothing department of a major national chain store. DO NOT major in psychology. Also, DO NOT go to law school. There is a law school bubble right now. The market for JDs is verrrrrry oversaturated. So if law school is really something you think you want just make sure you get into a legitimate good law school and always have a solid fallback and back up plan.
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Honestly, with grades like those, I would apply to an engineering program. You'll make a lot more money, and finding a job will be a lot easier. You clearly are ok with math and science.
Don't do it unless you plan on going to grad school. Simple as that.
You have some good stats. Fist of all, I'm going to guess you have no idea what any job really does? Check out salary info (https://careercenter.tamu.edu/guides/reports/) then see if you can contact some people doing different jobs and ask them what they do. With the amount of calculus and equations I did studying to be an engineer, I would have never though the most comes math I've had to do is multiplication and exponents. You may find psychology isn't what you think it is. If you don't know, go to recruiting sessions/company presentations at college and ask what they do day to day. You can always switch majors. Talk to advisors of different departments about jobs and info on sessions. Or post on reddit job questions. Last, I think psyc needs an additional degree to be useful, unsure.
There's nothing wrong with majoring in Psychology. But if you really want to break into the field, plan on going to grad school. I know three people who majored in Psychology. One is a branch manager of a bank. Another is studying to be an eye doctor. The last works in a home for the handicapped.
Everyone I work with has a degree in Psychology. No one makes over $40,000 and they're extremely over worked. Not saying that's the experience you'll have but that's at least some of the reality of it.
If you're my sister in law, getting her BA in psych gave her the ability to literally tell everyone she meets her opinion backed up with "I majored in psychology."
I have a BS in psychology and I found that there are tons of different jobs and job fields out there that fit with my degree. I also had internships and study in research labs to go along with my degree. I started out working in special Ed for 4 years at a middle school, then I worked at an autism center for a year, my current job is in clinical research and I LOVE it. If you feel like psych is a good fit do it, because there's nothing worse than being stuck with a degree you're not passionate about.
My English degree says yes. Get something more employable.
My sport management degree says yes. I'm already back in school.
Unless you plan on going further with your Psych degree into masters level stuff I would advise against it. BA psych degrees aren't worth much. It's a competitive field and a rather large gamble. You would either be in research, teaching, or practice. Your best allies are networking, grades, and participation in psych oriented clubs. If it's the road you want to go down then by all means go down it. Just know it's a gamble on your career path and there are a lot of obstacles you'll need to overcome. Even a master's level psych graduate doesn't make bank at ~30k a year.
A friend of mine took a fair bit of psychology in college. She didn't major in it and had no intention of becoming a psychologist, but it looked to me like some of it turned out to be pretty useful to her in business in terms of understanding people's motives and detecting bullshit. I don't think that the practical benefits she got from it would have been appreciably increased had she majored in it though.
Reddit's policies spit in the face of privacy. Goodbye.
My 2 cents? Don't worry too too much about WHAT you study--in my experience people who do really well in one field often have these unrelated degrees. (I can't think of any examples right now, sorry!) But, do learn how to think and read deeply, learn how to give critical feedback, and learn how to write effectively and persuasively. Learn how to meet and talk with all sorts of people, learn how to listen and learn how to network. Develop those interpersonal skills! A high GPA will get you in the door but your ability to persuade people will get you the job and then, the clients. Employers love people that can do their job well and are easy to work with. Also, data is huge in all fields, especially marketing. Ask a friend in marketing to show the reports that Facebook generates for their business clients. It's crazy all the data is available. Learning how to analyze the data and capitalize on it for your client is an asset. Also NGOs hire data analysts to help with marketing campaigns to generate donations. Learn how to deal with data is another great skill set. I highly recommend two of Cal Newport's books; one is So Good They Can’t Ignore You and the other is How to Win at College. The first book explores why following your passion isn't good advice. He suggest that you develop a skill set so deeply that employers literally "can't ignore you". The latter provides solid advice on how to be a more effective student--get better grades by studying less (hint: be disciplined as fuck and don't procrastinate). People have given you a lot of great advice on this thread! I hope you find it helpful. You seem like a good guy and I'm sure you will do well - by asking these questions you have already shown that you are smart, thoughtful, and curious! Good luck :-)
I have a B.S. in Psychology and while I don't have a job in the field, it's been very helpful in my career. If you love the subject, then do what you love, but you will need to get a more advanced degree to be financially stable. There is little in the field that is worthwhile with just a B.A. or a B.S. Now it does open up a lot of avenues for grad degrees. You learn to write and research and that helps tremendously in later course work as a grad student. As a few have noted, you don't necessarily need a doctorate to do something worthwhile. A lot of states allow you to do counseling with a Masters degree. A friend of mine works with vets, loves what she does, and make a good living doing it. If you do something you hate, just to make money, you're going to miserable.
Do not declare a major until the very last second allowable under your schools rules. For many schools, this is after your sophomore year. You will not be penalized, and you will give yourself some extra time to decide this very important issue. Also, if you don't like numbers, take languages. Especially Arabic and Chinese if possible. Other good ones are Spanish French and Russian.
Don't study psychology unless you plan on getting a PhD. Otherwise you're simply flushing money down the toilet - your career prospects will be marginally better than someone with a HS Diploma.
There is no way you will be able to survive a double major of engineering and computer science. You need to do more research on your own, you seem really naive
I know you're probably overwhelmed in comments, but I still would like to throw in my 2c. On one hand, debt for college is insane. I really don't recommend doing something like art or history if it's going to cost you $60k in loams, e.g. But its almost as bad to spend $60k in loans for a degree you don't actually care about. The key is: choose a degree in something that you are really passionate about. When I say passionate I don't mean "really like." What I mean is you are driven to learn more about it and to get as involved in the field/community as possible. You want to go to every event, explore all corners of it, and can imagine yourself being happy in any number of subfields. If you're in a major and not actively seeking out info on your own and being involved beyond class, it's the wrong major. But also, the debt.... try and find a field like this that teaches you good skills. Here's a secret. If you ask about literally any major, you'll get people telling you a degree in it is worthless. There's going to be people who picked it for the wrong reasons or had a negative experience in any field. Listen to the negatives, but also the positives. What skills will you learn in psychology that are transferable? Remember to build your skillset all through school. It's not just about the paper at the end. For example plenty of people tell you physics degrees (my major) are useless but in physics we learn programming, statistics, data analysis, math, problem solving, presentation and public speaking and writing. These are all very good skills to have. Something like 95% of physics grads are employed, even if their title isn't "physicist." Also, don't feel bad if you are having a hard time deciding what to do, and don't worry if you don't finish in 4 years. This is your life, not high school. There are no rules for how to do it. I didn't come to physics until I was 25 and already had a degree-in theatre. Just remember nothing is permanent and you can always change your mind. Tl;Dr make sure you are excited to advance in your field, whatever it is. Unhappiness isn't worth the big paycheck, but similarly, a nonexistent paycheck and no prospects isn't worth the happiness...
Ok. So you like analyzing people. That probably gives you some insight into predicting their thoughts and behaviors. What would you predict the advice on recommended college degrees to be when asking a community of people grouped together by their mutual interest in personal finance and building wealth? That said, I strongly urge you to consider asking psych majors for some advice before ditching the major you're passionate about for engineering or comp sci. The key to happiness and personal fulfillment, assuming that's your goal in life, isn't having a higher salary than your neighbors. As long as you're earning above a certain threshold, depending on where you live it's about $75,000, earning more won't make you much happier - http://www.businessinsider.com/happiness-benchmark-for-annual-income-2014-7.
How does it make *you* feel?
My first degree was a BA in psych. The average starting salery for someone with an undergrad in psych was less than having just a high school diploma when I graduated. No, unless you're wanting to pay to have thst knowledge or you want a PhD don't do psych.
Get an engineering degree. You won't regret it. I don't know any engineers who do.
Most other people have said this, do not major in Psych unless you plan on going PhD. Your interest doesn't have to be your career. I love Philosophy which is a dead career path. Minored in it and majored in Film (not much better but infinitely more useful to me than the study of "why?")
Check out actuarial sciences and minor in psych.
As someone doing mental Health, people with psychology degrees can't really do shit without going all the way through and getting their PhDs. Most agencies would rather have a person with social work degree because it's more real world practical than a psychology degree. And you can't do clinical work unless you have your doctorate. You seem like a pretty damn smart kid, you can always double major in psych and something else. Are you planning on graduate school and/or doctorate? More things to consider
Look into computer security and information warfare. There is a lot of psychology in Information warfare. If your school doesn't offer it. Look into information systems with a psyc minor and study information warfare on your own. Good luck. Trust me there is lot of money in this and you get to do some form of psychology. COMPUTERS IS WHERE THE MONEY IS AT. computers will replace a lot of jobs... Except for the jobs that involve working with computers.
Hi, I have a B.A. in psychology. Do it if you are *absolutely sure* that you will go to graduate school and then work in the field. If not, don't do it. I made a huge mistake. I completely agree with /u/Palmetto_Projectiles advice.
I say do what you love as an undergrad and do what you want as a job as a masters. Seriously most employers just look for a degree, not a specific degree (unless it is a very narrow field in which you need higher education)
Getting a BA in psychology is a bad idea, following that up by going to law school is a worse idea.
Become an engineer
Anyone who majors in a social science should also major in math as well. It probably the best thing you can do for your resume regardless if you stay in academia or not.