Discovering Your Psychology Future

Students interested in studying psychology or another career related to psychology, may contact any full-time Psychology Department Faculty Member for academic advising regarding degree requirements and course offerings and to ask questions about transfer and career options. Students are encouraged to see a Psychology academic advisor once a semester throughout their academic journey.

Psychology Academic Plan

This Academic Plan for Jefferson College is a semester-by-semester plan for the full-time college-ready student. Part-time students should work with an advisor to customize the map to fit individual needs.

Future Career Options related to Psychology

Psychology is a diverse field of study with many potential areas of research and application with career opportunities that vary by degree level. Undergraduate (associate and bachelor’s degree-level) psychology courses develop workforce-ready skills employers are looking for https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/ptn/2019/03/workforce-ready-skills.

Most students with an associate degree emphasizing psychology plan to transfer and complete an undergraduate degree.  Career options for those with only an associate degree are limited, but include:

• Personal Care or Home Health Aide
• Teacher Assistant
• Nursing Assistant or Orderly
• Psychiatric Aide or Psychiatric Technician
• Social and Human Service Assistants
• Substance Abuse & Behavioral Disorder Counselors (paraprofessional)
• Correctional Officer

Psychology undergraduate bachelor’s degree holders work in a wide variety of jobs. While an undergraduate bachelor’s degree in psychology provides the qualifications for many career paths, it does not qualify for a single specific job. Licensed psychotherapist or psychologist positions require a graduate degree. An Online Career-Exploration Resource for Psychology Majors is a free, downloadable directory of hundreds of careers for which psychology majors can prepare. Approximately, 64% of undergraduate psychology degree holders work directly in a psychology-related field https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/10/datapoint.aspx.

• Health Educator and Community Health Worker
• Probation Officer & Correctional Treatment Specialists
• High School Psychology Teacher
• Social and Community Service Managers
• Medical and Health Services Manager

The remaining work in a variety of fields, including business careers in sales, management, marketing, market research, training & development, and human resources & labor-relations.

The American Psychological Association has resources for students considering a bachelor’s degree in psychology https://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/bachelors.aspx. Outcomes and characteristics fostered by psychology that appear to be particularly useful in the job market include:

• Knowing how to predict and understand individual and group behavior;
• Understanding the use and interpretation of data;
• Evaluating the legitimacy of claims about behavior;
• Knowing how learning and memory function;
• Having insight into problematic behaviors;
• Demonstrating the capacity to adapt to change;
• Understanding and operating effectively in informal and formal channels of an organization;
• Managing difficult situations and high stress environments;
• Starting and executing projects with limited information or experience; and
• Exhibiting persistence in challenging circumstances

Students who major in psychology often continue their education beyond the bachelor’s degree. With further study, additional career paths open to include the following areas of research and application of psychology based on the level of graduate degree:

Masters degree (some also require state licensure)

• Rehabilitation Counselor
• Mental Health Counselor or Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
• Marriage & Family Therapist (MFT)
• Behavior Analyst (recently designated as a separately licensed field)
• Survey Researcher
• School and Career Counselor
• Postsecondary (College-level) Teacher
• Statistician

Doctorate degree (some also require state licensure)

• Psychologist
  
  

Students interested in psychology may also be interested in the following related fields with their own specific education requirements:

• Social Work
• Occupational Therapist or Occupational Therapist Assistant
• Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse or other nursing careers
• Psychiatry
  
  

Professional Organizations related to Psychology

Students can often join for low cost which is a great way to learn more about a profession.

• American Psychological Association
• Association for Psychological Science
• American Psychiatric Association
• Clinical Social Work Association
• American Psychiatric Nurses Association
• American Counseling Association
• American Mental Health Counselors Association
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
• American Occupational Therapy Association