Source: Unsplash / Milad Fakurian
Pursuing a bachelor’s in Psychology is often met with a lot of confusion in choosing from such a vast array of career paths that the subject offers. Because of how flexible a degree in Psychology is, it can be difficult and perhaps stressful to decide between so many different options. Psychology can be applied in extremely broad contexts, from the obvious career as a therapist or psychologist, to social work, marketing, real estate, and many more. Quoting an article by the American Psychological Association, “the psychology bachelor’s degree qualifies a person for a large number of jobs, but the degree does not uniquely qualify a person for any particular job” (Landrum, 2018).
This can be a scary reality to address, because you would have already needed to have a rough idea of what field you wanted to enter before taking on a psychology degree. While it can seem daunting to be given so many options, I personally find it’s so useful in providing comfort – a “Plan B” – in case your initial career choice didn’t go the way you wanted it to. Although I’ve mentioned it’s best to already have an idea of what field you’d like to pursue before you begin your degree in Psychology, it differs from most degrees in allowing you to explore a completely different career path should you find that you strongly dislike your current one. You have the option to switch from, for example, forensic psychology to becoming a kindergarten teacher to a market research analyst, and the list goes on and on.
The most crucial aspect, however, is to try to build your resume to accommodate for the area you would like to work in. A good (and easy) way to do this is to take up courses that specialise in a particular sector. For example, studying a module on Organisational Psychology would be useful to mention in your resume if you plan on working with corporations. Similarly, taking courses in Statistics or Data Management would be a step further in this direction, and you could end up working as a database analyst for a company.
Pursuing a psychology degree means being independent in doing the necessary research and preparation for your future career. Often, we aren’t well-informed about what prospects our degree holds for us, but as an undergraduate psychology major, the world really is your oyster! Being offered a job after graduation is, purely from what I’ve experienced, less common for Psychology majors than for the other sciences, but if anything this just goes to show that you’re capable of crafting your own future. The most important thing is to explore possible choices and then figure out tangible ways of getting there. A degree in psychology is fun, because it doesn’t restrict you to one particular lifelong career path, rather it gives you the freedom to explore hugely different options for yourself. I love that I’ve decided to pursue a degree in Psychology, and although our futures as Psychology undergraduates tend to feel really uncertain, I think there’s so much beauty in exactly that: not being restricted or confined to any particular career path.
References
Landrum, R. E. (2018, January). What can you do with a bachelor's degree in psychology? Like this title, the actual answer is complicated. American Psychological Association. Retrieved February 26, 2023, from https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2018/01/bachelors-degree
BY KAYLA COLLETT (UK & MALAYSIA) | CLASS OF 2023
