A psychology degree sets you on the path towards many different career options. Besides working in clinical psychology, you can work in education, HR, research, and many other settings.
While a psychology degree can open a lot of career opportunities for you, it still takes some effort on your part to take advantage of those chances. You need to make the right choices and build on your education to take advantage of opportunities when they come to you.
If you’re studying psychology and want to know what you can do to set yourself up for success after you graduate, here are a few useful tips.
Never Stop Learning
One important tip for building a successful career with a psychology degree is to take advantage of your studies while you are still in school. In psychology, the more advanced your degree, the more opportunities will be available to you. With a graduate degree, such as a master’s degree, you will be qualified for more positions.
What you study during your degree also matters. Make sure that your psychology education is diverse and holistic, incorporating the latest advances in psychology education. Look for a degree program that offers you a solid background in different techniques and choose your electives wisely.
Prioritizing your education will give you the right knowledge base to use your degree for a few different career paths. You don’t want to lock yourself in too early, especially if you’re just at the beginning of your studies.
Continuous education is also important because it shows prospective employers that you are interested in the subject matter and value improving yourself. Even after you’ve already started working, obtaining additional professional certificates or even attending weekend training sessions shows that you are willing to better yourself. No matter where you are in your career, continual education allows you to move up to a promotion or pivot to a different field.
Learn More About Different Specialties
If you’re just getting started in psychology, one of the most important things you can do is learn about the different specialties or subfields of psychology where you can work. The APA has information about potential specializations on its website. You can be a clinical psychologist, work in research, find work in an educational or occupational setting, or be an industrial-occupational psychologist working in the corporate world.
During your studies, explore these different specialties and try to learn about them. Figure out which ones interest you the most and make an effort to learn more about them. Research which specific aspects of psychology you need to know more about to specialize in that field, and how you break into that line of work.
You don’t want to narrow down your options for a career too early, but you also don’t want to realize you missed out on a crucial class that is necessary to specialize in a particular field. Realizing which aspects of your classes you enjoy and which ones you find tedious can help you figure out what specializations you will enjoy.
Get Hands-On Experience While Completing Your Degree
Besides completing your class assignments, use the opportunities you have while getting your degree to get hands-on experience. Psychology is a field of work that requires lots of theoretical knowledge, but practical knowledge is even more important.
You need to know how to apply what you learned in your degree, especially if you are working with patients. Very few textbooks can prepare you for the day-to-day work of navigating people’s minds.
Practical experience is also important for getting your foot in the door. Most jobs want you to have some experience before they hire you. They don’t want to take a risk on someone who was maybe brilliant in school, but who cannot perform the day-to-day tasks of psychology.
Many degree programs recognize the importance of practical experience while students are in school and offer opportunities for shadowing professionals, internships, and volunteering. Take advantage of any opportunities for hands-on work that your school offers.
Outside of any options for practical learning offered through your degree, seek out practical learning opportunities for yourself. Volunteer at organizations that need psychology students, especially if the volunteer work is related to your eventual specialty. Some pro bono work now will pay off once it allows you to climb the career ladder.
Connect with Others
Some of the best tips for building a successful career with a psychology degree are not field-specific at all. If you follow best practices for getting a job, you’ll progress in your psychology career as well.
One of the most important things you can do when pursuing any career is to network. People are more likely to recommend you for a position once they get to know you personally, and a recommendation often goes further than even the most put-together job application.
Networking is an opportunity for you to learn more about a field that you want to work in. Reach out to established professionals and ask if they are open to an informative call. That is an opportunity for you to ask questions about their work, show your interest, and establish yourself in their mind as a reliable person if they need to recommend someone for a position.
Another way to make networking easier is to start with people with whom you have something in common. Reach out to alumni of your degree program or people with whom you have mutual connections. That way, you already broke the ice when it comes to networking.
Making the Most of Your Psychology Degree
People with psychology degrees work in many different fields. No matter your eventual specialty, you should take steps toward building a successful career while you are still studying. Take advantage of the options that your degree program offers for volunteering, professional development, and taking courses in different subfields of psychology.
It’s also important to show potential employers your engagement with the field outside of your degree program. By researching different subfields and networking, you show initiative, which can give you a boost during job applications.