If you are busy with or planning to pursue a psychology major, you don’t necessarily need to go all the way to graduate or doctorate level to start your career. If you decide not to pursue a clinical or academic career with this major, there are quite a few career paths you can consider with your psych degree.
Why a psychology major can set you up for success
A psychology degree comes in handy in a variety of careers. Having mastered psychology basics, you’re already rich in transferable skills, including communication and critical thinking.
You also developed quantitative skills and open-ended thinking patterns. You understand human behaviour and how to use data in real-life settings. These valuable skills come in handy in many fields, including business, law, education, and social sciences.
In short, your major taught you hard and soft skills and an understanding of yourself and those around you. This can be valuable in just about every career avenue. Just because you focused on human behaviour doesn’t mean you can’t take on a radically different role.
What jobs can you do with a psychology degree?
Marketing Analyst
Average Salary: R433,001 per year
Marketing analysts help businesses better understand their customers and their industry as a whole. In this role, you’ll dig into various data sets to gain insights that can help improve business initiatives. Perhaps you’ll help identify potential customers or opportunities for gaining market share. Because you understand customer behaviour, your background makes you ideal for this role.
Sales Account Executive
Average Salary: R350,000 per year
Sales account executives identify new prospects, close new business, manage upselling accounts. Your psychology major already set you up for success since this role requires you to understand customer challenges and the solutions they’re looking for.
UX Researcher
Average Salary: R630,000 per year
Companies need to ensure that their new products appeal to their target audience, and user experience researchers (UX researchers) are in charge of ensuring this happens. As a UX researcher, you’ll use data to understand the target audience and leverage those insights to guide the design process of any new product or service. To thrive in this role, you need quantitative research skills and the ability to influence your colleagues, skills you already mastered while studying psychology.
H.R. Manager
Average Salary: R670,000 per year
Human resource managers – as the name implies – are responsible for managing the humans in the workplace. You might be in charge of recruiting new talent, developing training programs, dealing with employee complaints, rolling out wellness initiatives, and everything in between. Naturally, this career demands a knack for dealing with people, but you’ll also need to showcase your logistical skills.
Academic Advisor
Average Salary: R380,000 per year
Colleges and universities employ academic advisors to guide and advise students during their years of study. Perhaps you’ll help prospective students determine if varsity is right for them. You’ll also help students figure out their options as far as majors are concerned. Students who struggle on an academic level will turn to you for guidance on resources they can use to improve their performance. Because you have a psychology major as a foundation, you’re already fantastic when it comes to communication, empathy, and other interpersonal skills, all of which are job requirements for this role.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, you don’t have to pursue a clinical or academic career with your psychology background. You also don’t have to study towards a master’s degree to have a fulfilling career path. The five job titles we’ve mentioned in this post are just the tip of the iceberg. If you’re ready to find the job of your dreams, start browsing Adzuna’s listings today. Your ideal role might just be one click away!
