Career Planning Guide for Psychology Majors

You Have Career Options! Time to Explore

Psychology majors can pursue a variety of paths, from paths in mental health and human services (e.g., clinical psychology, social work, etc.), paths in business, statistics, and industrial/organizational psychology (e.g., I/O psychology, software user research and design, management consulting, leadership consulting, human resources, data science and statistical analysis, etc.), and paths in research (e.g., research scientist, professor, etc.).

However, it's actually much larger than that. If your career involves understanding the science of people, the science of data, or both, then psychology is good training for you!

That said, you likely don't yet know exactly what you want to do. That's where exploration comes in. During your time in school, you want to (1) learn as much as you can about your career options and (2) try things out, so you know what's a good fit for you. From there, you can customize your education based on what you (think you might) want to do with things like internships, volunteering, working in a professor's lab, or building your resume. 

However, it all starts with exploring. The good news is that you don't have to know right away what you want to do. However, you definitely do want to start exploring, thinking about career paths, and pursuing opportunities as early as you can while you are in school.

This is Your Map

You would never start a major journey without a map. In this guide, we offer you such a map. 

• Start with the "Essential Readings" below.
• If you think you might want to go to graduate school, consider the "So You Want to Go to Grad School" list below.
• If you are still exploring your career options, check out the "Career Exploration" list below.

Your professors have crafted these lists (so they are current and helpful) and put notes here for you.