Psychology: Now What?

[Found on the Occupational Outlook Handbook]

About The Field of Psychology

Widely speaking, the field of psychology is defined by a calling to help people, using knowledge of how the health of human brains and social interactions influence our emotional sense of well-being, our self-identity, and our behavior. 

Psychology students focusing on neuroscience and earning the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in psychology often find work in the research field, advancing our knowledge of human nature.  They often start as research coordinators, doing the work of finding and qualifying human subjects, administering surveys or cognitive tests, and managing the paperwork that goes along with a professional research project. Those who wish to propose and run research projects of their own will need to attend graduate school.

Most professional counseling positions, including psychiatrist, psychologist, and licensed social worker require additional specialized education beyond a bachelor’s degree.  However, there are a wide range of other occupations and fields that seek out insightful people with a psychology bachelor of arts (B.A.) or bachelor of science (B.S.) degree, including social services, public affairs, administrative support, education, business, sales, allied health, software design, and human resources. 

What Can You Do with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology?

Here’s a quick sample of varied jobs that psychology undergrads might find:

• Community Relations Officer: works either for business or government in promoting good relations with the local community.
• Affirmative Action Officer: works for recruitment and equal opportunities for minorities; employed by business, industries, schools and government.
• Management Trainee: plans and supervises operations of a business concern.
• Urban Planning Officer: deals with city planning, renewal.
• Personnel Administrator: works with employee relations, selection, promotions, etc.
• Advertising Copywriter: researches audience and media, writes text of advertisements.
• Media Buyer: researches products and audiences to select most effective media for advertising.
• Health Educator: gives public information about health and disease.
• Psychological Technician: administers routine tests, helps with patients under supervision of a psychologist.
• Director of Volunteer Service: recruits, supervises, trains and evaluates volunteers.
• Public Statistician: collects and interprets data on health and disease and community relations.
• Customs Inspector: serves at international borders and airports in investigations and inquiries.
• Probation/Parole Officer: persons with psychology backgrounds are often preferred for such positions, especially with adolescent parolees.
• Technical Writer: researches and writes material dealing with social science for magazines, newspapers, and journals.
• Sales Representative: major publishers of psychological books often seek out undergraduates with psychology majors for these positions on college campuses.
• Opinion Survey Researcher: does opinion polls and interprets results.
• Daycare Center Supervisor: supervises and coordinates activities of preschool children with working parents.
• Research Assistant: assists in the collection and analysis of data for major investigations. Positions usually available only in large hospitals, businesses, and government.
• Laboratory Assistant: psychology background preferred for students working with animal behavior research, especially primate laboratories.
• Scientific Instrument Salesperson: opportunities in sales and development for companies specializing in psychology apparatus.
• Case Manager: works as part of a care team to help patients access community resources

Here are some more occupations in some of the broad field categories that seek psychology undergrads:

Who Could You Work For?

Selection of Employers for recent (Class of 2023 & 2024) UMass Amherst Psychology alumni:

• Action Ambulance Service Inc.
• Aimbridge Hospitality
• All Point Licensed Behavior Analysts
• Alleghany County Jail
• Amazon
• Amherst Fire Department
• Amherst Public Schools
• ArcLight Consulting
• Atkinson Family Practice
• Autism Behavior & Learning Experience (ABLE)
• Autism Care Partners
• Barton Associates Staffing Agency
• Beacon ABA Services
• Beacon Hill Staffing Group
• Behavioral Health Network
• Beijing Zhujian Technology
• Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Bicycle Therapeutics
• Boston Behavior Learning Centers
• Boston Children’s Hospital
• Boston University School of Medicine
• BR+A Consulting Engineers
• Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• Catalent Pharmaceuticals
• Clinical & Support Options
• Cooley Dickinson Hospital
• Crisis Text Line
• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
• Easterseals Community and Disability Services
• FirstService Residential
• Franciscan Children’s Hospital
• Greenbrook TMS NeuroHealth Centers
• Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Hingham Public Schools
• Holyoke Medical Center
• IntelyCare
• Integrated Care Partners
• International TEFL Academy
• JM Home Care
• Justice Resource Institute
• Lifespan Health System
• LifeStance Health
• Loyola Medicine
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Massachusetts General Hospital –Recovery Research Institute
• McLean Hospital
• Milford Regional Physician Group
• MiraVista Behavioral Health Center
• Monte Nido and Affiliates
• The New England Center for Children
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
• Walden Behavioral Care
• William James College
• Vinfen

Other Top Employers of UMass Psychology Majors after Graduation (Class of 2021 – 2022):

• ABA Centers of America
• Action Ambulance Service
• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
• Arbour Counseling Services
• Beacon ABA Services
• Beacon Hill Staffing Company
• Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center (BOEC)
• Cambridge Eating Disorder Center
• Center for Human Development
• College Advising Corps
• May Institute
• MetroWest Medical Center
• Riverside Community Care
• ServiceNet
• Spectrum Health Systems
• Teach for America
• Tufts Medical Center
• University of Massachusetts Amherst 

Previous Internship Sites as self-reported by UMass Amherst Psychology students (2019 – 2022):

• 4-H Center for Youth Development
• American Medical Response
• Arlington Public Schools
• Atkinson Family Practice
• Autism Behavior and Learning Experience (ABLE)
• Behavioral Health Network
• Berkshire HorseWorks
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• BlackRock
• Boston Children’s Hospital
• Carter Burden Network
• Che Lab at Washington University School of Medicine
• Congressman McGovern
• Crisis Text Line
• Currey Ingram Academy
• Generation Teach
• Heali
• Her Campus Media
• HubSpot
• JVS Boston
• Kaplan Test Prep
• Madonna Manor
• Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Massachusetts General Hospital for Children
• National Institute for the Mentally Handicapped
• North Shore Medical Center
• Northwestern District Attorney’s Office
• Psych Garden
• Renaissance Pre-School
• ServiceNet
• St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
• The Key Program
• The Stonewall Center
• UMass Chan Medical School
• UMass Amherst Psychology Department
• UMass Amherst Financial Aid Office
• US Department of Heath and Human Services
• War and Peace Lab at UMass Amherst
• Wediko Children’s Services
• West Virginia University 

(More information on students’ past internships can be found here)

Professional Associations - which contain important insider’s knowledge and vocabulary used in the field, as well as some job search links and other important information.

National Institute of Mental Health         www.socialworkers.org                www.psychologicalscience.org

Actual Job Titles Attained with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology:

Planning Resources & Websites

UMass Amherst CNS Career Center: cns.umass.edu/careers

UMass Amherst Career Fairs Calendar: https://app.joinhandshake.com/edu/career_fairs 

Clinical Graduate Programs: https://clinicalpsychgradschool.org/ 

Career Choices and Career Planning in Psychology

Psychology Careers by Category: http://careersinpsychology.org/psychology-careers/ 

50+ Best Jobs for Psych Undergrads: http://careersinpsychology.org/50-best-jobs-psychologists/ 

Many Careers for Psych Undergrads: https://www.psychologydegree411.com/careers/ 

O-Net Online – Assessment Tool: https://www.onetonline.org/find/ 

State Dept and Foreign Service Careers: https://careers.state.gov/career-paths/

Careers with the FBI: https://www.fbijobs.gov/career-paths 

Careers with the CIA: https://www.cia.gov/careers/jobs?page=1 

Mass Career Info System: http://www.masscis.intocareers.org/ 

(Login as Mass Resident, Adult, and Amherst 01003)

Finding Internships in Psychology

UMass Handshake Database: https://umass.joinhandshake.com/stu/postings 

CNS Completed Internships Database: https://secure.cns.umass.edu/webforms/internships

Psych Dept Research: https://www.umass.edu/psychological-brain-sciences/research

Psych Dept Internship Info.: http://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/internships 

American Psychological Association (APA): https://www.apa.org/education-career/job-search

APA Research Opportunities: http://www.apa.org/education/undergrad 

Summer Internship Program at NIH: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/research-conducted-at-nimh/scientific-director/office-of-fellowship-and-training/fellowships-and-training-programs/summer-internship-program-sip 

Neuroscience Internships

Summer Neuroscience Research Experiences: http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/Discipline.aspx

Princeton Neuroscience Summer Internship: https://pni.princeton.edu/summer-programs 

Research Experiences for Undergrads. (REU): https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/reu 

Finding Jobs in Psychology

Entry Level Psych Undergrad Jobs: https://www.wayup.com/s/entry-level-jobs/psychology/ 

CareerBuilder Psychology Jobs Board: http://www.careerbuilder.com/

CareerBuilder Social Services Jobs: http://www.careerbuilder.com/jobs-social-services

Federal Pathways to Govt Jobs: http://gogovernment.org/government_careers/students

Human Services Jobs in Western Mass: http://www.humanserviceforum.org/jobs/ 

AmeriCorps and Community Service: https://www.americorps.gov/ 

Psychology Job Board: http://jobs.psychologyjobs.com

Jobs with the Federal Government: http://www.usajobs.gov/ 

Human Resources (HR) Jobs

Society for Human Resource Management: http://jobs.shrm.org/

HR Crossing: http://www.hrcrossing.com/

HumanResourcesJobs.com: https://www.humanresourcesjobs.com/

North East HR Association: http://jobs.nehra.com/

iHireHR: https://www.ihirehr.com/

PIHRA: https://hr.pihra.associationcareernetwork.com/jobs/ 

World at Work Jobs Board: https://careers.worldatwork.org/jobseekers/ 

International Development Opportunities

Fulbright Opportunities: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/

Volunteer Abroad: https://www.goabroad.com/volunteer-abroad/ 

Intern Abroad: https://www.goabroad.com/intern-abroad 

Jobs in Development: https://www.devex.com/jobs

Peace Corps: www.peacecorps.gov

Important Qualities to Include on Your Resume

• Analytical skills. Psychologists must examine the information they collect and draw logical conclusions.
• Communication skills. Psychologists must have strong communication skills because they spend much of their time listening to and speaking with patients or describing their research.
• Integrity. Psychologists must keep patients’ problems in confidence, and patients must be able to trust psychologists’ expertise in treating sensitive problems.
• Interpersonal skills. Psychologists study and help individuals, so they must be able to work well with clients, patients, and other professionals.
• Observational skills. Psychologists study attitude and behavior. They must understand the possible meanings of facial expressions, body positions, actions, and interactions.
• Patience. Psychologists must demonstrate patience, because conducting research or treating patients may take a long time.
• Problem-solving skills. Psychologists need problem-solving skills to collect information, design research, evaluate programs, and find treatments or solutions to mental and behavioral problems.

What Do Employers Look For? (NACE 2024 Job Outlook for Students)

Top 10 Skills Employers Seek on Candidate Resumes

1. Problem-solving skills
2. Ability to work in a team
3. Communication skills (written)
4. Strong work ethic
5. Flexibility/adaptability
6. Communication (verbal)
7. Technical Skills
8. Analytical/Quantitative Skills
9. Initiative
10. Detail-oriented

Top 7 Attributes that can positively influence employers the most

1. Internship with the organization
2. Internship within the industry
3. Major
4. General work experience
5. Leadership experience
6. Extracurricular activities
7. High GPA (3.0 or above)