Career coaching

Career exploration

‘What can I do with a major in psychology?’

This is a common question from our students. The good news is that psychology opens the doors to many opportunities. About half of our graduates work with a bachelor’s degree in fields like human services, business, education, or government. The others typically go on to pursue graduate education.

For some majors, the career pathway associated with their major is direct (i.e. education major > teacher). Many majors, including psychology, have a variety of pathways available to them. You do not need to know exactly where you are going to get started.

Three questions that can help guide this process as you find your way:

Who am I?

Ask questions. Try new things. Take time to reflect on what you like, what you’re good at, and what is important to you. Pay attention to what bring excitement and energy and do more of these things.

Where am I going?

After taking PSYC 100: Career Planning for Psychology Majors, students often say, ‘I didn’t know there were so many things I could do with a psychology major!’

As you learn more about yourself, you will likely begin to develop a sense of the direction you would like to head. It is important to be curious about different pathways available to you and to learn more about those careers. We’re here to be your guides and to come alongside you as you explore different career options and consider how they fit your unique interests and values.

How do I get there?

You might have a goal in mind. You might not be sure about a career title yet. In either situation, you can get started now gaining real-world experiences that interest you and will help you learn more about yourself, connect with people in careers, and gain experience that will open the door to future opportunities.

Gain experience

In today’s world, employers expect much more from an applicant than just a degree alone. The question employers ask has changed from “Do you have a college degree?” to “What experience and skills did you gain while you were in college earning your degree?”

Seek to gain several types of experiences, such as:

• Campus Involvement
• Volunteering
• Research
• Internships & Part-time Jobs
• Education Abroad

These types of experiences will not only help you discern your career path, but they are important for landing your first job or being accepted to the graduate program of your choice.

Internships, volunteering, and part-time jobs

Internships, volunteering and part-time jobs are a great way to get involved in the field of psychology. Human services agencies, non-profit organizations, government agencies and more are examples of places where you can gain experience while in college.

Potential Benefits:

• Chance to “test” a potential career path to see if it is a good match for you
• Gain experience and build skills
• Build connections/network
• Reference for grad school or future job
• Paid positions help finance your education
• Build your résumé
• Opportunities to give back to the community

As a freshman or sophomore, start with job shadowing and volunteer work to help you identify your interests. As you have more clarity, you can start looking for a related internship or part-time job. Talk to a career coach for assistance finding a related position.

What to expect for each experience:

Volunteer: An unpaid experience that benefits a company, organization or the community. It can be long-term or short-term. Talk to your academic advisor if you’d like to earn academic credit.

Internship: A short-term, paid or unpaid experience to gain career-related skills. This can be during the summer or for a semester during the school year. Talk to your academic advisor if you’d like to earn academic credit.

Part-time job: A paid work experience that is long-term and less than 32 hours per week. If possible, look for related part-time jobs where you can gain skills that will benefit you in the future.

Get Started: Please refer to our internships/volunteering/part-time jobs chart for organizations that offer these opportunities for psychology students. Activate your Handshake account and find job and internship postings.

 Other relevant resources:

• Nebraska Behavioral Health Jobs
• Psychology Jobs and Internships
• Give Pulse (Volunteer opportunities)
• Internships in Nebraska

A note about unemployment rates:

Some media outlets have reported that psychology major unemployment rates are nearly 20%. See APA clarification here: https://www.apa.org/news/press/response/employment-data 

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_sbc.pdf), the unemployment rate for psychology bachelor degree holders aged 25-29 was 3.2% in 2018. This was equal to those in STEM fields (3.2%), lower than computer science (5.6%), and only slightly higher than the unemployment rate for all fields of study (2.9%).

See link at the top of this webpage to see what our psychology students are doing after they graduate!