If you majored in Psychology, you might be curious about what you can work as after graduation. You might also be considering a psychology degree and don’t know what the career outlook is after graduation or if you can get any jobs you are interested in. Is it just all working as a therapist and listening to people’s problems day or night? Or are there other options to choose from? Thankfully, we break it down for you here at Udrus. Read on to learn about the types of psychology master’s degree and what you can do with a psychology master’s degree after graduation. 

Types of Psychology master’s degrees 

There are several types of psychology master’s degrees that you can choose from. In order to pick one, you might first need to consider what you would like to work as and what you are interested in. There are generally three categories of psychology master’s degrees to study, depending on the specialisation you want to focus on and what you are passionate about. 

Psychology Master’s in Clinical Psychology

Perhaps the most popular type of psychology master’s degree, this specialisation is the one in clinical psychology. This one is considered a terminal degree so further graduate studies aren’t needed to work in the field. These are usually practice-heavy degrees, as the job is highly practical after graduation. Graduates of this psychology master’s track provide psychotherapy and psychological assessment to those who need it. Sometimes, at the beginning they’ll need to be supervised by a licensed clinical psychologist until they get the hang of things and can go solo. 

Psychology Master’s in Experimental Psychology

The second kind of psychology master’s degree is a master’s in experimental psychology. This degree can either be a terminal one or be preparation if you want to study a PhD program or a further graduate study. These degrees are more research based and allow students to get ready for a career in research. For example, they could work as lab assistants, research assistants or market researchers. If students choose to study a Psychology master’s program then they’ll choose an area of focus like cognitive psychology, human factors, developmental psychology, or social psychology.

 

Psychology Master’s in any Applied Psychology Area

The final kind of psychology master’s studies is the track of applied psychology. There are many job opportunities for students who choose this track, arguably more than any other track of psychology master’s degrees. Examples of these applied subjects might be organisational psychology or forensic psychology. Getting a psychology master’s degree in this area lets you work in the area of your specialisation, whatever it may be. Many students might also go on to work in teaching positions, whether at schools or universities. 

psychology master's degree

Psychology master’s degree career paths 

If you want to study a master’s degree in psychology, you might first want to know about the career paths you can trek down after graduation. The most well known career path, of course, is becoming a psychologist. After you have gained your degree in psychology, you’ll be able to get a psychology license, though many students decide to go on to do a doctorate before getting this license. 

 

However, there are many other career paths if you don’t want to be a psychologist but still want to study a master’s degree in this field. Here are some of the most common career paths that psychology master’s degree graduates choose that are within the field of psychology: 

 

  • A career in teaching
  • A career in Clinical psychology
  • A career in Counseling psychology
  • A career in Educational psychology
  • A career in Forensic psychology
  • A career in Industrial-organizational psychology
  • A career in Sport psychology

 

Others might decide to pick career paths outside of the field of psychology after completing their master’s degree. Though it might be surprising, there are also many options for career paths outside the field of psychology if that’s what you want to do. This is because during your course of study you gain many skills like critical thinking, data analysis and excellent research skills, among many more.  Here are some of the most common career paths in non-psychology areas students may choose to pursue: 

  • A career in law
  • A career in the charity sector
  • A career in publishing
  • A career in research
  • A career in Marketing
  • A career in social work 
  • Working for Local, State, and Federal Government operations
  • A career in human resources

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Potential Job areas for psychology master’s degree holders

You might also be interested in the specific job areas that psychology master’s degree holders may decide to go for. They work in colleges and universities, multinationals and also government entities, as well as many other choices. The possibilities are sky high! You just need to know where to look. In this section we break down potential job areas that psychology master’s students can look into so they can work there after graduation. 

Jobs at Educational Institutions 

The first option for work areas is in educational institutions though the competition might be a bit challenging to get  a teaching position. Students can work as teachers or professors in schools, junior colleges and universities. They might also want to look into areas like academic advising, career counseling, and academic recruiting at educational institutions as they are also highly qualified for these roles with their educations in psychology.  

Jobs in Governmental Institutions 

A job area to look into is also working in governmental institutions, whether it’s the local or federal government. Government offices like to hire graduates with psychology master’s degrees as they are good at doing research and can also provide workers with psychological services that are highly useful to the institution. 

 

Some of the job listings you might find are the following: 

  • Vocational rehabilitation provider
  • Self-reliance specialist
  • Drug and alcohol specialist
  • Employment counselor
  • Parole officers
  • Psychology program manager
  • Rehabilitation counselor
  • Social service manager

Jobs in Health Care and Mental Health Institutions 

Another job area for graduates of psychology master’s degrees is the area of healthcare and mental health institutes. Even if you didn’t choose a clinical degree, you might still be able to find a good job in this job area. These institutions offer many entry level jobs for psychology graduates and can give them a great chance to gain experience and see if they want to later study clinical or counseling psychology further education degrees.  

Some of the job titles you might find in this job area might be these: 

  • Behavioural counselor
  • Health project coordinator
  • Psychiatric technician
  • Rehabilitation specialist
  • Family services specialist 
  • Child protection specialist 
  • Childcare supervisor

Jobs in Business Organisations

Finally, this is one for those who want to pursue a career in an area outside of the area of psychology. A psychology master’s degree can prepare you for many careers in business due to the soft skills and other skills earned during the degree. They teach students strong interpersonal, research and written skills which makes them often high in demand in human resources, sales and marketing departments. The solid background in statistics and quantitative research might also make them a perfect fit for market research and supply chain departments.  

 

Here are some of the job titles you might be qualified to work as in this job area after graduating from a psychology Master’s degree: 

  • Human resources manager
  • Advertising agent
  • Market researcher
  • Public relations representative
  • Project manager
  • Sales representative
  • Supply chain specialist 

How much can you earn with a psychology master’s degree?

After learning about the potential careers paths and job areas for those who graduate from a psychology master’s degree, you might then want to find out how much you can earn with a psychology master’s degree. The median salary for graduates of a psychology master’s degree is around 60,000 dollars a year, a significant increase from bachelor’s graduates who get 50,000 dollars a year. That means it’s well worth doing w master’s degree if you already chose to study a bachelor’s degree in psychology. 

Exactly how much you’ll earn in each position depends on the industry and specialisation of choice. Some of the highest paying jobs in the field of psychology are the following ones so you can see how much you can earn working these jobs after you earn a psychology master’s degree: 

Industrial-Organizational Psychologist 

Industrial-organizational psychologists work on enhancing how efficient organisations are. The average salary for this job is around 92,000 dollars a year, making it a pretty good salary! 

Engineering Psychologist 

Engineering psychologists focus on understanding how humans deal with machines. They are usually involved when designing products to make sure they have a good human-computer interaction. The average annual salary for this position is around 90,000 dollars for master level professionals. 

Sports Psychologist 

Sports psychologists are those who serve as psychologists for athletes and help them handle any psychological issues they may face and deal with stress. The average annual salary for sports psychologists is about 70,000 dollars. 

School Counsellor 

Another high paying position in this field is as a school counsellor. In this position, professionals help students with psychological issues that are both personal and relating to academics. The average salary for this position is around 60,000 dollars on an annual basis. 

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Job outlook

Finally, it’s always important to understand the job outlook for any degree you may pursue in a certain field. For psychology master’s degree graduates, the job outlook is looking pretty great! The employment of those in this field is expected to rise at about 14 per cent through the year 2028. This is pretty high when compared with other professions, making it a very attractive field to go into. 

 

However, it’s important to note that you might face competition for many positions, especially those with psychologist in the title. Therefore, it’s better to look for jobs without that word in the job description as many institutions restrict the use of the term psychologist to those with a doctorate degree in the field.  

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In conclusion, the future’s looking pretty awesome for those who want to study psychology master’s degrees. The job outlook is increasing and there are positions in many job areas, both inside and outside the area of psychology. However, the first step is to figure out which track of psychology master’s degree you want to pursue as this will be a critical first step to finding the ideal program and university for you!Â