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The Psychology bachelor's degree as preparation for careers that do not require graduate training

[This material has been adapted from a section in The Psychology Majors Handbook, 1995-96
of the Pacific Union College Behavioral and Social Science Department.]

You may be surprised to find out that a major in psychology without further graduate training can lead to careers in fields both directly and indirectly related to psychology. It used to be widely held that the bachelors degree in psychology could only lead to graduate school, and that if one did not want to attend graduate school one should choose another major. Today it is more widely held that graduate school is one of many options available to the graduate with a bachelors degree in psychology; however, it is still a good idea to take some courses from other departments to better prepare you for that career. For example, a psychology major is good preparation for working in a company's personnel department; however, a student would be even better prepared if s/he took some management/business courses. Some students go still further and obtain a double major such as psychology and business or psychology and communications. If you plan your schedule carefully, two majors may be completed in only four years of college. According to Zeller (1988), a psychology major is good preparation for the following list of bachelor level careers:

admissions representative	group home parents
adolescent care technician	head of alumni affairs
adolescent chemical dependency counselor	human relations director
advertising trainee	infant-stimulation teacher
affirmative action officer	information referral specialist
alcohol counselor/alcoholism counselor	instructor, handicapped adult program
assistant youth coordinator	interviewer investigator
camp staff director	juvenile justice planner
case manager	juvenile prevention program coordinator
chemical dependency advocate	juvenile specialist
chemical dependency coordinator	management trainee
chemical dependency technician	marketing manager
child-care counselor	mental retardation professional
child-care worker	mental retardation unit management
child-protection worker	neighborhood outreach worker
college admissions representative	occupational information developer
community activist	park and recreation director
community correctional service worker	patient service representative
community outreach coordinator	personnel coordinator
community organizer	private school representative
community service coordinator	private tutor
compliance officer	probation officer
cottage treatment team	program consultant
counselor aid	police-training coordinator
counselor (drug)	public information officer
crime-prevention coordinator	rehabilitation aid
customer relations	research assistant
day-care aid	research trainee
deputy juvenile probation officer	residence counselor
director of activity and recreation	resident aid
director of alumni relations	resident caretaker
director of day-care center	residential assistant
director of human services	residential director
director of planned parenthood	residential service coordinator
director of youth service bureau	salesperson
drug counselor	social security interviewer
early childhood specialist	social services supervisor
prevention specialist	social studies teacher
educational salesperson	social worker coordinator
educational textbook representative	statistical assistant
employee-assistance program specialist	student activities adviser
employee counselor	trainer-coordinator
employment counselor	veteran's advisor
employment representative	volunteer coordinator
foster-home parent	work activity program director
group home coordinator	youth worker

If you have an interest in finding out more about what kinds of careers one can enter with a bachelors degree in psychology, you will want to check the following sources as well as the section on "Suggestions For Further Study":

Fretz, B. (1979) Where to look for positions. in P.J. Woods (Ed.), The Psychology Major: Training and Employment Strategies. Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association, pp. 27-29.

Woods, Paul J., editor. (1987) Is Psychology the Major for You? Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.

Woods, Paul J., editor. (1988) Is Psychology for Them? A Guide to Undergraduate Advising. Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.

Zeller, M.J. (1988) Titles of jobs in human services for students with a bachelor's degree in psychology, In P.J. Woods (Ed.), Is Psychology for Them?: A Guide to Undergraduate Advising (pp. 195-196). Washington, D.C., American Psychological Association.