Career Outlook for Those with a Psychology Degree

Career Outlook for Those with a Psychology Degree

Feb 6, 2015 | 12:00 pm

What is the career outlook for those with a psychology degree in terms of future job growth, salary and other aspects? This article is focused on the overall job outlook for people holding a degree in psychology.

Psychology Career Outlook Statistics

The Occupational Handbook Outlook shows that job growth for people with a degree in psychology would increase at an average rate in the coming decades. Specifically, it is estimated that jobs for psychologists are expected to increase by approximately 12% through 2022. This average growth rate is also the same forecasted for other jobs. As demand for psychological service increase in schools, mental health centers, social service agencies, hospitals, private companies and substance abuse rehabilitation centers, the need for more trained psychologists is expected to increase significantly as well.

What is the Psychology Career Outlook in Specialty Areas?

Obviously, for various specialty areas within psychology careers, the job outlook would differ. According to the U.S Department of Labor, it is expected that job opportunities for those with psychology degree will be more increasingly available for those holding doctoral degrees in different specialty areas like health psychology and counseling.

Also, it is cited in the U.S Department of Labor report that school psychology will grow significantly in the years to come. This is simply because of the increased awareness about the mental health need of kids. As learning disorders, bullying, and other behavioral problems continue to rise; the need for qualified school psychologists will also continue to increase.

Clinical and Counseling Psychologists

“Increased demand for clinical psychologists will continue to be the growing costs linked with obesity, alcoholism, smoking, and other unhealthy lifestyles, which in turn has necessitated increase in prevention and treatment. Also, increase in employment growth in the aspects of counseling and clinical psychology is also an upward moving trend as the need for employee assistance programs continues to rise. These specialists help people in the workplace deal with personal problems.

Also, more clinical and counseling psychologists would be recruited to aid individuals in dealing with mental disorders such as depressions, anxieties, as well as marriage/family related problems, addiction, as well as job stress.

Geropsychology Experts

In addition, it is expected that increase in demand for people trained in geropsychology will continue to soar as the need to aid older people in dealing with physical changes and mental disorders that come with the aging process tend to be in the rise. Again, psychologists will be required to work with returning veteran increasingly.
Organizational/Industrial Psychologists

The Occupational Outlook Handbook also shows that industrial psychologists will be in increased demand to aid in boosting workers productivity, as well as aid retention rates in diverse businesses. The job of the industrial or organizational psychologists in companies is to handle issues such as anti-discrimination policies and diversity in the workplace. Another crucial role of psychologists in the workplace is designing, analyzing and researching, for the purpose of developing tools that would boost statistical analysis and market evaluation.”

In similar manner, the pay check and entire remuneration of people with degree in psychology is also expected to only get better.