Careers for psychology graduates

Psychology is the science of how people think, feel, and behave. So, those with expertise in psychology are well suited to a wide variety of jobs and careers due to both their knowledge of scientific methods and their people know-how.

The flexibility of a psychology degree, compared to more job-specific degrees such as accountancy, nursing, engineering etc. makes it ideal for negotiating the fluidity of the future job market. But this flexibility can also be challenging for those looking for more certainty. So, it is important to become aware of the breadth of possible career directions before setting out in a particular direction.

A starting point for exploring possible careers in Australia is the federal government's job outlook website.

Importantly, most people with an undergraduate psychology degree do not end up working in psychology per se, but instead apply their skills to related professions such as health care, human resources, marketing, education, business, etc. A minority undertake further training to become registered and work as a psychologist or to specialise in research.

To learn more about the variety of psychologist roles, a good starting point are these job outlook profiles of psychologist careers in Australia (explore the tabs for further information).

The Australian Psychological Society provides some more indepth resources about psychologist and non-psychologist career pathways:

* Careers in psychology
* Other careers with an undergraduate psychology degree

It is also worth looking at psychology career pathway ideas in other countries. For example, the American Psychological Association provides valuable career education resources including:

* Careers in psychology (pdf)

The further you explore, the more you will find. There's plenty of other psychology career resources available, such as:

* What can I can do with a degree in psychology? (Curtin University)
* Career options with a Bachelor's degree in psychology (careerprofiles.info)
* 11 things you can do with a Bachelor's degree in psychology (verywell.com)

At the end of the day, you need to discover what is unique about your strengths and interests and this can be blended with this your psychology training to make a worthwhile contribution to society.

If you are a current student or recent graduate, then make use of your institution's graduate careers service. For example: Careers UC (University of Canberra).

## External links

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* Cool careers - The extreme psychologist (University of Canberra)
* Researcher awarded for mental health app (University of Canberra)
* Sleiman is using his triumph over adversity to help others & Graduate soldiers on to help others (University of Canberra)
* Ann-Maree is a psychologist and suicide prevention specialist (University of Canberra)
* Psychologist relishes her new role as Dean of Students (University of Canberra)
* UC shaped my career. It gave me chances. Simple as that. (University of Canberra)