What Can I do With a Degree in Psychology?

Career Center Library Resources
The Career Center Library has a variety of resources to help students explore potential career fields. These resources include information about typical responsibilities, qualifications, career paths, job outlook, salary, and related careers.

Books Specifically Related to Psychology Majors

• Real People Working in the Helping Professions
• Careers in Social Work
• A Guide to Careers in Addiction Treatment
• Opportunities in Gerontology Careers
• Careers for Good Samaritans and other Humanitarian Types
• Careers for Kids at Heart & Others who Adore Children
• 100 Jobs in Social Change
• Career Paths in Psychology
• Opportunities in Gerontology and Aging Services Careers

Books of General Interest to Liberal Arts Majors

• Great Jobs for Liberal Arts Majors
• The Career Guide for Creative and Unconventional People
• Making a Living while Making a Difference

Vocational Biographies
Vocational Biographies describes the career success stories of 1001 real people. Search by career title, keyword, topic, and career cluster. Username: portland su and pass code: 3w9n

• Psychological Examiner
• Job Placement Specialist
• Marriage Counselor
• Social Worker
• Elementary School Counselor
• Substance Abuse Counselor

Professional Associations

• American Psychological Association
• International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP)
• American Psychological Society
• The Association of Black Psychologists
• Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychology (SIOP)
• Homepage of Division I (Organizational Psychology) of the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)

Internet Sites with Career-Related Information for Psychology Majors

• Psychology — Lists potential job titles and related skills. From the University Career and Employment Services at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
• College Majors and Career Opportunities — Psychology — Lists related occupations and types of employers. From Career Services, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
• What Can I do with a Major in...Psychology? — Lists potential job titles. From the Career Services Office at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, North Carolina.
• A Career Decision Tree for Psychology Majors — From Dr. Retta E. Poe of Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
• A Psychology Student Handbook — Bachelor's Degree — By Bruce R. Fretz, Ph.D., Psi Chi National President.
• Marky Lloyd's Careers in Psychology Page — Includes a variety of interesting articles "to help undergraduate students learn what they can do with a degree in psychology". Includes an article on Entry-Level Jobs for Psychology Majors and a list of Entry Level Positions Obtained by Psychology Majors. Also includes information for those students who are interested in learning about Master's- and Doctoral-Level Careers in Psychology and Related Areas.
• Psychologists — From the 2000-2001 Occupational Outlook Handbook.
• Psychology: What Can I Do With This Major? — Outlines common career areas, identifies typical employers, and suggests general strategies to enhance employability. From Career Services at the University of Tennessee.

Places of Employment

Psychology majors may find employment in a variety of areas based on their skills and experience. Some psychology grads choose to work in human services in the areas of counseling, advocacy, and mental health services; in program development in local, state, and federal government; in business in the areas of human resources, public relations, advertising, market research, retail, and sales. Career-related internships or part-time jobs may be a prerequisite to finding professional-level employment after graduation in these and other fields.

The following list of employers and job titles was derived from the Career Center's jobs database where the employer specifically requested psychology majors. This list does not reflect all potential places of employment or kinds of jobs for psychology majors. This list does not reflect current openings.

• Arras, Inc. — Family Services, Counseling, Youth Program
• Benaroya Research Institute — Clinical Research Coordinator 
• Benton County — DD Services Coordinator, Behaviorist in Primary Care/QMHP
• Bostwick, Carter & Krier, Inc. — Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor
• Casey Family Program — Research Specialist
• Cascade AIDS Project — Bilingual HIV Prevention Specialist, Men's Wellness Center Coordinator
• Cascadia Behavioral HealthCare — Mental Health Intake and Access Specialist, Director of Corrections and Programs
• Catherine Freer Wilderness Therapy Expeditions — Youth Counselor 
• Central City Concern — Case Manager III, Supported Employment Supervisor, Mental Health Specialist, Team leader - Housing Rapid Response, Clinical Supervisor, Alcohol and Drug Counselor
• Centralia College — Student Success Specialist
• Child Development School of Oregon — Behavior Program Instructor
• City of Beaverton — Mediation Services Program Coordinator
• City of Hillsboro — Police Officer
• City of Salem — Housing Assistance Representative
• Clackamas Community College — Workforce Outreach and Recruitment Specialist
• Cascadia Behavioral HealthCare — Mental Health Intake and Access Specialist
• Cascade AIDS Project — Bilingual HIV Prevention Specialist, Men's Wellness Center Coordinator
• CODA, Inc. — Recovery Center Manager, Direct Service Counselor - New Directions Women's Program, Clinical Coordinator
• Columbia Valley Community Health — Behavioral Health Therapist
• Community Action Organiztion — New Parent Network Supervisor, Outreach Worker
• Contra Costa County — Animal Services Public Education Coordinator
• Cowlitz County — Probation Officer 
• De Paul Treatment Centers, Inc. — Primary Residentaly Counselor - Men's Program
• Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Inc. — Counseling/Social Services, Residential Youth Counselor
• Educational Service District 101 (ESD101) — Employment Specialist/Counselor
• Evergreen State College — Career Counseling Specialist
• Hebert & Louis, LLC — Behavioral Health Care Research Analyst
• Human Services Council — Case Manager, Case Aide
• Independent Living Resources — Director of Programs and Services
• Institute for Family Development — Therapist
• IRCO - Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization — Asian Gang Outreach Worker
• Jackson County — Community Justice Director
• Janus Youth Programs, Harry's Mother — Residential Services Treatment Supervisor
• Juliette's House Child Abuse Assessment Center — Child Interviewer Specialist/Intake Counselor
• Juneau Youth Services, Inc. — Mental Health Clinician
• Klamath County — Mental Health Therapist
• Lane County — Bilingual juvenile Couselor I, Bilingual Juvenile Groupworker, Secure Program Supervisor
• Lane Education Service District — School Pyschologist
• Lifeworks NW — Mental Health/Chemical Dependency Therapist, Chemical Dependency Counselor
• Loaves & Fishes Center, Inc. — Assistant Manager
• Lutheran Community Services Northwest — Mental Health Therapist 
• McKesson Provider Technologies — Regional Triage Analyst
• Morrison Child and Family Services — Family Support Specialist and Child and Family Outreach Services, Family Clinician, Youth Care Specialist, Child Development Therapist, Mental Health Therapist, Psychologist, Adolescent and Family Counselor, Relief Residentail Counselor, School Based Clinician
• Mt. Hood Community College — Family Worker - Early Head Start
• Multnomah County Department of Community Justice — Family Therapist 
• Multnomah Education Service District — Behavior Consultant
• NARA/NW — Residential Aide
• Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments — Private Care Manager
• Oregon Child Development Coalition — Developmental Support Coordinator, Mental Health and Disabilities Specialist
• Oregon Health Sciences University — Senior Research Associate (provide support for NIH-funded clinical study)
• Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division — Principal Contributor 2 - Outreach, Education, and Training Coordinator
• Oregon Youth Authority — Psychiatric Social Worker
• Outside-In — Youth Specialist I, Resources & Acitivities Specialist, Bilingual Case Manager, Project Coordinator
• Pacific Interpreters, Inc., Interpreter Recruitment Department — Staffing and Support
• Portland Community College — Student Resource Specialist for Upward Bound Program, Assistant Coordinator, Adult Basic Skills Assessment Technicians, Sylvania ROOTS Program/Developmental Education Advisor
• Portland YouthBuilders — Advocate - Student Services Team
• Providence Health System — Telephone Triage Counselor
• RiverBend Youth Center — Residential Counselor
• SAIF Corporation — Vocational Coordinator
• State of Oregon — Marketing Writer (Public Information Representative 1); Training and Development Specialist; Human Resources Analyst; Adult Probation/Parole Officer; Juvenile Parole/ Probation Officer; Adult Protective Service Specialist; Public Affairs Specialist; Publications Editor; Research Analyst 2, 3, 4; Social Services Specialist; Diversion Specialist
• SeattleGenetics — Clinical Trials Assistant
• Shasta College — Psychological Counselor
• Shoreline Community College — Academic Advisor (master's required)
• South Puget Sound Community College — Vice President for Student Services (master's required)
• Southwest Washington Agency on Aging and Disabilities (SWAAD) — Case Manager
• Strategic Therapy Associates, Inc. — Residential Treatment Counselors
• Terwilliger Plaza — Activities Coordinator
• The Christie School — Residential Treatment Counselor, Child Development Specialist
• The Hartman Group — Qualitative Research Associate
• Tongue Point Job Corps Center — Residential Living Supervisor, Drug and Alcohol Counselor
• Trillium Family Services — Child and Adolescent Treatment Specialist; Director of Research and Evaluation (requires a master's degree)
• UCLA-Integrated Substance Abuse Programs — Staff Research Associate
• Umatilla County — Mental Health Specialist I 
• United Community Actions Network (UCAN) — Family Services Program Manager
• United States Postal Service — Intelligence Analyst
• US Department of Veterans Affairs — Management Analyst
• Vancouver Housing Authority — Mentor Program Coordinator
• Volunteers of America — Research Site Coordinator
• Washington School for the Deaf — Recreation Specialist I
• Washington State University — Academic Coordinator/Retention Specialist 
• Western Psychological & Counseling Adolescent Counselor — Chemical Dependaency Adolescent Counselor
• Work Unlimited — Residential Program Director

Miscellaneous

• Careers in Psychology: What do psychologists do when they get to work, and how do they prepare for and find those jobs? — From the American Psychological Association
• A Guide to Getting into Graduate School — From the American Psychological Association.
• Internet Survival Guide of Industrial/Organizational Psychology — From PennState University
• Social Psychology Network — Page maintained by Professor Scott Plous, Associate Professor of Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut. This is "the largest social psychology database on the Internet. In these pages, you'll find more than 3,500 links to psychology-related resources."

Department of Psychology — Portland State University