Best Psychology Degree Jobs With Salaries

A psychology degree prepares you for an exciting career helping people overcome life’s hardships and challenges. Of course, in order to start making an impact, you must choose a specific career path that will determine how you interact with people and the situations you help them face. This article explores the types of jobs that will allow you to demonstrate the knowledge you’ve learned while studying psychology.

Best jobs for psychology degrees with salaries

Here’s a look at some of the best jobs for someone with a psychology degree:

  • Correctional officer
  • Career advisor
  • Health educator
  • Psychiatric technician
  • Human resources specialist
  • Social worker
  • Public affairs specialist
  • Market researcher
  • School psychologist
  • Management analyst
  • Sales manager
  • Clinical psychologist

Correctional Officer

National Average Salary: $32,365 per year

Primary Duties: With an associate’s degree in psychology, you could pursue the position of a correctional officer. This job puts you in direct contact with inmates. Your responsibilities would include supervising inmates, participating in rehabilitation with the inmates, and providing counseling to them on an individual basis. 

Career Advisor

National Average Salary: $42,239 per year

Primary Duties: A career advisor works closely with young adults to help them plan the transition from school to the workforce. Typically, this position will place you in a counseling department where you can help students select a career path that matches their interests and skills. You may also assist them in finding scholarship opportunities, volunteer programs and internships. Career advisors also help organize skills workshops and development activities. 

Health Educator 

National Average Salary: $43,864 per year

Primary Duties: A health educator will usually work in a community-based program where they assist with making and developing educational programs to help people improve their personal health. Community outreach initiatives are a major part of the job, in addition to individual counseling, as these educators work to facilitate access to the health and wellness programs available to local citizens. Nutrition and physical fitness are important to this role, and so are mental health and stress management techniques. 

Psychiatric Technician

National Average Salary: $45,420 per year

Primary Duties: A psychiatric technician assists other members of a medical team, including psychiatrists, psychologists and medical doctors. Patients include those who have been psychiatrically hospitalized, diagnosed with developmental disabilities and the elderly. Psychiatric technicians must assist patients with daily activities while monitoring their behavior and updating providers about patients’ progress. 

Human Resources Specialist 

National Average Salary: $51,326 per year

Primary Duties: The primary focus of a human resources specialist is to assist with an organization’s recruiting process. Duties include screening applicants, interviewing and helping to hire and onboard new employees. Collaboration with other departments, including employee training and relations, is also common. Specialists may work with management to help people work toward company goals and make suggestions about future hires to help achieve those goals. 

Social Worker

National Average Salary: $56,932 per year

Primary Duties: Social workers play an important role in a community as they are the first people to respond when questions arise about social, economic, emotional or behavioral issues relating to families. Social workers perform a number of different duties, ranging from interviewing clients to meeting with attorneys and handling administrative responsibilities. Counseling is another major function of the job and social workers must be prepared to work with people of all ages and backgrounds. 

Public Affairs Specialist 

National Average Salary: $61,285 per year

Primary Duties: A public affairs specialist or public relations (PR) specialist is responsible for maintaining an organization’s image. These specialists work to build a positive image for the brand, which requires some collaboration with the marketing and sales teams. PR specialists also help release and develop social media campaigns to promote the organization’s values, goals and positive impact.

Market Researcher

National Average Salary: $63,580 per year

Primary Duties: The responsibilities of a market research analyst are to promote products or services to a specific audience. Duties include studying the conditions of the market and determining what people want out of a product or service. They will also play a role in defining a company’s target audience and setting a competitive price. 

School Psychologist 

National Average Salary: $66,883 per year

Primary Duties: A school psychologist works with students individually and as groups to help them overcome issues in their academic and personal life. Challenges may involve behavioral problems, disabilities and other conditions that can impact their performance in school and beyond. School psychologists must also collaborate with parents and teachers to develop techniques that will improve the student’s quality of life and performance. 

Management Analyst

National Average Salary: $73,006 per year

Primary Duties: Management analysts, or management consultants, prioritize organizational efficiency. The responsibilities of a management analyst center on making an organization more profitable by increasing revenue and reducing cost. They may find new ways to do so by conducting organizational studies, finding ways to simplify processes and preparing manuals to make training and work more efficient.

Sales Manager

National Average Salary: $74,812 per year

Primary Duties: A sales manager works to guide sales teams at an organization. The duties of a sales manager including analyzing data, assigning sales training, building a sales plan and setting quotas to keep the team on track with operational goals. Mentoring team members is an important part of the role to make sure the teams work well. 

Clinical Psychologist 

National Average Salary: $96,268 per year

Primary Duties: A clinical psychologist may work at a private practice or in a clinical setting in order to identify behavioral, emotional and mental challenges with patients. This position requires conducting multiple tests, interviews and observational studies in order to diagnose disorders and help treat or manage different conditions.