Climate change. Legal issues. Education. Organizational change. Business. Sports and performance. Artificial intelligence. Technology and human behavior.
What do these topics have in common? They all fall broadly into applied psychology.
“What are you going to do with a psychology degree?” Far too often, the career options that come to mind relate to the clinical and counseling part of the discipline and not to the wide variety of career options available to those with a psychology degree (Vespia, 2020). Though a career in clinical or counseling psychology is certainly a great choice, these health services careers are merely one type of many career options available to students studying psychological science. What often does not come to mind are career options within the applied psychology space that include many other rewarding opportunities in which psychological science directly impacts and improves lives.
The best way to understand what applied psychological science is all about is to become familiar with some of the diverse career opportunities in which psychological science is used to provide the insights needed to address many questions and solve a wide variety of problems. You can begin by reviewing the “Applied Psychology Improving Lives with Science” (PDF, 1.25MB)opens in new window report from APA that illustrates the application of psychology in the workplace and in the classroom, advancing justice, shaping technology, promoting sustainability, combatting misinformation, and promoting health and well-being. In the examples included, you will learn how psychological science enhances human potential, performance, and well-being by improving governmental and organizational practices, products and services, and contributing solutions to local and global societal problems.
By choosing a career in applied psychology, you are often able to combine your interest in psychology with your other career interests connected to climate change, education, business, computer science, or fitness and sports. These types of applied psychology careers can lead to opportunities that allow you to use the important skills developed across the psychology major curriculum (Waggoner Denton, 2024) and your knowledge of psychological science to create meaningful and positive changes for individuals and for the greater community. While there are many career options in applied psychology, these career pathways may not be obvious. You will not find jobs with the term “applied psychology” in the job description or job title. Applied psychology careers are less about what you do and where you work and more about how your work is used and why your work is important. If you find yourself asking questions about what informs your work (i.e., psychological theory and research) and where it has impact (i.e., human and non-human behavior and functioning), you are asking applied psychology questions.
Given the greater focus on careers in APA’s curriculum guidelines, it is likely that your time in the classroom included a course requirement that focused on careers (APA, 2023). However, we do realize that this content does differ from one institution to the next, so we want to share additional resources to keep in mind as you research career options and opportunities. You might have learned about the O*NET database, a useful resource that allows you to learn more about the labor market and the opportunities to consider. How to use this resource was recently covered in a PSN article, which provides a step-by-step guide on how to use O*NET (Stamm, 2024). There are also a number of helpful resources online that cover career options for psychology majors (Appleby, 2015).
Finally, you will find many applied psychology careers covered in the resources and references listed below, which are useful for those who obtain an undergraduate degree or go on to a graduate program.
- The Center for Workforce Studies tool, which illustrates examples of different occupations based on obtaining a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in psychology. For example, did you know psychology bachelor’s degree holders worked in 88 out of 129 occupational categories? Explore more at CWS Data Tool: Careers in Psychology.
- To read about career paths and options for students with psychology degrees, visit Introduction To Career Development—The Australian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science.
- For videos and updated coverage on careers in applied psychology, check out the homepage of APA’s Office of Applied Psychology.
Is a career in applied psychology right for you? Use these resources to gather information about career possibilities and find out what careers interest you. Good luck wherever your career pathway takes you.
References
Appleby, D. C. (2015). An online career-exploration resource for psychology majors. Office of teaching resources in psychology online. Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.roanoke.edu/Documents/Psychology Department/Career resources for Psychology Majors.pdf.opens in new window
American Psychological Association. (2023). APA guidelines for the undergraduate psychology major: Version 3.0. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/undergraduate-psychology-major.pdfopens in new window
Norris, M. E. (2019). The Canadian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science. Kingston, ON: eCampus Ontario. Licensed under CC BY NC 4.0. Retrieved from https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/psychologycareers/front-matter/foreword/opens in new window
Stamm, K. (2024). How to Use O*Net in Your Career Journey. Psychology Student Network. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2024/09/use-o-net
Vespia, K. M. (2020). Psychology, careers, and workforce readiness: A curricular infusion approach. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 6(2), 163.
Waggoner Denton, A. (2024). How to market the skills you have and develop the ones you need. Psychology Student Network. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psn/2024/09/marketing-skills
Beth M. Schwartz, PhD, is the associate director in the Office of Applied Psychology at APA, where her work focuses on applying psychological and behavioral science to promote human performance and wellbeing. Initiatives include workplace psychology, human-technology interaction, legal psychology, and climate change psychology. Working alongside experts across the field of psychology, Dr. Schwartz’s focus is to connect psychological science to real world issues for real world impact. Dr. Schwartz started her career in higher education as a psychology professor at Randolph College and then served as provost at Heidelberg University, and finally as provost at Endicott College, overseeing the division as chief academic officer. Beth received her BA from Colby College, and her PhD in cognitive psychology from SUNY at Buffalo. She is a long-standing member of APA and a fellow of APA’s Division 2, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. Her publications include articles and numerous books, including Evidenced-Based Tools and Techniques for University Teaching, Optimizing Teaching and Learning, and a series of books that serve as “easy guides” for students learning the intricacies of APA Style, research design, statistics, and presentations. Outside of work, Dr. Schwartz lives on the coast of Massachusetts in Manchester-by-the-Sea and loves heading out with her husband Doc and springer spaniel Riley on their boat, appropriately named “Life of Riley.”
Karen Stamm, PhD, is the senior director of the Center for Workforce Studies at APA. The mission of APA’s Center for Workforce Studies is to collect, analyze, and disseminate information about the psychology workforce and education pathways. Karen’s career journey has spanned both academia and APA. She is a quantitative psychologist who enjoys using data to tell compelling stories. Karen earned her PhD and MA in psychology from the University of Rhode Island and her BA in psychology and English from Boston College.
