|
|
If you are
planning on getting a job immediately after graduation with your Psychology
BA, this page will give you tips on how to get a job. If you want information
on what jobs people with a Psychology BA are eligible for, visit our careers
in Psychology page.
Job Skills
Possessed by Psychology Majors
If you are
planning on getting a job after graduation, what skills will you have
gained as a Psychology major that will make you attractive to employers?
This is important, so you can market yourself successfully. I think you
will see that, in preparing you for graduate school, you will be prepared
for other career possibilities as well.
Edwards
and Smith (1988) conducted structured interviews with 68 government agencies,
nonprofit organizations, and for-profit sales and service corporations.
They asked how important a number of skills were to these employers, as
well as how knowledge in a number of important areas of psychology were.
Tables 1 and 2 show how important these skills and knowledge areas were
rated by these employers.
| As
you can see in Table 1, research skills (such as writing proposals
and reports, doing statistical analyses, and coding data) were important
to these employers. These are some of the same skills that are most
valued by graduate programs. In addition to this, interviewing and
observational skills were highly valued. |
Table
1
|
Skill
|
%
of Employers Rating Useful
|
| Writing
proposals and reports |
90%
|
| Doing
statistical analyses |
84%
|
| Conducting
interviews |
84%
|
| Identifying
problems and suggesting solutions based on research findings/knowledge
of behavior |
79%
|
| Coding
data |
75%
|
| Designing
and conducting research projects |
71%
|
| Job
analysis |
69%
|
| Using
computer programs to analyze data |
60%
|
| Test
and questionnaire construction |
56%
|
| Observation
of human behavior |
51%
|
| Table
2 shows ratings of how useful different knowledge areas in Psychology
were to these employers. Although the Industrial/Organizational curriculum
track most clearly focuses on these areas, all psychology majors learn
a lot about most of these areas. |
Table
2
|
Knowledge
Area
|
%
of Employers Rating Useful
|
| How
people think, solve problems, and process information |
78%
|
| Attitude
and opinion formation and change |
75%
|
| Small
group structure and dynamics |
75%
|
| Personnel
selection techniques |
72%
|
| Perception
and sensation of environment |
71%
|
| Organizational
development |
69%
|
| Knowledge
of organizational behavior, work, and productivity |
68%
|
| Effects
of physical environment |
66%
|
| Learning
and memory |
63%
|
| Theories
and research about personality and individual differences |
63%
|
| Motivational
principles |
62%
|
| Human
development |
50%
|
So, if you
want to get a job after graduation while you take a year off before graduate
school, or if you don’t plan on graduate school at all, be confident
that you will leave this program with skills and knowledge valued by employers.
And, you can use this information in making your rŽsumŽ impressive.
Edwards,
J., & Smith, K. (1988). What skills and knowledge do potential employers
value in baccalaureate psychologists? In Is Psychology for Them? New York:
American Psychological Association, pp. 102-111.
Back
to top
A
Time Line for Preparing for Employment with an Undergraduate Psychology
Degree
First
Year | Sophomore Year | Junior
Year | Senior Year | General
Timeline
First
Year
 |
Schedule
a meeting with your academic advisor to discuss your career interests
and options. This meeting should not simply focus on what courses
to take during the next term. |
|
Begin
to consider various careers. Investigate employment opportunities
with a bachelors degree in psychology using resources available from
your advisor and the Learning Support Center and/or Counseling Center.
Realize that some careers require graduate training either at the
entry level or for eventual advancement. |
Sophomore
Year
|
Complete
your self-assessment process. Compile a list of your interests, strengths
(academic and personal), skills, and knowledge. Use this list to help
focus your career choice. |
|
Continue
the process of narrowing down your specific interests in the field
of psychology and consider the type of employment you wish. Use the
results of your self-assessment and on-campus resources to identify
career options. You should focus your career choice by the end of
your sophomore year so that you have time to take the appropriate
preparatory coursework. |
|
Finish
up the majority of your general education requirements, and begin
you work your way through more of your psychology requirements (e.g.,
Methods of Research). |
|
Meet
with your academic advisor to discuss your progress toward degree
completion and your career plans and options. You should discuss upper
level course offerings in psychology that will best prepare you for
your career. |
Junior
Year
|
Re-evaluate
your career choice. Are you still on the right track? |
|
Make
plans to obtain relevant experience outside the classroom before the
end of your senior year (e.g., volunteer work, or a directed study
involving independent research). |
|
Meet
with your academic advisor to discuss your progress toward degree
completion and your career plans and options. Review your course selections
for the major field in psychology and your minor, if you have one. |
|
Contact
people in the profession you are seeking to enter, and conduct some
"information interviews" to learn more about career options. |
Summer
between Junior and Senior Year
|
Use
the summer months to build your job information network, prepare a
polished resume, and continue to refine your career aspirations. |
Senior
Year
|
Meet
with your academic advisor during fall term to discuss your progress
toward degree completion and your career plans and options. Review
your course selections for the major field in psychology and your
minor, if you have one. |
|
Obtain
a copy of your transcript from the Registrar and review it carefully
for any errors. |
|
Identify
three individuals (e.g., faculty members and past employers) who are
willing and able to write STRONG letters of recommendations
for you. |
(This
time-line is a modification of one presented by Bill Hill at the 1994
Southeastern Conference on the Teaching of Psychology in Marietta, Georgia.)
Back
to top
|
