Psychology Related Occupations | More Information on Occupations | Things to do NOW to Maximize Career Opportunities | How to Focus Your Career Choice | Marketing Your Psychology Major to Employers | Psychology Career Websites

These are some of the job titles related to these particular emphases: there are more.

To begin to focus your career choice, within your emphasis area(s)

1. Mark those jobs that interest you with a "+" sign,
2. Mark those that you don't know much about with a "?" and
3. Draw a line through those jobs that you are familiar with and know you have no interest in.
4. Now find out more about the jobs with a "?" beside them. If you want some suggestions for doing research, contact Career Services.
5. Then narrow the list of "+" and "?" jobs down to four or five and begin to consider how you can develop the skills to enter those occupations.

Things Students Can (and should) Do NOW to Get a Job in the Field of Psychology:

• Get involved with campus activities to find out what kind of things you like to do (example: work alone, with a group, or a combination; lead or follow; participate in planned activities for people or be more spontaneous, etc.).
• Think about which broad area you want to enter (research, healthcare, environmental, education, etc.) and research the career path* for each occupation of interest.
• Work as a paraprofessional in campus offices such as a lab assistant.
• Plan to do at least one internship as a way to get focused experience in your field. Two internships are preferable.
• Volunteer your services to a non-profit organization in whose cause you believe. You will get experience, and networking contacts.

*Career path = what jobs are the entry-level point for the occupation – how do I get my foot in the door?, how do people commonly advance in that occupation?

To locate further information about any of the following occupations

• Duties
• Education and Training Needed
• How Hard or Easy it Will Be To Find a Job
• Compensation

go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook online: http://www.bls.gov/oco/

You may access the site anywhere you can access the web. There are 2 computers you can use in Career Services for any career-related task, including occupational research. Search by looking for the job title in the alphabetical index, or typing in the occupational name in the search box, or looking in the field/industry list on the right side of the screen.

Skills Employers Seek Which are Related to a Major in Psychology:

Human Services Skills: These are skills which may be sought by employers in situations where direct services are provided to individuals who are in need of help.

• Perform institutional research and evaluation.
• Write reports and proposals clearly and objectively.
• Organize and lead groups, organizations, or committees.
• Recognize and understand behavioral and emotional disorders.
• Select, administer, score, and interpret psychological tests.
• Respond in an unbiased and tolerant way to individual differences.
• Display fundamental counseling skills with individuals and groups.
• Collect, record, and report statistical and qualitative information.
• Perform crisis intervention techniques (e.g., listening and referral).
• Perform interviews to learn about people's history, problems, and plans.
• Contribute to program or treatment planning, evaluation, and implementation.
• Demonstrate small group skills (e.g., team building and conflict management).
• Communicate effectively and sensitively in both individual and group situations.
• Obtain information about problems through library research and personal contacts.
• Critically evaluate theories and research and apply the results to solve problems.
• Analyze problems on the basis of personal experience and psychological principles.
• Understand and modify your attitudes and actions in interactions with other people.

Research Skills: These are some of the types of skills essential to jobs in which information based on basic or applied research is provided to assist decision making.

• Construct and administer questionnaires.
• Use a variety of types of research equipment.
• Collect, organize, analyze. and interpret data.
• Present verbal presentations clearly and persuasively.
• Defend ideas in a clear, objective, non-dogmatic manner.
• Be familiar with a variety of research methods and designs.
• Recruit research subjects and treat them in an ethical manner.
• Select, administer, score, and interpret various psychological tests.
• Write reports clearly, concisely, objectively, and in the correct style.
• Use library resources to research problems and prepare literature reviews.
• Identify problems and suggest solutions on the basis of research findings.
• Create easily understood graphs, tables, and verbal descriptions of results.
• Select and compute appropriate statistical tests and interpret their results.
• Assemble, interpret, and critically analyze research findings in specific areas.
• Use computers to write reports, analyze data, and perform bibliographic searches.
• Deal effectively with financial, temporal, and personnel constraints on research.

* Indiana State University Website: http://web.indstate.edu/psych/careers_in_psychology.htm

Psychology Career Websites:

There are too many sources of information on the web to name them all. Here are just a few.

Graduate School & Careers in Psychology http://www.rider.edu/users/suler/gradschl.html

Careers in psychology http://www.psywww.com/careers/jobs.htm lists jobs related to the sciences.

American Psychological Associataion http://www.apa.org/students/brochure includes plenty of helpful informaitonfor understanding the psychology field.

American Counseling Association http://www.counseling.org/site/PageServer Click on the “Students” link for information about accredited graduate programs and other information

Indiana State University http://web.indstate.edu/psych/careers_in_psychology.htm Lots of information about skills employers seek and types of jobs for psychology majors from Indiana State University’s website.

Nationjob.com http://www.nationjob.com/hr Human Resources job listings

Careerlink http://www.careerlink.org Omaha area job listings. Search by industry, employer, or job type.

For more information or personal help, visit the Career Services Office:
Monday-Friday:
8 a.m.-noon, 1-5 p.m.
Other hours available by appointment

E.C. Hunt Campus Center
(Located next to the Bookstore)
Phone: (402) 426-7258
Fax: (402) 426-7922
Campus Box 1225

Email: career@dana.edu
or telephone for an appointment