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What Can You Do With A Master’s Degree In Psychology?

by Martha Simmonds
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Many students who decide to go with an undergraduate degree in psychology will decide that they need to go further with their education and work on gaining a master’s degree rather than stopping. This extra time in education will allow you to build up your network, sharpen your research skills, and make it easier to find the job that you want. 

As you look at whether to get this degree or you are getting to the end of a graduate program, you may wonder what some of your options are for that degree. You spent all that time in school and with the money and time spent, you want to ensure that you are going to be able to get the job of your dreams.  

You will have some options available for you once you get this graduate degree. Some of the things you can do with a master’s degree in clinical psychology includes­­­:

Go For Clinical Psychology

Many students will decide to use this advanced degree as more of a stepping stone. They can then go on to get a doctoral degree in psychology, which will then lead them to the career of a clinical psychologist. It does take an advanced degree, which means more time in school, but it is a great career for you to choose. 

While not all of the doctoral programs you can choose will ask you to have a master’s degree, it does help. If you have this degree, whether it is required or not, you will find that it makes you a more competitive candidate and allows you to get some of those coveted spots in the doctoral program of your choice. 

Become A Counselor

Another choice that you can work on with this advanced degree is to become a counselor. Students will be able to start working as one of these professionals as soon as you complete your time in graduate school, as long as you get the licensing exam done that is required based on the state you live in. 

Counselors, no matter their current specialty, are in high demand right now. The need for all types of counselors, whether it is a mental health counselor, rehabilitation counselor, or a school and career counselor, will rise by 10% or more by 2030, meaning that you will be able to find the right career for your needs. 

Work In An Office

Just because you get your degree in psychology doesn’t mean that you have to put a limit on your career as a therapist or a counselor. Organizations in the private and the public sector, no matter the industry, will seek out the right candidates that have a background in psychology as well. 

For example, you could choose to go after a career in human resources, journalism, and marketing. If you already have an advanced degree in psychology and would like to enter the workforce, you could consider some of these careers above to help you find a rewarding career that you are sure to love. 

It is also possible to choose to work as an industrial organizational psychologist. These professionals are going to work in more of a corporate setting than before. With the right degree, you could easily pivot over and start working in this kind of specialty. 

These professionals can help with recruiting, check on satisfaction and productivity of the employee, and can conduct a number of research options to learn more about consumer behavior. 

Non-Client-Facing Psychology Positions

While many people only think about therapists and psychologists, there are a lot of great opportunities that you are able to pursue, even if you are not interested in some of the client-facing positions. Some fields that may work for this could include forensic, experimental, and developmental psychology. Some of these positions will be in academia instead. 

However, this doesn’t mean that you will never need to communicate with others when you work in these roles. No matter the type of career you choose in psychology, you will need to work with students, research colleagues, faculty members, or coworkers to get all of the work done. 

The big difference here is that you will communicate in relation to getting the research or the teaching done. When you do a client-facing position, you will need to communicate directly with the clients in more of a therapeutic capacity, and some professionals may not be comfortable with doing this. 

Client-Facing Positions 

When we think about a career in psychology, we will most likely look more at the client-facing roles. These are going to be the ones where the professional will sit down with the patient or the client and discuss the problem that is in place, no matter what it is. The psychologist will then step in with a good treatment plan to help the patient the most. 

Client-facing roles are the ones that are going to be the most associated with psychology. A clinical psychologist, school psychologist, and counseling psychologist would all fit within this kind of position. Since these roles are going to focus on helping the patient, they will require the professional to have a good deal of contact with the patient to do this. 

When the professional is successful in their role with a client-facing position, they can help the patient to do better overall. They will be there to help the patient handle emotional, cognitive, and social difficulties that show up and provide some of the best treatments based on what is going on with the patient at the time, through a variety of different methods available. 

Choosing A Master’s Degree In Psychology

There are so many career choices that you can make when it comes to gaining your Master’s degree in psychology that it makes a lot of sense. Take a look at some of the different things that you can do when you decide to continue your education and get this graduate degree.

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