{"id":15494,"date":"2026-09-06T10:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T10:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/?page_id=15494---cbaecabc-d1f1-46be-999d-d1961bad3c1a"},"modified":"2026-10-02T11:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T11:14:56","slug":"how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/","title":{"rendered":"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By most standards, jobs for psychologists are considered \u201cgood.\u201d They\u2019re well paid, with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics<\/a> (BLS) reporting an overall median wage of $79,010 for the occupation. Psychologists also command a certain degree of job prestige. However, not every job you could attain with a psychology degree is equally good, and there are tradeoffs associated with earning a more advanced degree. Generally, the best jobs with an undergraduate degree in psychology are in other fields, while those with a master\u2019s degree are in the specialty of industrial-organizational psychology and licensed psychologist jobs are best among workers with a doctorate.<\/p>\n

Good Jobs With Bachelor\u2019s Degrees in Psychology<\/h2>\n

When debating the quality of job opportunities with only an undergraduate degree in psychology, it\u2019s important to clarify whether you are considering only jobs in the field of psychology<\/a> or jobs in other areas. Within psychology, there are admittedly only limited career opportunities, and very few good jobs, with just a bachelor\u2019s degree. You may be able to work as an applied behavior analyst or move into a career in social work with your bachelor\u2019s in psychology degree<\/a>, or you could use this undergraduate psychology background<\/a> to work in a social science research role, such as research assistant. However, there are no good psychologist jobs with only a bachelor\u2019s degree, because all jobs that are permitted to use the word \u201cpsychologist\u201d in the job title require an advanced education beyond the bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Top 10 Highest Paying Social Science Jobs<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The majority of psychology majors don\u2019t go on to work in psychology, according to the American Psychological Association (APA). Outside of the field of psychology, your job prospects can improve considerably. Studying psychology gives you insight into how other people \u2013 prospective employers, clients, customers and audience members, for example \u2013 think, feel and behave. Through studying psychology, you develop skills in observation, critical thinking, problem-solving and communication, which can make you a valuable asset in many different job functions and appeal to employers in all industries.<\/p>\n

Although there are dozens of possible non-psychology career paths open to you with an undergraduate background in psychology, certain fields draw in greater numbers of psychology majors. In business, for example, psychology majors<\/a> may make excellent managers, human resources specialists, market researchers and administrative professionals. You can use your understanding of research methods, statistical analysis and the scientific method to pursue an education in a life or physical science and become a scientist. Some psychology majors enter creative fields like writing, while others choose to work in non-psychology jobs in law enforcement and criminal justice, such as police officer or probation officer.<\/p>\n

Although you can do many jobs with a psychology degree, you may use the skills you have learned in a career that requires no degree or any degree, the <\/strong>APA<\/strong> reported \u2013 and you may have to persuade employers that your psychology background adds value.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What Can You Do With a Master\u2019s Degree in Psychology?<\/h2>\n

By advancing your education with a master\u2019s degree in psychology, you can open up your career opportunities to include some limited psychologist roles. Generally, a master\u2019s degree is enough education to qualify you as an industrial-organizational psychologist. Industrial-organizational psychologists use the principles and practices of psychology to solve problems and improve performance in business and other workplace settings. Although this field of psychology requires the least education, it is one of the highest paying roles, with a median wage of $97,260, according to the BLS.<\/p>\n

RELATED: What Is the Fastest Way to Become a Psychologist?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A master\u2019s degree can also open some doors in the field of school psychology, but there are several factors to consider. Different states impose different educational requirements on school psychologists, and master\u2019s degree programs in this field can range from short programs requiring around 30 graduate credits to lengthy programs that require 60 credits. If you choose the wrong path for school psychology jobs in your state, you could end up unable to get a license and attain a position in this field.<\/p>\n

While 47 percent of <\/strong>industrial-organizational psychologists<\/strong><\/a> have a master\u2019s degree, 48 percent of industrial-organizational psychologists report a doctorate as their highest level of education. An additional five percent have post-doctoral training. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Best Psychology Jobs at the Doctoral Level<\/h2>\n

If you really want to open doors to the best jobs in the field of psychology, then there\u2019s no substitute for earning a doctoral degree. A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) or Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) can prepare you to become a licensed psychologist in fields such as clinical or counseling psychology. Whether it\u2019s research, clinical treatment of mental illnesses or counseling services that help people find better ways to approach difficult life situations that most appeals to you, a doctoral degree will help you do it.<\/p>\n

Experience, gained both during and after your education, is also a crucial part of preparing for these high-level psychology jobs. You should expect to complete practicum and internship experiences while pursuing a psychology degree, especially at the doctoral level. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Additional Resources <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What Degree Do I Need to Be a Psychologist?<\/a><\/p>\n

How Long Does It Take to Become a Psychologist?<\/a><\/p>\n

What Is the Salary Potential for Someone With a Psychology Degree?<\/a><\/p>\n

The Hidden Benefits of a Degree in Psychology<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By most standards, jobs for psychologists are considered \u201cgood.\u201d They\u2019re well paid, with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting an overall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":12011,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"mobius_hide_qdf":false,"mobius_hide_el":false,"mobius_limit":"","mobius_degree":"","mobius_category":"","mobius_subject":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-15494","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job? - DegreeQuery.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job? - DegreeQuery.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By most standards, jobs for psychologists are considered \u201cgood.\u201d They\u2019re well paid, with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting an overall […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DegreeQuery.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-02T11:14:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/\",\"name\":\"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job? - DegreeQuery.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-06T10:00:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-02T11:14:56+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Can I Do With a Degree in Psychology?\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/\",\"name\":\"DegreeQuery.com\",\"description\":\"Get Answers To Your Questions About College Degrees\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"DegreeQuery.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/degreequery-logo-mark.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/degreequery-logo-mark.svg\",\"caption\":\"DegreeQuery.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job? - DegreeQuery.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job? - DegreeQuery.com","og_description":"By most standards, jobs for psychologists are considered \u201cgood.\u201d They\u2019re well paid, with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting an overall […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/","og_site_name":"DegreeQuery.com","article_modified_time":"2026-10-02T11:14:56+00:00","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/","url":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/","name":"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job? - DegreeQuery.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-06T10:00:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-02T11:14:56+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/how-advanced-does-my-degree-in-psychology-need-to-be-to-get-a-good-job\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Can I Do With a Degree in Psychology?","item":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/psychology-degrees\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How Advanced Does My Degree in Psychology Need to Be to Get a Good Job?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/","name":"DegreeQuery.com","description":"Get Answers To Your Questions About College Degrees","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#organization","name":"DegreeQuery.com","url":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/degreequery-logo-mark.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/degreequery-logo-mark.svg","caption":"DegreeQuery.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15494"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15494"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15494\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47821,"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15494\/revisions\/47821"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.degreequery.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}