What Can I Do with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology?

1. Substance abuse or behavioral disorder counselor

• Average salary (BLS): $60,080 per year ($28.89 per hour)*
• Employment outlook (BLS): 18% increase from 2022-2032

Substance abuse or behavioral disorder counselors help people with a variety of conditions, such as alcoholism or addiction, and psychological disorders like depression. Counselors offer support, education, and alternative coping behaviors to help improve their clients’ physical and mental health.

Duties generally include evaluating clients’ psychological and mental health and assessing their readiness for treatment. Counselors will then work with clients to develop treatment plans and goals.

Counselors may work with a specific group, such as adults or high-school students, or in a specific field, such as child and family services.

While it may be possible to find an entry-level job without a master’s degree, mental health counselors typically need a master’s degree in social work or a related major and at least a year or two of clinical experience.¹

3. Human resources manager

• Average salary (BLS): $154,740 per year ($74.39 per hour)*
• Employment outlook (BLS): 5% increase from 2022-2032

Human resources managers develop, coordinate, and guide the administrative functions of an organization. This includes recruitment efforts, benefits and payroll, training and development, and compliance to ensure the organization follows state and federal law.

Additionally, HR managers play a key role in developing and fostering the organization’s culture. This includes working closely with department managers to identify important issues and gathering feedback through employee surveys.

While not required, a master’s of business administration can help you prepare for and succeed in an HR manager role, as well as potentially higher-paying opportunities down the road.

5. Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers

• Average salary (BLS): $152,620 per year ($73.38 per hour)*
• Employment outlook (BLS): 2% increase from 2022-2032

Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. Their duties may include project coordination, account management and budgeting. They work closely with art directors, copywriters, and related teams.

A strong educational background in psychology can be beneficial to help you understand different types of people and how they make decisions. This is extremely valuable information for marketing departments strategizing how to sell their products and services.

If you're very interested in specializing in advertising or marketing, you may consider a bachelor's degree in marketing as a preferable degree pathway.

Advertising managers vs. Promotions managers

Advertising managers work in agencies that put together ad campaigns, such as digital or print, while promotions managers oversee programs that combine ads with purchasing incentives, such as discounts, coupons, or rebates, in order to increase sales.

Marketing managers oversee many things, such product development, market segmentation, launch plans, and customer satisfaction.

7. Training and development specialists

• Average salary (BLS): $138,450 per year ($66.56 per hour)*
• Employment outlook (BLS): 7% increase from 2022-2032

Training and development managers develop, implement, and oversee training programs for organizations. They identify the organization and employees’ needs and develop training based on their findings, as well as the different requirements for jobs. Training materials may include instructional manuals and videos and may be delivered in person or online.

Additionally, training and development managers oversee the training staff, work with vendors that supply training materials and software, evaluate the effectiveness of the training programs, and manage staff and budget as needed.