Department of Psychology

Undergraduate Program: Careers and Graduate School Information

• If you are ready to start searching for a job right now, check out our finding a job page
• To give yourself a competitive advantage right away, learn more about developing your professional skills

Careers with a Psychology Degree
Nationwide, psychology is one of the most popular majors, just like it is at SIUE. One reason for this is that psychology is all about understanding people, and understanding other people is not only interesting but also crucial to workplace success.

Another reason is that some of the most common occupations for psychology majors are growing. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook:

• "Faster-than-average employment growth is expected for psychologists"
• "Employment of social and human service assistants is expected to grow by nearly 34 percent through 2016"
• "Employment for counselors is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2016"
• "Employment of human resources, training, and labor relations managers and specialists is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations"

To learn more what you can do with a psychology degree, check out:

Landrum, R. E. (2001). I'm Getting My Bachelor's Degree in Psychology--What Can I Do With It? Eye on Psi Chi, 6.

Aubrecht, L. (2001). What Can You Do With a BA in Psychology? Eye on Psi Chi, 5.

Additional Career Resources

• Visit SIUE's Career Development Center at http://www.careers.siue.edu/ for job fair schedules or to post an on-line resume
• Job Skills Valued By Employers Who Interview Psychology Majors, by Drew Appleby - Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
• How Do I Maximize My Chances of Getting a Good Job With an Undergraduate Degree?, by Betsy Levonian Morgan & Ann J. Korschgen - University of Wisconsin
• More Eye on Psi Chi articles in the category "Career Preparation"
• More Eye on PsiChi articles in the category "Fields of Psychology"

Graduate School in Psychology
A significant number of our students go on for master's and doctoral degrees. See the Psychology Graduate Program web page or the links below for more information.

• Eye on Psi Chi articles about graduate school
• Online Psychology Career Center at Social Psychology Network
• SIUE Adult Clinical Psychology Program
• SIUE Clinical Child and School Psychology Program
• SIUE Industrial/Organizational Psychology Program
• SIUE Specialist Degree in School Psychology

Fields of Psychology
There are a number of different directions you can take in psychology. Explore the links below to learn more about some of the most popular choices.

• Subfields of Psychology (APA)
• Clinical Psychology (APA Division 12)
• Personality and Social Psychology (APA Division 8)
• Adult Development and Aging (APA Division 20)
• Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology (APA Division 21)
• Counseling Psychology (APA Division 17)
• Non-Academic Careers for Scientific Psychologists
• Information on Psychology Careers from the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Social Work and Counseling
Looking to provide mental health services without necessarily getting a doctorate? Consider a career in social work or counseling psychology:

• SIUE Department of Social Work
• Information on Social Workers from the Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Information on Counselors from the Occupational Outlook Handbook

Licensure
You don't necessarily need a Ph.D. or Psy.D. to work in mental health services. Learn about licensure in the State of Illinois through the links below.

• Clinical Professional Counselor Licensure in Illinois
• Clinical Psychologists Licensure in Illinois
• Marriage and Family Therapy Licensure in Illinois
• Social Work Licensure in Illinois

Salary Information
Have you ever wondered how much you might earn after obtaining many years' experience in a particular profession? If so, check out the links below. If the salary data you see are a few years old, you can use this inflation calculator to see the same salary in today's dollars.

• Earnings Information for Human Resources, Training and Labor Relations Managers and Specialists from the US Department of Labor
• Earnings Information for Social Workers from the US Department of Labor
• Earnings Information for Counselors from the US Department of Labor
• Earnings Information for Psychologists from the US Department of Labor
• 2007 Salaries for Psychologists (APA)