Psychology Degrees
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Salaries For Degrees in Psychology
People with a degree in Psychology can work in a variety of occupations. While no one can say with certainty what you personally will do with a degree in Psychology, our survey panel picked the following occupations as likely options:
- Mental health counselors
- Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors (Best salary!)
- Marriage and family therapists
- Rehabilitation counselors
- Psychiatric technicians
The median salary for people with a degree in Psychology is $32,168.64. The lifetime value of this degree is approximately $754,900.00.
Salaries are highly dependent on how skilled one is at negotiation, seniority in the field, policies at your employer, area, and more. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.
Where does this come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a team of freelancers to get their view on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.
From this, we calculated the average salary for Psychology degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.
What Can a Psychology Student Expect to Learn?
Psychology is a field chosen by thousands of students every year. The career opportunities are vast and diverse for those who earn a degree in Psychology. While most psychologists work with people who need counseling for various reasons, many of them seek other career paths that do not involve counseling; some psychologists pursue writing careers, while others may work in psychological research.
Despite the continual decline of jobs in the economy, jobs for psychologists have remained fairly stable. This article will discuss what is learned in Psychology studies, the prospective employment fields after graduation, the best schools to seek degrees from and some famous people who majored in this field.
Since there are so many different avenues a student entering the study of Psychology may pursue, what is learned will vary for each person. However, all Psychology students must learn certain things. Prerequisite and general education classes required usually include English, Business Math or Accounting, Biology, Speech, Communication, Sociology or various other courses.
Once the prerequisites are taken, students will be required to learn Developmental, Abnormal, Child, Cognitive and many other special Psychology-focused studies. Students who plan to enter the field of counseling will learn the skills necessary to counsel people. Counseling is not simply talking; students must learn to listen well, see the issue from the patient's viewpoint and then make a proper decision about how to offer helpful decisions.
Psychology delves deep into the thought processes of human beings. Students will learn how the brain works and which parts of it are responsible for emotions, thoughts and memory. They will learn how events in each person's life may affect their future behavior. In correlation with this, students also learn the meanings of behaviors and how to change them into something more positive or productive.
After completing a Bachelor or higher Psychology degree, graduates will also have the knowledge necessary to work in Human Resources. They will learn how to identify strengths and weaknesses in a person's personality, making them able to help the person or simply avoid hiring applicants who seem behaviorally or psychologically unfit for a position. Psychology degrees that are designed to specialize in research will give students the knowledge to work with scientists and psychiatrists to study the science of human thought and behavior.
Degree Options
The field of Psychology offers several degree options to students, depending on the school that is chosen. Following are a list of the different Psychology degrees that are offered and what a graduate can expect with that degree:
- Associate's Degree - This route will generally take about 2 years for full-time students to complete. An Associate's degree will afford the graduate the opportunity to work for alcohol or substance abuse facilities and programs, counseling addicts and supervising them. Additionally, graduates may be able to work in government jobs that require an Associate's degree to obtain. Salary ranges for those who graduate with an Associate's degree usually start between $25,000 and $35,000 per year.
- Bachelor's Degree - Graduates with a Bachelor's degree will be eligible to assist psychologists with their research in a lab setting. In a clinical practice setting, these graduates will be responsible for assisting the psychologist, but not counseling the patients. Students who earn their Bachelor's degree will also be able to work as a Human Services Department head for companies or facilities. Earning a Bachelor's degree takes about 4 years for full-time students. Starting wages vary depending on the field chosen, but usually average between $30,000 and $50,000 per year.
- Master's Degree - After graduating with a Master's degree in Psychology, students may be eligible to be staffed with industrial companies as a counselor or consultant. Also the option to become an Human Services director may be afforded to some. With a Master's degree, graduates may be able to teach Psychology at a college or school; also these graduates are eligible to assist psychologists in their work, either in a research lab or clinical setting. Earning a Master's degree takes between 5-6 years of full-time study. Those entering the field after graduation may expect to see salaries between $40,000 and $70,000 per year.
- Doctoral Degree - Either the Psy.D or Ph.D in Psychology is offered to students pursuing a Doctoral degree. Students will be eligible to become a counselor with a Doctoral degree. Some graduates with this high degree choose to work with researchers and scientists, performing studies and testing hypotheses. Many psychologists write articles and books about their research also. Counselors may work in a variety of settings, from schools to mental hospitals. Many graduates will seek their own counseling practice after gaining experience, specializing with one specialty or a certain group of people. The Doctoral degree programs require about 8 years of full-time study. New graduates may expect to earn between $45,000 and $85,000 per year.
Online Schools Offering Accredited Psychology Degree Programs
Online Schools With everything turning virtual in today's world, the popularity of online studying has increased greatly. Students who plan to search on their own for online Psychology degrees should ensure the school is accredited before enrolling.
To do this, prospective students should visit the Department of Education's website and search for the school in their database. Educational institutions that do not appear on the list should be disregarded. Following are a list of popular and reputable online schools offering various degrees in Psychology:
Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Psychology Degrees
Not every student benefits from an online education delivery system. Students who plan to pursue a degree in Psychology on campus will find degree programs in every state. Following are a list of the most popular and established schools teaching Psychology:
- Stanford University
- University of California
- University of Minnesota
- University of Illinois at Urbana
- University of Wisconsin
Famous Psychology Students
There are several well-known people who studied Psychology. The most influential person in Psychology was Wilhelm Wundt, known as "the father of Psychology" because he formed the beginning of experimental psychology. 
Sigmund Freud (pictured right) is another well-known person who studied Psychology, famous for developing the Psychosexual Stages of Development, along with many other theories that influenced multiple schools of thought.
Another famous Psychology expert was Albert Bandura. He was well-known for formulating the idea that children mimic what they see - kind or violent. This was discovered by his famous "Bobo doll" experiment in which children mimicked observed physical abuse on the doll.
