Psychology is the study of the human mind, behaviours, thoughts, feelings, mental health, personality, memory, reasoning, language, personality, and mental health.
This article will discuss the advantages and drawbacks of a psychology degree to help you determine whether the degree is useless or not.
Is a Psychology Degree Useless?
A psychology degree is not useless. However, a bachelors in psychology is not a very useful degree either. Although a degree in psychology will teach you valuable skills and make you employable across various fields; it will not provide you with as many job opportunities and benefits as someone with a STEM degree.
Psychology is a liberal arts degree. It will teach you essential analytical and communication skills. It will also help you improve your interpersonal, leadership, and teamwork skills.
These skills are extremely valuable and will help you become employable across several fields. This is one of the reasons why many psychology majors work in fields that are not directly related to their degree. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Many psychology majors work in unrelated fields because there are not enough jobs in their own field. Even though a psychology degree can help you gain several transferable skills; it lacks in teaching you the technical skills that employers are actively looking out for. This is why some individuals call psychology a useless degree.
For instance, electrical engineers are nearly irreplaceable because of the specific technical knowledge they possess. On the other hand, the typical jobs that psychology majors hold can easily be taken up by sociologists, physiologists, human resource managers, and social and mental health workers.
The study of the human mind is an extremely interesting and limitless endeavour. The brain is perhaps the most complex organ in the human body. Psychology will help you understand the interconnection between the human mind and body, make better decisions, and handle stress more effectively.
A psychology degree is not useless as it helps train professionals who can make a meaningful impact in society. These professionals can help others overcome drug addictions, depression, stress, anger, grief, anxiety, and other negative emotions. Moreover, they can help reduce crime and increase the overall well being of society.
Is Becoming a Psychologist Worth it?
Becoming a psychologist is quite worth it. Psychologists earn much more than the average wage of all other occupations and get the opportunity to make a significant difference in the lives of others. However, becoming a psychologist is a long, tedious, and stressful journey.
It takes several years before you can become a psychologist. After graduating from high school you can expect to spend 6 years completing your bachelors and masters degrees.
Upon the completion of your master’s degree, you may want to spend another two years gaining experience in clinical, research, and therapy to further strengthen your application for a doctorate program.
Your doctorate program can take you 2-5 years on average to complete. Hence, it can easily take you 8-12 years before you practice psychology professionally.
Once you are a licensed psychologist you will be handsomely rewarded for your hard work and tireless efforts. You may get a high paying job, additional vacation time, flexible work schedules, gym memberships, health and dental insurance, and the option to buy company stocks.
Experienced and highly qualified psychologists are in high demand in various sectors of society. Many psychologists find a lot of satisfaction in their work; possibly because they make life-changing impacts on peoples lives.
Is it Hard to get a Job with a Psychology Degree?
It is moderately hard to get a job with a psychology degree. Compared to STEM majors it is harder to get a job with a psychology degree. This is because a psychology degree will help you develop several transferrable skills but almost no technical expertise that employers want.
The purpose of liberal arts degree like psychology is to nurture self-development and critical thinking. A degree in psychology is not the ideal preparation to become readily employable.
A college degree alone is not sufficient to make a dent in today’s labour market. Employers want someone with relevant experience, certifications, and strong portfolios. You must strengthen your application by showing that you are more than your degree at college.
You will have the advantage over other high school graduates by holding a bachelors degree in psychology. You will be on equal footing when it comes to most other humanities and liberal arts majors. However, you will find it harder to get a job with a psychology degree when compared to STEM graduates.
STEM programmes are renowned for their rigour and difficulty. Engineering and science graduates are in high demand. This is because most STEM programs will teach you the technical skills and expertise that employers want.
A bachelors degree in psychology will limit you from applying to more advanced psychology positions. A masters degree will slightly improve your chances of getting a job. However, a doctorate degree will unlock the true potential of the psychology field by making you eligible for top tier positions.
The following are some of the most common career paths that individuals with a bachelors degree in psychology pursue:
- Admissions Evaluator
- Advertising Agent
- Career Counselor
- Child Care Worker
- Community Worker
- Fund Raiser
- Human Resource Advisor
- Labor Relations Manager
- Personal Recruiter
- Laboratory Assistant
- Market Researcher
- Psychiatric Technician
- Probation and Parole Officer
- Rehabilitation Specialist
- Sales Representative
- Social Service Specialist
- Teacher
- Writer
Is Psychology a Hard Major?
Psychology is not a hard major at all. In fact, psychology is one of the easiest majors that colleges offer. Although a psychology degree has a relatively heavy workload and requires a lot of readings; most of the subject content is fairly straightforward and self-explanatory.
If you want to do well in your psychology degree you will not need to do anything extraordinary. As long as you attend the classes, revise regularly, and complete the home assignments you should manage alright.
The difficulty of your psychology degree largely depends on the overall difficulty and reputation of the university itself. Top tier universities attract the brightest students. To prevent grade inflation professors tend to make their exams tougher.
After completing your core courses, the remaining classes you select play an important role in the difficulty of your degree. Choosing hard classes during the junior and senior years of your college can make your college life stressful.
Generally, a psychology major is quite easy to pursue. There will be almost no overly complex concepts, demanding math courses, or tough lab sessions. The content in the psychology degree is easy to follow. All in all, most students will not have a hard time with a psychology degree.
Conclusion
Psychology is a good degree to pursue but not a great one. It has several advantages but a few downsides as well. If you were to become a full-fledged psychologist then it is an excellent career choice. Majoring in psychology is relatively easy and should not be a great matter of concern.
