Students often ask “what can I do with a degree in Psychology?” The true, but often challenging, answer is, MANY things!
When there are many paths, it can be hard to know how to get started in exploring career paths.
The following video introduces you to careers in Psychology, and provides you with links to worksheets to help you determine a) career paths of interest, and b) training pathways to help you reach those paths.
The spreadsheets you see used in the video can be accessed here (make your own copy and fill with info):
Resources
Given there are so many career and training paths available, here are some resources to help get you started as you explore.
We’d like to highlight an incredible outcome stemming from our PSYC400: Teaching and Learning in Psychology course.
The To Help You Reach Knowledge (THRK) team which began in PSYC400, led by Flo Nusselder, Hannah Burrows, Alyssa Giovannangeli, and Adrianna Armstrong, is deeply committed to the mission of dismantling financial barriers in higher education. During this seminar course, the team was challenged to find a gap in higher education and to propose a solution. In response, and moving beyond the course, they created a comprehensive, open-access to address the discrepancy between available resources and student awareness of financial aid supports. We are so proud of this team’s achievements, and are pleased to share their work here: https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/payforpostsecondary/
The Canadian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science: This is a free online book that talks about many career and training paths in Psychology, specific to the Canadian context. There are chapters addressing many areas of expertise including Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology, Psychology and the Law, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and more!
Where do people with training in psychology work? This is an open-access map that shows just some professionals working in various fields who have training in Psychology.
The Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Career Hub: CPA hosts a large web resource related to careers in psychology.
Planning a Career in Psychology: This is a resource published by CPA that explores subfields of psychology, and career paths related to them.
American Psychological Association Careers in Psychology Website: This is a comprehensive website that reviews careers in psychology in the American context, and that also links to a variety of additional careers-related resources.
Many careers in Psychology require training in addition to an Undergraduate degree. The below resources may be helpful as you make decisions during your undergraduate training that can influence your graduate training.
Mitch’s Uncensored Advice for Applying to Graduate School in Clinical Psychology: This is a comprehensive overview of graduate training in Clinical Psychology. It is set in an American context, but many insights also apply within Canada.
Becoming a Psychological Scientist (Part 1) and Becoming a Psychological Scientist (Part 2): In this short video series, Dr. Mitch Prinstein introduces considerations for when applying to graduate school in Psychology.
Visit Career Services to speak with a career counsellor and find resources – it’s a free service for Queen’s students! Click for drop-in advising, a career workshop, or a career counselling appointment.