Prompt #6

Psychology has a reputation for being the realm of students who don't know what they want to study, but want something that sounds more impressive. It's a very popular major, but the job market isn't great for new graduates in the world. People usually don't plan for it, and so the statistics of salary and job outlooks are very poor as a result. Because of that, psychology is often seen as a "useless" major, or unimportant to the world, but I beg to differ, psychology is just not approached in the right way.

Photo: Cargo Collective

This article from the Washington Post references Psychology multiple times, giving numbers and statistics about the job field after receiving your degree. A section of the article states, "at a median wage of $83,580 a year, the occupation with the fastest projected job growth, industrial-organizational psychologists, pays well. But, there’s not much demand for this type of psychologist. The field will generate only 900 jobs in 10 years, according to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook." The job field is almost over-saturated in addition to little demand for the jobs, but that doesn't knock the importance of psychologists, just the market it's in.

If your heart is in it, you will find a job. Many people enter the field with no idea of what to do with a psychology major, or as a substitute until they find another major to pursue, that's what's wrong with the major. People also choose psychology because they are interested in how they, themselves think, and don't look at the bigger picture of "why am I taking this major?" There are plenty of jobs offered to psychology majors too: human services, pharmacy technicians, rehab therapists, psychologists, etc., so it all depends on what you're going for as they're all different.

Photo: Despina Illustration

As there is no lie that STEM majors are more suitable for comfortable wages in life, psychology is for those who want to study and be psychologistsists. If you love what you do, go for it and make the best of it. Just because your major isn't one of the best demanding new jobs doesn't mean it's the least enjoyable out of all of them. Psychology is often seen as the blind-mans major, as in people choose it with no plan for the future. But for those who have a plan, psychology can offer a lot more than perceived.

by Lucas. W.

Works Cited:

Weiner, Joann. "Why Sally can't get a good job with her college degree." Washington Post. 5 September 2014. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/she-the-people/wp/2014/09/05/why-sally-cant-get-a-good-job-with-her-college-degree/?utm_term=.e4857386fbd0

"The 50+ Best Jobs for Psychology Graduates." Careers in Psychology. https://careersinpsychology.org/50-best-jobs-psychologists/