What Can You Do With a Masters in Psychology?

Typical jobs for someone with a Masters in Psychology include personnel psychologist, psychometrist, counsellor/therapist and assistant psychologist. A Masters in Psychology is very useful for certain roles, with some requiring a Masters before you can apply, and it can also be used as a stepping stone to PhD study. Beyond that, a Masters in Psychology can also be applied in non-psychology roles such as market researcher, HR specialist and higher education lecturer.

If you’re fascinated by the human mind, you might be considering a Masters in Psychology to deepen your understanding, or potentially a conversion course if you’re looking to change tracks. You might also be concerned with what jobs you can get afterwards, which is where I come in. Hopefully I satisfied your id in the intro and now I can get your ego and superego on side with the rest (sorry for the Freud reference, I’m basic).

For some types of psychology Masters degrees, the job progression is pretty straightforward—a Masters in Organisational Psychology to become an organisational psychologist, for example. Even outside of the ‘typical’ career path, though, it turns out that knowing how the brain works is pretty handy for a lot of roles. Plus, you can use operant conditioning to stop Terry from stealing your lunch from the fridge (for legal and Terry reasons, that’s a hypothetical example).

So, how about this? I’ll list off some sample jobs and salaries folks gets with a Masters in Psychology, some that are directly psych jobs and some that aren’t. Your options might depend on local legislation, too, so I’ll make a note whenever that’s a case (along with any other notables). Finally, I’ll discuss whether you should get a PhD and list some transferable skills in case the whole psychology gig doesn’t work out. Hopefully it does (despite evidence to the contrary, people will continue to have brains), but it’s nice to have a plan B.

Masters in Psychology jobs (indirectly related)

Market researcher / market research analyst

Average starting salary: £26,228 / $65,637

Example duties: design questionnaires and advise on methodology of collecting data, monitor the progress of data collection, negotiate contracts for research projects

HR specialist

Average starting salary: £38,299 / $59,436

Example duties: assist hiring managers and recruitment managers in performing hiring activities, arrange and conduct onboarding for new hires, determine and create documents on job duties.

Higher education lecturer (UK) / professor (USA)

Average starting salary: £39,859 / $77,799

Example duties: deliver lectures, seminars and tutorials, assess students’ coursework, develop courses, modules and teaching materials.

Note: In the UK, this would be a lecturer at a college or sixth form rather than at a university—in the majority of cases, you need a PhD to become a university lecturer. Likewise, in the USA, this would be professor at a community college (typically an adjunct professor).

Should I study a PhD in Psychology?

As illustrated above, a PhD in Psychology isn’t required for many psychology professions. With that said, it’s typically considered a beneficial part of your application for several of the jobs listed above, and there are definitely jobs you can’t get without one. You’ll have to balance the cost of a PhD, whether you think you can sustain motivation to finish it, and whether it really will help you get your job of choice.

For a job that requires a PhD, look no further than becoming a licensed clinical psychologist (in both the UK and USA). In the UK, you’ll need ‘Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership’ (GBC) from the British Psychological Society (BPS) followed by a doctorate and registration with the Health Professions Council (HPC). In the US, you’ll need a PhD or PsyD in Psychology followed by an internship and state licensure.

My advice is to figure out what role you’re aiming for first and work backwards. Completing a PhD is far from easy, so know why you’re completing one before you commit. If you really like research and you find the topic fascinating, that’s a valid reason…but ideally, have a plan for the job stuff, too. Barring inheriting vast wealth or winning the lottery (in which case, I’m very jealous), you still need to pay your bills.

Transferable skills for a Masters in Psychology

On the chance that you’re not interested in a psychology career after graduation (or the job market is having a wobble, as it’s known to do sometimes), you’ll be glad to know there are several transferable skills that will be useful for other roles.

Worth noting before we start: the type of Masters you study will have an impact on what transferable skills you learn. A Master of Arts (MA), for example, will encourage more skills built in Humanities subjects, whereas a Master of Science (MSc) will typically place more emphasis on scientific methodologies.

With that said, here are some transferable skills that will be developed by most Masters in Psychology:

• Research methodologies
• Statistics and data skills
• Psychological theories and how to apply them
• Critical reasoning and thinking skills

Oh, and completing your research project and dissertation shows employers that you can work independently on a large project. That’s very handy for any roles that might involve project management, so if you’re applying for those, don’t forget to advertise your dissertation work. You poured blood sweat and tears into that thing—time for it to pay dividends.

Tips from the author

#1 Choose your degree specialism carefully

Many psychology Masters degrees are focussed on a particular subject, like the Masters in Clinical Psychology, for example. These more specialised programmes are excellent if you have a specific career in mind, so make sure you do your research on whether you’ll click with that job before you start. If you can get an internship or work experience, all the better!

#2 Beware local legislation

As stated earlier in this article, different countries (or even territories within those countries) can have different education and licensure requirements for certain psychology jobs. If you’d like to work in a different country or territory than where you studied (getting away from the infamous British weather, perhaps?), you should make sure your course will satisfy whatever requirements you need.

#3 Keep further education requirements in mind

If your future job requires a PhD, make sure you’re studying a Masters that will prepare you for it. Research skills are a must, so an MSc or MRes will be best for those. Of course, if you’re in the US (and rarely in the UK), you might skip the Masters and go straight from undergrad to PhD. I’m not sure why you’re reading this article if that’s your plan, but I’m still glad to see you! In related news, we have a site called FindAPhD you should check out.