Career Resources
Developed by Dr. Larry Upton, Visiting Professor of Psychology
Lehigh University, August 2004. (updated April 2009)
Books: Career Opportunities
DeGalan, J., & Lambert, S. (1995). Great jobs for psychology majors. Chicago: VGM Career Horizons.
Kuther, T. L. (2003). The psychology major's handbook. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kuther, T. L., & Morgan, R. D. (2004). Careers in psychology: Opportunities in a changing world. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
[This book has 9 chapters on different areas of psychology. Each chapter has a section describing "Opportunities with a Bachelor's Degree" and a section for "Opportunities with a Graduate Degree."]
Landrum, E., Davis, S., & Landrum, T. (2000). The psychology major: Career options and strategies for success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Morgan, B.L., & Korschgen, A.J. (2001). Majoring in psych? Career options for psychology undergraduates (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Career paths in psychology: Where your degree can take you. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. [Each chapter chronicles a psychologist who has achieved success in his or her field; the psychologists discuss their work, how they got started, and how students can get started in their field.]
Video Resources: Career Opportunities
Video produced by the American Psychological Association. Psychology: Scientific problem solvers, careers for the 21st century. Running time 13:16. (also see related website)
Web Resources: Career Opportunities in Psychology
General and Overviews
APA Website for Students
Just about everything you need to know about careers (as well as getting into graduate school) is available at the website of the American Psychological Association.
Brochure for Psychology: Scientific Problem Solvers, Careers for the 21st Century (companion site to video).
Brochure describes the field of psychology, including employment settings, job outlook, and career preparation.
Careers in Psychology
Dr. Margaret (Marky) Lloyd offers information on bachelor's level and graduate level careers in psychology, and how to prepare for them.
Pursuing Psychology Career Page
Dr. Linda Walsh provides a list of links to materials on career development and resources for psychology majors.
Majoring in Psychology, Going to Graduate School, Starting a Career
Good advice from clinical psychologist, Dr. Lynn Friedman.
Non-academic Careers in Psychology
Website provides links to case studies of psychologists working in interesting jobs outside of academia.
Alternative Careers in Psychology, Career Paths Less Traveled
Article from the APA Monitor profiles the unusual careers of 21 recent graduates of doctoral programs in psychology.
Preparing for a Career in Psychology
Articles published in Eye on Psi Chi
I'm getting my bachelor's degree in psychology - what can I do with it?
Web Resources: Careers by Field
Fields of Psychology
A variety of articles, published by Psi Chi
Describe specialty areas in psychology
Helping Professions, Clinical Psychology,
Counseling Psychology, School Psychology
What is Clinical Psychology?
Counseling Psychology: Making Lives Better
Clinical Versus Counseling Psychology: What's the Diff?
Appreciating the PsyD: The Facts
Selections from A Complete Guide to the Advanced Study
in the Profession of School Psychology
Health Psychology, Rehabilitation,
Exercise and Sport Psychology
Sports Psychology Oversite
Divisions of Sport Psychology
Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resource Management
Industrial-organizational psychology:
The psychology of people working together. Eye on Psi Chi.
Careers in Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Society for Human Resource Management
Consumer Psychology, Marketing, Public Relations
What is consumer psychology? Eye on Psi Chi
The Psychology of Consumers: Consumer Behavior and Marketing
Careers in Consumer Psychology
A hot market for social scientists in market research.
Chronicle of Higher Education.
Personality and Social Psychology, Psychology and the Law,
Military Psychology
What is a Personality/Social Psychologist?
Careers and Training in Psychology and Law
Introduction to Military Psychology: An Overview
Human Factors, Environmental Psychology, Quantitative Psychology
Human factors/ergonomics:
Using psychology to make a better and safer world. Eye on Psi Chi.
Current Trends in Environmental Psychology
Careers in Environmental Psychology
The assessment professional:
Making a difference in the 21st century. Eye on Psi Chi.
Data Mining: What Is Data Mining?
More Data Mining
Human Development, Aging
Careers in Aging
Biological Psychology, Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology Homepage
Interesting Careers, Non-traditional Jobs
APA "AN INTERESTING CAREER IN PSYCHOLOGY" series
The APA Science Directorate sponsors a series of articles written by people with psychology degrees who are working in interesting and unusual careers outside of academia.
Here is a sample of some of the listings you will find in the "interesting careers" series:
Acquisitions editor (book publishing)
A research psychologist in a medical school
Research director for a non-profit organization
Policy scientist as an independent consultant
International market research consultant
Trial consultant
Social science analyst in the public sector
Human-computer interface designer
Cognitive and I/O psychologists in technology industry
Human factors psychologist in aviation
Aviation human factors practitioner
Organizational development consultant
APS "NON-TRADITIONAL JOBS" SERIES
In 2003, the American Psychological Society published a series of articles written by APS members who were working in non-traditional settings (i.e., outside traditional psychology departments). The series of 37 articles appeared in the 2003 May-November issues of the APS Observer.
The titles and URLs for each of the individual articles also appear below.
No Starving Artist, Psychologist Collaborates in Advertising
"Quantitative Methods Travel Well" from Educational Psych to Nursing
Teaching Dentists to Treat People, Not Teeth
Adventures of an Experimental Psychologist in Medical Imaging
An Unplanned Career in Planning
"Wild Mice Are Smarter than I"
Educational Study Takes on New Text with Semiotics
Crossing Disciplines, Languages, and Borders
Interdisciplinary is Norm at Carnegie Mellon
Promoting Academic Excellence
Hospitality is Part of My Job
Life in a Multidisciplinary Environment
Holding onto Psychology in Leisure Studies
Psychology in Business Schools
Creating an Identity for Sports Psychology
Applying Scientific Psychology to Questions of Law
Combining Psychological Science and Nursing
to Promote Patient Adherence
Psychologist Turned Cantor
The Long Winding Road
Intellectual Diversity in Marketing
The Interaction Between Places and Faces
Psychologist as Fish Out of Water
Who Am I?
Re-engineering Social Encounters
A Vision of Interdisciplinary Research
Ergo, Ergonomics
Food for Thought: A Career in Sensory Evaluation and
Consumer Research
Shifting Focus: The Experience of a Traditional Academic in a Professional School
Workout Tips from the Exercise and Sport Science Department
The Many Roles of a Research Psychologist in a Medical School
From Psychology to Allied Health: An Interdisciplinary Vision
Psychology in a Community-Based Medical School
The Osteopathic Path
An Education in Action Research
Isn't That Spatial
Giving Psychology the Business
Medical School Academics