For the longest time, I had plans to go straight into graduate school immediately after finishing undergrad. I am graduating with my BS in Psychology this spring and have come to the realization that I just don’t have the money for a Masters degree right now. Most people would say a Bachelors is all you need to get a good job. I am freaking out because a Bachelors in Psychology is basically useless. Are there any high paying entry level jobs out there with just a BS in Psychology? Specifically, I am looking at the business side of psychology. Before I realized how expensive graduate school was, I was going to get my MBA and work my way into a management position. Management is the area I am looking at. I am interested in HR.
A lot of people with BS in psychology go into HR, maybe even the majority. HR jobs usually pay decently well, but don’t expect six figures at the entry level.
A BA in psychology is not worthless. There are lots of jobs that you can do with one. If you are interested in business, you could look for:
-Human resources for sure. There are lots of entry-level positions one with a BA in psychology could get
-Jobs in marketing - like marketing coordinator, marketing assistant
-Market research - look for entry-level market research assistant jobs
-Communications and/or social media jobs, depending on your skills.
-User experience research assistant/coordinator
You can also look for entry-level business jobs that aren’t necessarily related to psychology directly. Things like program management, or producer, or account manager, etc.
Entry-level jobs are, almost by definition, not really high-paying. I feel like when people pick majors and careers now they are super fixated on what they will make on the front end of their career and not thinking about growth. You will make more money later, after you have more experience and knowledge to offer. I think more college students and recent graduates should focus less on their starting salary and more on finding a job that is a good fit for them and has potential for growth.
The other thing that I think people don’t get is that very few people - college graduates included - ever make six figures. The annual median income in the United States for college grads is about $51K, and only about 9% of people make $100K or more per year. If you do ever make six figures (or even close), it’s far more likely to come later in your career.
It’s far more likely that in your first job out of college you’ll make $30-45K. After you get some work experience and potentially an MBA your earning potential will go up a lot.