<p>I'm a senior in high school and am having trouble figuring out my major. I do really love psychology and I've taken some courses in high school, but I'm done some research and realized the job prospects are pretty poor and an expensive and long education is necessary to find any employment. Not to mention, it's pretty popular and competitive (at least, that's what I've heard).
However, I feel like feel like I'm pretty dedicated to it and I would want to pursue at least a masters degree. What I'm wondering is, would it be a good decision to follow this path? Are the job prospects good with a masters? I also am not keen on the counseling aspect of psychology; I'm more interested in experimental psychology and research. Would this be feasible?
Also, would neuroscience be a more practical major? If not, are there any other practical majors to either do instead of psychology or double major with psychology? I'm particularly looking for something to pair with psychology that would ameliorate job prospects.
Thank you to anyone who responds!</p>
<p>It is a popular major, but I don’t think I’d call it competitive unless you’re at a school with a top psychology program. If you’re interested in research and experimentation, have you considered going for a PhD instead of a masters degree? PhDs tend to be fully funded and offer a stipend (pay) for you to work as a research or teaching assistant. This also covers tuition (so you’re not paying for the PhD), health insurance, and cost of living, although you won’t be living lavishly. There are masters programs in experimental psychology, but they aren’t always funded and so they can be costly. </p>
<p>If you aren’t interested in counseling, how about human resources or business? I have my BA in psychology and work as an HR manager. Marketing and consumer behavior also appreciate a background in psychology and would make for a good major/minor. Or you could pair it with another field and pursue teaching at the elementary/high school levels. </p>
<p>Psychology is very flexible, so you can get creative with what you want to pursue. There are also many sub fields in psychology to explore: social, positive, clinical/abnormal, counseling, developmental, industrial/organizational, experimental, cognitive…the list goes on. Many of these would compliment various career paths.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in research, get some psych research experience in college to see if you would be interested in getting a PhD and pursuing a research career (and what field of psychology you are most interested in).</p>