I am starting to rethink my major of Psychology as my associates degree is dwindling down. I do like psychology and I am good at it, but let’s face it, I know of three people, no exaggeration, that were psychology majors at decent schools, Gardner Webb, UNCG, and dont know the others, but the one I know the best is a fitness instructor while she is racking up grad school tuition. In hindsight, I should’ve stuck to a biology science degree, but maybe its just the jitters getting to me. I do intend on going to grad school btw. Thanks!
Oh and with a minor in sociology since I only need three more sociology classes for that.
Well, I was a psychology major in undergrad and I’m gainfully employed in my field (although caveat: I have a graduate degree). I also know lots of psychology majors who don’t have graduate degrees and who are gainfully employed, either within psychology or in other fields. The unemployment rate for anthropology majors is actually higher than that of psychology majors - practically speaking, they are similar in terms of the focus (social science) and some of the hard skills you learn. In fact, I would say that psychology has the advantage of experimental design and statistical analysis that anthropology doesn’t have, although anthropology has other advantages, too.
In any case, I’m not sure what you are looking for with this question. You can get a job if you major in anthropology, especially if you get a graduate degree, but you have to be more creative than - say - an engineering or nursing major. You also have to be more proactive about getting or creating experiences for yourself to learn skills that are desirable to employers. I would also say that if you major in anthropology you should select a more “practical” minor, or at least one that’s more distinct. Sociology and anthropology are pretty similar and are often housed in the same department; I’d say go for something like economics, math, computer science, writing (especially if your school has a technical writing or professional writing focus), or business.
I am glad to hear about you being able to find a job in Psych, that gives me a little hope. I took macro-economics and HATED it lol on the other hand, keep in mind I’ve only had five semesters of college, the classes I’ve take the most are: 4 art history variant classes, 3 psychology classes, 3 English classes. I actually enjoyed Biology, art doesn’t bother me, English comes easy to me when I have to do formal papers, and psych is fun to me (even though I have had some bad teachers at it).
So if you haven’t taken any anthro courses, why do you want to major in it? Not criticizing your choice, it was my major, just curious.
I haven’t taken courses because my community college doesn’t offer it, but it seems interesting. I don’t mind you asking 
5 semesters ago I thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, until I took college calculus haha. I mean, at the end of the day I want to be a mental health counselor and I have a medical problem going on now so for the rest of under grad school, I’ll be online, so I was debating that because it’s offered online. The closest in my state to psychology is Liberal Studies
I majored in psychology because I loved it. I took a class in it the second semester I was in college, after deciding I didn’t want to be a sociology major. I’ve always been really interested in understanding people’s motivations and decision-making processes, so learning the science behind the brain and behavior was fascinating to me. It also has so many applications - counseling of course, but also many other fields. I’m a user experience researcher in technology, which means I use psychological principles and research to understand and improve how people interact with technology. My specific field is video games But my training is in social/health psychology; before I did this I did research to understand how people’s social interactions influenced their risk behavior for HIV and substance abuse.
If you really want to be a mental health counselor, then psychology is a great major - and frankly, possibly better than anthropology. Not that anthro isn’t great - it really is, especially for understanding human culture and evolutionary development. But there are about four ways to become a mental health counselor, and three of them (a PhD/PsyD in psychology, a master’s degree in mental health counseling, and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy) require either a psychology BA or significant coursework in psychology to achieve. The fourth (a master’s in social work) you can do with any major, although a social science major will give you an advantage.
That seems like a really fun job (: I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m 21, but I still feel as if I still don’t know what I really want to do forever. Heck, I even thought about Geography because that was my best subject in school. When I had to go do my GED I even made a 99% on the Geography part, which it’s only a GED test, but still. I made straight A’s in that junk while in the honours civics and stuff in high school.
It is, I love my job!
But, I’m 29, and I also don’t know what I want to do forever. I really like my job and see myself doing it for the next 5 years or so, but after that, who knows? There’s nothing wrong with that…I don’t know if you will ever know what you want to do forever. And even if you do, that might change.
Your major is not a determination of what you will do FOREVER. It’s just what you’ll study for the next 3-4 years and then what you may work in for the first couple years of your careers (but maybe not).
With anthropology, however, you have a skill that psychology does not offer: ethnography. Having developed that skill, there are countless possibilities: marketing, marketing research, consulting, and many more. As Juillet said previously, anthropology and psychology are both really similar, just they differ in how to approach a situation. There is always applied psychology, applied sociology, and applied anthropology.
I mean, I know where I cant see myself and that’s in business. I want nothing to do with the usual cubicle job. I am so undecided it’s not funny. I want to have something that’s always got a different thing each day. I know I dont want the “same old same old” job where I grow stagnant. Geography seems neat too because it can also link in the social psychology and maybe even a little of the anthropology, but say I do want to go to grad school for school counseling, wouldn’t that deviate far from psych? I’ll be a sociology minor no matter what I choose.
Business doesn’t always = cubicle… A lot of jobs consist of moving around. I suggest you take a look into “Business Anthropology”. You always want to keep every door open – you never know when your mind might change…
I’ll look into it. Thanks David and Julliet!
*Juillet autocorrect got it wrong lol
I note that the Bureau of Labor Statistics is predicting for 2014-2024 almost 20% job growth for “clinical, counseling, and school psychologists” and 13% job growth for “counselors” (http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_102.htm), so it looks like good demand for people with psychology expertise.
Graduates with either of these majors skim the bottom of the distribution in terms of salaries-without graduate degrees. If you pursue doctoral training, that is a different story. But a MA degree does not result in a high salary.
Oh for sure there’s not much money in it, but I initially was going in to counseling because I want to help kids because I went through health problems and stuff, but then again I don’t want to lose my butt spending a ton because I am going to be out of state. So on one hand, do what I like and rack up a lot and, at least in my small town, not get a job til graduate school (not too close to any real towns) getting a fair amount in loans, but on the other hand I can do something I’m good at and dont hate, per say, and from my research, have a higher chance of getting a job. No degree guarantees a job though I guess. Know a fellow working at a local dealership still living with his parents and he has a Mechanical Engineering degree from NC State (dont know if he is actively seeking jobs though lol)
Naturally you can end up unemployed with any degree. And you can get a low paying job with any degree. But what are the odds? Well, the odds favor a high paying job with a mechanical engineering degree form a credible school and they don’t favor a high paying job with a degree in psychology from a credible school.
The odds of a high paying job increase as a function of having skills or characteristics that are sought after but rarer. A degree in social sciences does not really provide rare specific skills that are highly sought after. Nearly everyone believes they have the sort of skills that would be helpful for counseling even without a degree. And there is no evidence that education (short of specific skills in empirically supported treatments something not taught to college students) makes someone a better counselor although there are characteristics (like warmth and empathy) that seem to help the outcome for people seeking counseling. Those characteristics aren’t taught in college. Jobs that require a college degree in social sciences and social work are very low paid; many not higher than an average salary of a high school graduate.
If you know that going in and choose that type of major and you don’t plan on further education, you may want to consider developing skills that set you apart from every other social science major. There is a reason social work was started by a very wealthy women who did not need money; There is none to be had in social welfare. Just know what you are getting yourself into if that is your choice. Most people want to “help people”. Even a mail carrier “helps people”. So a social sciences major isn’t the only way to “help people”.
A major in anthropology and a minor in sociology seems pretty pointless unless you plan to continue on to graduate or professional schools. Be prepared for a job that pays less than you need to pay rent on a one bedroom apartment in the city of your choice.
I definitely agree with you on that
I don’t understand what you mean by this because you need a master’s, at least, to legally practice as a counselor in all 50 states. I don’t know if it’s true that there’s no evidence more education makes you a better counselor, but regardless - it’s a moot point because you DO need a certain education in order to be a counselor.
I 100% agree with this statement:
But NOT with this one:
The average starting salary for anthropology majors in most cities is enough to pay rent on a one-bedroom in most places. Obviously expensive cities notwithstanding, but even a lot of entry-level engineers and software developers don’t get their own apartments in San Francisco and New York.
Also not everyone can be an engineer. Personally I wouldn’t care if software development paid $1 million - it sounds super boring to me. I’d rather be a counselor. We need counselors, too.