BA in Psychology Good news for grads

Post-graduation plans Go to work or go to grad school? Post-graduation paths for BA psych majors from 4 yr institutions. Based on 1998 APA survey.

BA Career Paths %

Grad school or not? Top student. Great grades and test scores. COOP experience. Recommendations. Applications. Employment fair. Filenes Dept Stores. His future not mine.

Grad School only one choice. 50% go directly into employment with psych degree. Psychology great major for the BA grad. Develop abilities and skills not fostered by other majors. As or more important than the knowledge base of major.

Basic skill set with BA. General education at CCSU. Study areas and skill areas. What are in skill areas? Composition and communication. Data analysis. Computer skills. Modern languages. Intercultural (international)

Career pyramid Level 1 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 BA skills and knowledge

Level 2: People skills Howard Gardner. Multiple intelligences. Linguistic, mathematical. Interpersonal (others). Intrapersonal (yourself). Emotional intelligence. Important decisions require both head and heart.

What employers want: Based on survey of employers, they want new hires to have: Listening skills. Ability to work on teams. Getting along with others. Focus on customers/clients. Interpersonal relationships skills. “People skills”

What employers want: Desire and ability to learn. Willingness to gain new, important skills. Adaptability to changing situations. Ability to suggest solutions. Problem solving skills. Flexibility and creativity

People skills highly valued. Employers know they can teach you the skills you’ll need for job. Hard to teach people skills. New majors come to psych because of these abilities. Peer counselors. Psych major helps you develop these skills.

Appreciation for diversity. Tolerance and compassion for people who are “different”. Cultures and languages. Physical and mental abilities. Sexual orientation. Life style choices. Sensitivity nurtured.

Career pyramid Level 2 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 BA skills and knowledge People skills

Helping professions Many people select psychology as major because they “want to help people”. Can do that in any career. People have all kinds of problems. Many things need fixing. Lots of ways to help. Get satisfaction in many careers.

Human services Many options with BA. Child and adult care. Mental health interns. Social work. Program directors for crisis centers, helplines, residential treatment centers.

Career pyramid Level 3 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 BA skills and knowledge People skills Human services

Try out the career path. Tale of two psychiatric interns. Dave and Joe both got entry level jobs. Within a year, both starting planning move. Dave got a MA in counseling in order to be a resident hall director. Joe went to nursing school and later became nurse therapist.

Career pyramid Level 4 Level 4 Level 3 Level 2 Level 1 BA skills and knowledge People skills Human services Graduate School

Grad school in diverse areas Counseling (Schools of Education) Social Work Law Business Medical professions (PA’s and nursing) Education (post bac certification) Work first and then grad school

Post-graduation plans Go to work or go to grad school? Post-graduation paths for BA psych majors from 4 yr institutions. Based on 1998 APA survey.

Many different options Only making the first choice. Life will have many surprises. For example, friend started as teacher. Guidance counselor. Therapist. Seminary to become priest. Now a bishop.