Should One Expect to Attend Graduate School with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology?

graduate school for those with a bachelors in psychology

If you have graduated with an online bachelor’s degree in psychology, you may be wondering if you need to get your master’s degree as well. Of course, online degrees are usually not discriminated against today so that makes no difference to the question. The answer depends on several things, including how much money you can afford to spend on school.

What Kinds of Jobs Can I Get With a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology

Although your career options are more limited than they would be if you had an advanced degree, there are some entry-level positions you can get. “Psychology: About.com” lists several positions in the human services. A few are included below:

• Case Management
These professionals work with individuals to help them decide what their realistic goals are, identify their needs and then locate resources to meet those needs. Most case managers choose to become certified, which requires taking an examination and proving experience in the field.
• Career Counselor
Keeping in mind that most professional career counselors hold master’s degrees, it is still possible to get a job in a smaller setting with a bachelor’s degree. As in case management, employers prefer job applicants who are certified.
• Psychology or Behavioral Health Technician
These people provide adjunct services to social workers and psychologists by doing transportation for clients, supervising parent/child visits and taking on other responsibilities that free the managing professional of these tasks. Many psychology or behavioral health technicians go on to earn their master’s degrees using the experience gained form these jobs to satisfy a practicum.
In addition to these types of jobs, ”Degree Tree.com” suggests that courses you take in your bachelor degree program can suit you for jobs outside the psychology profession. You might work in sales or advertising for instance, or get more education and teach or work as a nurse. The key to getting a job with your bachelor’s degree is to take courses in another area, like business, that can qualify you for other positions.

How Much Can I Expect to Earn With a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology

Here is one determining factor. People with a bachelor’s degree usually earn significantly lower salaries than someone with a master’s degree. A case manager with a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn about $20,830 a year. A case manager position would pay twice that to someone with a master’s degree. Of course the responsibilities would be greater with more education, and other jobs don’t have that kind of disparity, but the difference is still striking. The consideration is whether you can afford the additional debt getting a master’s degree would bring. With those monthly loan payments, it could take years before you see a huge difference in your net salary. In addition, if you choose not to earn your advanced degree online, you will lose employment time.

Concluding Thoughts

People with an online bachelor’s degree in psychology will find many more job opportunities than those with only an associate degree or no education after high school at all. If, however, you decide that obtaining a master’s degree will help you meet your career goals, your experience in taking online classes can help you get your master’s degree while you are employed, and that may help considerably with the expenses of getting the advanced degree.

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