5 Choice Careers for Those with a Doctorate in Educational Psychology
- Instructional Designer
- School Psychologist
- Psychometrician
- College Counselor
- School Principal
With an educational psychology career, you’ll empower others to reach their academic or employment potential. A doctorate markedly expands your professional horizons. While the term “educational” implies working at schools, that’s just one avenue of job opportunity.
1. Instructional Designer
The educational psychology career of an industrial designer (ID) is an offshoot of traditional types. The exciting role includes is customizing teaching resources at schools and corporations. When hired by businesses, IDs first conduct a “needs assessment,” revealing job areas where workers require more knowledge and skill. Then, IDs formulate training programs to bridge the occupational gaps. At schools, IDs make suggestions to upgrade teaching methods. They conduct training workshops, presenting the latest educational tools with school board approval to help educators improve their skills.
2. School Psychologist
This mental health professional creates a pleasant and supportive learning setting for students, easing the challenges faced by children and teens. To assist the learning disabled, the school psychologist administers specialized testing, revealing the best approaches to teaching. For the physically and emotionally impaired, the school psychologist obtains special education.
Frequently, adolescents struggle with social anxiety, low self-worth, and resistance to authority. With the counseling of school psychologists, teens get a boost in self-esteem and confidence, by which they grow more cooperative. For some children, studying may be derailed by a turbulent home setting, lack of supervision, or parental challenges. In that case, the school psychologist may intervene, offering counseling and referral to community resources. Back at school, they help educators manage behavioral problems, substance abuse, and crises.
3. Psychometrician
This scientist excels at designing tests to evaluate cognitive, emotional, and social attributes, and uses the results for various purposes. One is upgrading school curricula to meet federal and state educational requirements. Assessments can also identify subjects in which students are strongest and weakest. The statistical data obtained can promote higher scores on standardized achievement tests.
Typically, psychometricians create several types of tests, such as:
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- Aptitude – to evaluate skills in math, language, spatial awareness, and pattern recognition.
- Personality – poses questions to identify predominant traits and how a person would handle certain situations.
- IQ – measures a person’s intelligence compared to one’s peers.
- Career – reveals the jobs for which people are best suited.
4. College Counselor
Currently, opportunities abound for this educational psychology career. The chief role of a college counselor is helping high school students apply for college and meet the entrance requirements. To help students explore their college options, counselors research the possibilities. Then, for each desired school, they assist with completing the requisite admission paperwork, such as applications and requests for scholarships and financial aid. College preparation starts with the third year of high school. For each college-bound student, a counselor develops an individualized action plan and timeline, revising them as goals evolve.
Related Resource: Top 5 Online Doctorate in Educational Psychology
5. School Principal
The core responsibility of a school principal is ensuring that children have a safe and supportive learning environment. As administrators, principals oversee the activities of teachers, staff, and students at elementary and secondary schools. This includes reviewing and approving school curricula and programs. Additionally, principals manage school budgets, building maintenance, and food services. The best principals make themselves available to troubled students and frustrated staff, committed to resolving difficulties.
With an educational psychology career, you’ll know the joy of enhancing learning for children, adults, or both. Earning a doctorate is well worth the effort, giving you in-depth knowledge of successful learning models and ensuring a generous compensation package from employers. In fact, according to World Education Services, a Ph.D. in education yields a 24 percent increase in lifetime earnings over a master’s degree!
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