As many as 1.6 million undergraduates take introductory psychology classes every year. Most of these then go on to become psychology graduates.
An interest in human behavior is a definite motivating factor for psychology’s popularity. But, by far the main reason that so many choose to study psychology is the wide range of benefits that a psychology degree can provide. Psychology is a versatile subject, allowing you to develop a range of transferrable skills and pursue a range of careers.
But why exactly should you study psychology? Keep reading to find out the key benefits of a degree in this fascinating subject!
1. Access a Variety of Career Opportunities
Completing a psychology degree through this associates online degree program will allow you to access a wide range of career opportunities.
Many psychology graduates continue in the world of academia. As well as teaching positions, you can pursue a career in psychology as a university professor or researcher. Others continue their psychology studies by specializing in clinical or developmental psychology. Often, they go on to become mental health professionals or educational psychologists. Or, you may want to pursue a career in crime prevention or analysis by specializing in forensic psychology.
But, a psychology degree doesn’t limit you to a career in psychology. Psychology is such an all-encompassing subject that many psychology graduates go on to careers as varied as human resources, banking, and marketing.
2. Enhance Your Critical Thinking Skills
The main reason that a degree in psychology can open the door to so many careers is because of the wealth of transferrable skills it offers.
Like graduates who pursue studies in arts and humanities such as literature and history, you’ll improve your writing skills and learn how to present and support an argument. But, unlike these subjects, psychology also teaches you to look deeper into the facts and figures being presented. Psychology is a science after all. As such, taking information at face value isn’t an option.
Through this emphasis on getting to the truth, studying psychology will help refine your critical thinking skills. Evaluating every concept, proposal, and statistic will become second nature to you. In turn, you’ll always make the best possible decision by careful evaluation of the resources available to you.
3. Refine Your Research Skills
The ability to research a topic in a thorough and analytical way is a valuable skill in any workplace, both for managers and employees. Through written assignments, your psychology studies will help you develop the skills to find original sources, evaluate their effectiveness, and present your conclusions in a clear, accurate, and analytical way.
But, studying psychology also means carrying out empirical research too. Rather than relying on the investigations and experiments of others, you’ll have to propose hypotheses, design experiments, and recruit participants. Being responsible for your own research gives you a whole new perspective. As a result, you’ll find it easier to see the limitations of research you’re evaluating, as well as how to improve on it in the future.
4. Improve Mathematical Abilities
Few people realize how important math is to the study of psychology. But, while high school math tends to focus on abstract uses, psychology provides a real-world use for math. Psychology shows us how probabilities and statistics can fuel our understanding of human behavior. So, even if you dreaded math class at school, finding a practical use for math in the study of psychology will make even abstract concepts clearer and more interesting.
In both the wider world and employment situations, having a better understanding of math and figures is always a plus. What’s more, psychology studies will give you new insight into comparing statistics and understanding how the way you present data can have a huge influence on the impact it has.
5. Boost Communication Skills
Knowing how to communicate in an effective way with others is a universal skill that’s vital in all workplace environments.
As you structure arguments, propose research topics, and design questionnaires, you’ll gain excellent insight into how to convey information so that it’s accurate but easy to understand. As a result, studying psychology will teach you how to communicate everything from straightforward statistics to complicated theories in a clear and concise way.
6. Learn More About Yourself
Since psychology focuses on the study of human behavior, it’s a subject that holds a lot of interest for us all on a personal level. After all, who doesn’t want to know why they might act a certain way in specific situations? This interest can help motivate you to learn and discover more, fueling your desire to look deeper and consider new questions and concepts.
Gaining insight into your personality through studying psychology can also guide you through personal and professional situations. For example, studying memory will help you perfect your revision methods for exams. While studying personality can give you unique insight into a workplace project.
7. Understand Others
Psychology also allows you to learn all about the diversity of the human experience. Through structuring arguments and reviewing experimental findings, you’ll learn to see from other perspectives beyond your own. This can help further your understanding of the work of mental health professionals. But it can also serve to strengthen personal and workplace relationships.
Studying psychology will enhance your capacity for empathy, conflict resolution, and collaboration. While these traits are invaluable to your personal development, these skills are very desirable to employers and managers. In particular, a degree in psychology also provides you with the necessary skills to pursue a career in areas such as human resources or people management.
Reasons to Get a Psychology Degree
Studying psychology opens you up to a wealth of employment opportunities, whether you want a career in psychology or not. And, you’ll also learn a lot about yourself and others in the process!
From understanding why we behave the way we do to getting analytical with facts and figures, there’s no end to the skills and knowledge a psychology degree can provide.
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