Psychology has been gaining a lot of attention from students as the awareness in the field is gaining momentum. The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) estimated that the job prospects for psychologists have grown by 19% from 2014 to 2024.

Child psychology stands 31st in the U.S. News and World Report’s list of top 100 careers with decent salaries. However, knowledge in psychology is becoming desired across many fields like human resource management, social work, education, marketing, and the list goes on.

Where to Study Psychology?

The popular preference for Indian students who wish to pursue their higher education in psychology is to go abroad. Yes, there is growth in the need for psychology graduates worldwide, but the Indian market is not ready yet.

Psychology graduates predominantly play the role of clinical psychologists and therapists. A few such graduates might be hired in recruitment and human resource management in India.

Many research studies are conducted abroad, and they are being put into action in different wings of an economy like lifestyle, advertising, social work, business, etc.
The scope of employment after a psychology degree is higher abroad than in India.  Here are a few Countries where you can study psychology if you are considering studying abroad:

• Canada
• Dubai
• UK
• Australia

Top 5 Reasons to Study Psychology in 2024

Increasing Requirement for Mental Health Professionals –

American Psychological Association reported that psychologists have seen an increase of 74% in the number of anxiety patients and an increase of 72% in the number of depression patients after the pandemic hit.

With many other factors, like decreasing human connection in the digital world and increasing awareness of mental healthcare for children and individuals undergoing traumatic experiences, there has been an increasing need for various roles that a psychology graduate can perform within the industry, like psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors etc.,

In recent years, people have started understanding the importance of mental healthcare. They are slowly opening up to seek help to handle their unpleasant experiences with depression, anxiety, troubled relationships, etc.

Certain high-achieving individuals even take mindset training sessions to be able to perform at high productivity levels. Many businesses conduct workshops on mental wellness programs for their employees to cope with stress and enhance their mental health.

Massive Scope for Specialization and Development –

Many institutions worldwide offer psychology programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. They offer a wide range of specializations like clinical psychology, evolutionary psychology, forensic psychology, and a lot more.

You can specialize in performing various studies, analyses and therapies through these branches of psychology. A few of them are:

• Clinical psychology – This is a specialization where you treat people with various psychological issues like insomnia, anxiety etc.,
• Counselling psychology- This is similar to clinical psychology, but here you help people to handle new situations and transition through changes in their life
• Developmental Psychology- This is a specialization where you help people develop new skills and abilities.
• Educational psychology- This specialization deals with learning styles, intelligence, cognition, etc.
• Addiction psychology -This specialization helps people struggling with addiction

And many more such fields.

Great Career Prospects –

Some graduates choose to make their career in a typical psychological role, while others venture into related fields.

Students generally complete their undergraduate degree, take a year or two to work in entry-level positions or volunteer projects like assistant psychologists or social workers, and then pursue their postgraduate degrees.

By doing so, they get hands-on experience and choose a specialization that suits them better. This is, however, not restricted to a psychology graduate alone.

Here are a few other roles that a psychology graduate can venture into

1. Social worker- contribute through NGOs or as an independent worker
2. Human resource manager- In recruitment or training and development
3. Researcher- Conduct studies on various factors like behavioral science, etc.,
4. Teacher- Teach psychology students or other students with special needs
5. Psychotherapist- Provide therapies to people who seek to sort out mental discomforts

These are just a few options from an ocean of opportunities for a psychology graduate.

Keep Learning About Yourself –

Psychology is a field of study that deals with the human mind and how it functions. Knowing so much about the human mind makes it obvious that you can analyse and understand yourself better.

You get to figure out why you behave a certain way and how it impacts you and your surroundings.

It also helps in your self-improvement through methods and techniques that can improve your communication, critical thinking, time management and many more such skills to reflect on your past and present situations and develop new ideas.

Help People Handle Real-life Problems –

This is an ability that you get paid for. All the career options that you have got rely on your ability to help others solve their problems.

As an HR recruiter, you will be helping the company solve the issue of finding the right fit for their company. As a teacher, you will cater to the students better because you help them learn better by understanding their mental abilities.

This is also helpful if you are a therapist or a counsellor, as you will help them transition through the psychological difficulties that they have been struggling with.

Since you will be able to understand the human mind and behavior better, you will be sought after in any area involving humans.

Psychology is gaining much traction among the new generation of students and large organizations. With large-scale globalization, fast-moving lifestyles and digitalization of work, connection and engagement, the need to understand human psychology and behavior is inevitable to stay highly productive and mentally healthy.

There is an enormous scope of career options for psychology graduates, with multiple programs to choose from, especially if you pursue your graduation abroad.

Thinking of moving abroad to study psychology? Confused about the program and process? We’ve got you covered! Get in touch with our expert counsellors- not the psychology ones! I mean our academic experts.