Psychology has always been an exciting field, but in today’s world there are a host of truly unique jobs available to psychologists. Let’s review a few different fields and the jobs available to those in each field.
Health Psychology
Those who are interested in healing the body and the mind may love the field of health psychology. We’re learning more and more about the way the brain affects our eating habits and the way exercise and physical activity affect our brains. Those trained in this field may work in hospitals, at universities, or at government agencies.
Experimental Psychology
Some people love psychology but dislike taking part in experiments, but for those who find the experiments to be the best part, there’s good news for you! The field of experimental psychology allows you to effectively make a living simply conducting experiments. This could be in a clinical setting working for a hospital, or it could be working as a research associate for a marketing company.
Aviation Psychology
Many people wouldn’t think to combine planes and psychology, but there is actually a lot of overlap for aviation psychologists. This is actually a sub-specialty in the realm of human factors psychology, and it can involve a number of different duties, including assessing the safety of cabins, evaluating prospective employees, choosing and training pilots, and investigating accidents. Jobs include inspectors for the government as well as jobs with the airlines themselves.
Geropsychologist
As each year goes by, the life expectancy of the average person goes higher and higher, thanks in part to major medical breakthroughs. These extra years are certainly a gift, but they can come with interesting struggles and dilemmas as well. Jobs in the geropsychologist field can include everything from working in a nursing home to keep senior citizens mentally active, or helping with the design of products that make life easier for our older citizens.
Industrial/Organizational Psychologist
A person who has completed an I O Psychology Masters program often works closely with human resource departments at a number of different companies. They assist in the screening and hiring of employees, and can help implement exceptional training practices, as well as advice the company on ways to improve employees happiness and office moral. The name refers to their expertise in helping to improve the organizational make up of a company.
Traffic Psychologist
If you think red lights and stop signs are placed at random, then you don’t know about traffic psychologists! They work to help make sense of our traffic laws. They may work with urban planners in the designing and implementing of traffic stops in new neighborhoods, or they could work with city governments to find new solutions to traffic problems. They can also work with car manufacturers to design cars that are safer and more reliable.
Military Psychologist
The military employs a wide range of people with a wide range of backgrounds, and sometimes puts those people in emotionally taxing situations. A military psychologist works to understand the behavior of our troops and to find new ways for them to deal with their difficult lifestyles. They can also work to provide support for troops returning from combat, or even as interrogators of enemy combatants.
Psychology jobs span many industries and can be found in virtually any type of business. Whether you want to change the world, or simply help to make companies work more efficiently, there’s like a job in psychology that could help you reach your goal.