Psychology degree outcomes: what federal data says comes next

Any answer to “what can I do with a psychology degree?” should start with a number most articles skip. The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics reported roughly 3.66 million people holding a psychology degree in 2023, with a median income of about $60,000 against about $70,000 across all fields of degree.

That gap says nothing bad about the subject. It shows what the bachelor’s degree does on its own in the job market, and a second figure explains most of it: about 51 percent of psychology degree holders hold an advanced degree.

“Psychologist” is a narrow job title

Psychologist is a specific occupation with a specific entry requirement. BLS reports a median annual wage of $94,310 for psychologists in May 2024, and typical entry-level education of a doctoral or professional degree. In practice that means a PhD or PsyD. A bachelor’s will not get you there, and in most cases neither will a master’s.

Counseling and social work get lumped into the same conversation all the time, and they are separate BLS occupations with their own entry requirements, their own licensure and their own wage data. Substance abuse, behavioral disorder and mental health counselors are one occupation. Social workers are another. Neither is a psychologist, and quoting the psychologist median while describing a counseling career is the mistake I see most in these articles.

If a particular path interests you, skip the psychology careers lists and read that occupation’s own BLS profile. The profile carries the entry education, the licensure position and the wage for that specific job.

What the numbers imply about sequencing

Put the figures side by side and the decision starts to take shape.

Roughly half of everyone holding this degree went on to further study. If you are deciding whether to start, that is the fact to hold onto. In this field the bachelor’s is often a first step, so budget for the second step from day one instead of discovering it senior year.

Why there is no “hidden careers” list here

The “hidden careers” lists that circulate are built by matching job titles to a degree subject. Hiring does not work that way, and no federal source measures it.

What is real is that a psychology degree is a general degree. Its holders end up all over the economy, not in one lane. That spread is a big part of why their median sits below the all-fields median: the number averages a lot of very different jobs.

Work it the other way around. Pick the occupation first, then read its BLS profile for the entry education and licensure, then work backwards to whether this degree is the route. That order surfaces the licensure requirement early, which is where these plans usually break.

If the doctorate is the destination

Put two checks in the plan at the start. Do not wait until you apply.

Accreditation of the doctoral program, which for clinical psychology has a specific and frequently misunderstood constraint covered in our note on APA accreditation and online doctorates. And the licensure requirements of the state where you intend to practice, which that state’s board sets. No program can promise them.

The general accreditation lookups apply here too, and are described in our note on verifying accreditation. Cost and completion data for any institution you are weighing sits in online degree cost and outcomes.

I am not a psychologist, a counselor or an academic, and this is not career or admissions advice. It covers what the federal figures say and how the occupations are defined.

Psychology degree questions

Can I be a psychologist with a bachelor’s degree?

No. BLS lists typical entry-level education for psychologists as a doctoral or professional degree, and the title itself is regulated by state licensing boards. A bachelor’s in psychology is a step toward that, not a route to the occupation or to using the title.

Is a psychology degree worth it?

The data says holders had a median income around $60,000 in 2023 against about $70,000 across all fields, and that about 51 percent went on to an advanced degree. Read together, those numbers say to plan for further study from the outset. Whether that plan pays off depends on your circumstances, and only you can judge that.

What about counseling or social work instead?

Those are separate BLS occupations with their own entry education, their own licensure and their own wages, and they are not psychologist roles. Read the profile for the job you actually mean. The psychologist median does not apply. Entry requirements are frequently lower than a doctorate, which is a material difference in both time and cost.

Do psychologists really earn $94,310?

That is the May 2024 median for the psychologists occupation, meaning half earned more and half less, across an occupation that requires a doctorate. It is not what a psychology graduate earns, and it is not a starting wage. BLS has since published May 2025 wages, and I have not adjusted this one to a later year because no federal source publishes that adjustment.

Written by

Keith Guirao

Founder & Editor, ConsumersWeek

18+ years in consumer marketing and lead generation across insurance, personal finance, and home services. ConsumersWeek explains how these products are priced and sold so you can evaluate them with the same information the industry has.

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