Psychology degree outcomes: what federal data says comes next

The honest answer to what you can do with a psychology degree starts 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 is not a verdict on the subject. It is a description of what the bachelor’s degree alone does in the labour market, and it exists alongside a second figure that explains most of it: about 51 percent of psychology degree holders hold an advanced degree.

The word “psychologist” is doing a lot of work

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. That is a PhD or PsyD, not a bachelor’s and in most cases not a master’s.

This matters because counselling and social work are frequently folded into the same conversation, and they are separate BLS occupations with their own entry requirements, their own licensure and their own wage data. Substance abuse, behavioural disorder and mental health counsellors are one occupation. Social workers are another. Neither is a psychologist, and quoting the psychologist median while describing a counselling career is the most common error in this genre.

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

What the numbers imply about sequencing

Put the three figures side by side and the shape of the decision appears.

Roughly half of everyone holding this degree went on to further study. That is the single most useful fact for someone deciding whether to start, because it says the bachelor’s is commonly a first step rather than a terminal qualification in this field, and the cost of the second step should be in the plan from the beginning rather than discovered in the final year.

Why we are not publishing a list of hidden career paths

The article this replaces promised hidden careers. The lists that circulate under that heading are assembled by matching job titles to a degree subject, which is not how hiring works and not something any federal source measures.

What is real is that a psychology degree is a general degree. Its holders appear across the economy rather than in one occupational lane, which is exactly why the median for degree holders sits below the all-fields median: the figure averages a very wide spread rather than describing a single career.

The useful move is the reverse of a careers list. 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

Two checks belong in the plan from the start, not at application time.

Accreditation of the doctoral programme, 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 practise, which are set by that state’s board rather than by any programme.

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.

Keith is not a psychologist, a counsellor or an academic, and nothing here is career or admissions advice. It is a description of what the federal figures say and how the occupations are defined.

Questions readers actually ask

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, that suggests planning for further study from the outset rather than treating the bachelor’s as the finish line. Whether that plan is worth it depends on your circumstances, which we are not in a position to judge.

What about counselling 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 specific profile for the job you mean rather than applying the psychologist median to it. 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. We do not adjust it 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.

About the editorLinkedIn