Recent graduates question career path fulfillment
26 posts across 6 communities in the last 30 days; 58% from r/careerguidance.
“I (28F) am currently stuck. In 2023 I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and I hate it. I worked at the front desk for a small doctors office for almost 2 years and now I’m doing Case Management and Community Based Rehabilitation. While I love working with people, it is…”
“My original plan was to become a forensic psychologist, but I wasn't accepted into grad school. I tried to pivot to library science, as I do enjoy the idea of working in a library, but unfortunately, the job market is atrocious where I live. I'm not exaggerating when I say that…”
“So I recently made a 180 decision. I was on a pre-Med track right out of college with a BS in psychology. I recently figured out this may not be the life style for me due to my recent job as an MA. I still have a passion for helping others however, I want to look more into…”
Several posts express uncertainty about career paths after graduation, specifically weighing the desire for fulfilling work against financial stability and considering options like MSW, counseling, or education. There's concern about balancing ideal work with a starting salary of $80-90k.
SOURCES (27)
“I just graduated this year with two degrees. BA in Psychology and in Spanish. I’m at a loss as to what I’m supposed to do. It seems as though every entry level position is a low paying behavioral technician job working with children with disabilities.…”
“I'm a BS Psychology graduate with latin honors. I firstly wanted to study Psychology because I've got issues with my mental health and I want to understand my self better. But as I went down through the 4 years of my college life, Psychology is more than that. I would have to have good communication and social skills mainly and it's not for the weak of heart. During the 3rd year in my college, maybe that was where I thought really deeply, "what was I thinking studying this cours”
“I graduated college a few months ago with a bachelor's in psychology and a minor in business. I originally wanted to be a social worker but changed my mind and wanted to go with HR instead. Since i decided this kind of late, I was not able to do any internships during my undergrad. I'm not sure what's the next step. A lot of people say to get a master's in Human Resources or an MBA, while others say experience is more important and to focus on that instead. What would be the best”
“I have worked the last year post grad doing administration. I make 48k. I look at things like buying a house or being able to travel. All of these things require money and a lot more than I have now or make. My company has very poor raises (2k a year). I’m sad and stressed out about my future. Grad school is not an option I am broke submitted by /u/SecretPlenty363 [link] [comments]”
“Hi, i am struggling to decide on a career path. Honestly the only reasons at this point i would want to go the SLP path is because i think i would enjoy the work, i would make good money, and i wouldn’t struggle as much to find a job. The same reasons apply to Behavior Analyst but with less pay. Honestly im not sure what the actual pay is just what it says online. Currently i am getting my bachelor’s in elementary education, if i went for my masters in special education immediately afterwards, i”
“I'll be graduating with a BA in psych in 6 months and i'm genuinely lost on what direction to go in after school. i've always been a big academic person i enjoy school a lot but this last year has sucked the life out of me i know i seriously need a break. ive been open to lots of things like masters programs in either counselling psych or social work. also considered teachers college but have heard rly bad things esp being in ontario. originally i liked the idea of private practice f”
“I graduated with a forensic psychology degree last year. I have worked for the last year doing administration at a law firm. I don’t think I have much job stability or safety as they are actively training an ai to do most of my teams job. Company keeps downsizing. I have severe anxiety about this. I didn’t get the best grades in my undergrad and don’t think a masters would even be possible even if I had the money. I need a job with stability. I like the work from home aspect of my job right now,”
“Neuropsychology is one career path I’ve been interested in for a bit, and I’d love to hear from people who are currently in the field or working toward becoming neuropsychologists. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in statistics. I’ve also participated in quite a few research poster presentations at conferences and have a good number of letters of recommendation if I decide to apply to graduate programs. I’m still exploring my options and trying to figure out what career woul”
“Hey guys. I have went to school for computer science these past four years with a minor in statistics. I have been working part time at a lab as a data analyst and have done an internship as a data analyst. I live in a small town in Alabama, but I hope to move to larger cities later on as there are communities and family friends up there. I barely feel interested in the work that I do sometimes, and I feel like my brain processes concepts somewhat more slowly, so I have to really outwork myself”
“I graduated in 2025 with a Bachelors in Neuroscience and Psychology and have some research experience (for my senior honors thesis). The last year I’ve been working in behavioral health settings (Residential and Outpatient day-programs) thinking I would want to go for my MSW. I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I don’t think I’d be able to do clinical social work and see clients every day. I feel like I’d prefer something more science/math/data focused, but I still want to feel like I’m su”
“I (23F) am a Spring 2025, Mass Communication graduate, and while I love the degree and experience, it just isn’t right for my location. I honestly should’ve went with my first decision and gone to school for Psychology. Trust me, this job market and my faulty decision has taken a toll on me. I feel like I made the worst decision possible when applying for college. Mental health and the wellbeing of others has always been a big interest for me. But as a first generation college student I didn’t h”
“Hello all so I’m not sure where to post or if anyone is in a similar situation. I graduated with a psych degree around 4 years ago but never ended up finding anything or wanting to go back to school for a masters. Right now I’ve been working warehouse at Amazon and over the fact this is life for me after college. Ive seen a couple certifications on google including project management and was wondering if this could help in any way. I don’t have any actually experience, but at 27 I want to start”
“I (28F) am currently stuck. In 2023 I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and I hate it. I worked at the front desk for a small doctors office for almost 2 years and now I’m doing Case Management and Community Based Rehabilitation. While I love working with people, it is way too draining emotionally and I honestly did not think of my future self when I was in college. I would like to build upon my degree since I already have that under my belt, but I don’t know where to start. I can’t affo”
“hi! i’m a fresh psychology graduate who recently passed the psychometrician boards. i’m currently struggling to envision my career path because i’m having trouble with what feels like the very first step: getting a job. for now, i’m aiming for corporate roles, particularly in HR, before pursuing my master’s degree and eventually practicing in the field. my biggest concern at the moment is the lack of responses from companies. to be fair, i’ve only been actively job hunting for about a month, but”
“Hi all, I am brand new in the field and looking for all the advice I can get. I recently graduated with a B.S. in Psychology. Was kind of interested in the idea of IO Psych as a career idea but ultimately landed in HR. I’m a few weeks into my first real job as a Training and Recruiting Coordinator for a 3rd gen family owned manufacturing company (200-300 employees). My company wants me to develop an assessment to be given to applicants for a low level position. We currently don’t have anything l”
“Hey guys! Title sort of says it but I need some career advice. Basically I’m in my late 20s and have bachelors degrees in Psychology and Math (applied concentration). After graduating in 2020, I worked for a few years clinically, mainly working with adults with depression, schizophrenia, etc. I then joined a psychology research lab at a large R1 university, where I served as the Research Coordinator, managing and helping design projects that looked at different interventions for trauma. I was ab”
“My original plan was to become a forensic psychologist, but I wasn't accepted into grad school. I tried to pivot to library science, as I do enjoy the idea of working in a library, but unfortunately, the job market is atrocious where I live. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I can't find a single job opening as a library tech or even a library page near me. I can't even find volunteer opportunities since the only library near me accepts only high school students as volunteers.”
“My original plan was to become a forensic psychologist, but I wasn't accepted into grad school. I tried to pivot to library science, as I do enjoy the idea of working in a library, but unfortunately, the job market is atrocious where I live. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I can't find a single job opening as a library tech or even a library page near me. I can't even find volunteer opportunities since the only library near me accepts only high school students as volunteers.”
“I have a bachelor’s in psychology and I’m trying to figure out what direction I actually want to go in. I currently work in housekeeping at a hospital and they have a really good education benefit. They will pay approved tuition upfront now, so I’m seriously considering taking advantage of it. I start chemistry on Monday because I was thinking about possibly going into nursing or respiratory therapy, but honestly I’m not even sure I want either one. Part of me wonders if I should actually try to”
“hey all! i'm a recent grad (23f, nyc) with a b.a in psych & a focus in international relations. i'm trying to shoot for the stars and quite honestly land me a career that will take me away from minimum wage working and challenges me mentally. if you could share any success stories about trajectories with a psych degree, whether in the mental health field or not, that would be greatly appreciated. i do aim to have a private practice one day so being in my field of focus would be great”
“Just looking for advice. I have an associates degree in liberal studies and transferred to a 4 year university to pursue a bachelors degree in psychology with a minor in history (I found a combination of the least employable programs). Currently considering if I should just finish the semester and get a plumbing certificate from a trade school or if I should finish my bachelors and try to get an HR position. Any thoughts? Bit of background; Male, early twenties who has not taken out any student”
“So I recently made a 180 decision. I was on a pre-Med track right out of college with a BS in psychology. I recently figured out this may not be the life style for me due to my recent job as an MA. I still have a passion for helping others however, I want to look more into careers that explore my love for psychology and mental health. Due to having no experience besides some patient care communication skills, how do I know this is the route for me? Is there a way I can explore this more without”
“I thought being in a psychology field was cool, got my bachelors in psych, realized there aren't enough research assistant-esque positions available, now i'm considering a job where I can contribute to people trying to help themselves. Sounds cool right? Every time I think I find something that sounds it's like a fun career it gets described as some kind of nightmare. I heard being a case manager was cool, and it gets described like nobody can do it without dying. Is the internet jus”
“I'm 22 years old, and I am in my 1st semester of grad school for a master's counseling program. I feel like counseling isn't what I want to do anymore, and that grad school isn't for me. I started looking into other career options I could pursue using my bachelor's in psychology, and employee relations intrigued me. Would dropping out of my program to pursue a career in employee relations be a good idea/payoff? submitted by /u/CoolTour2192 [link] [comments]”
“Hi, I'm 22, living in the Seattle area, just graduated with my BA in Psych, and I'm considering different career paths, ideally balancing ideal work with good pay (hopefully starting around $80-90k). I wanted to pause before applying to graduate programs to see if anyone out there has advice or was once in my shoes and found a fulfilling career path. The main tracks I'm considering are an MSW, mental health counseling, school counseling, and education. I think I'm worried about c”