How much can I make as a Psychology major? I am having trouble choosing a major that will pay high.?

In your opinion, what major is the most highly paid without the long study commitment? I am considering Law and Psychology

How much can I make as a Psychology major? I am having trouble choosing a major that will pay high.?
I have a bachelors in Sociology and Psychology (double major).





This is USA info:





Psychology majors are dime a dozen as are business majors. Psychology major is the #2 in the country (business #1). However, business majors have more doors open world wide because business is everywhere.





As for a job with a major in psychology, your best bet will be to work in a field outside of psychology. Within psychology you will certainly NOT find any job. If you work outside the field of psychology, you will make something modest about 40k a year straight out of school (same as a business major though less job options), but you will earn much more as you stay in the company. Probably your best bet would be to get a 1 year MBA after your bachelors and earn 50k. If you are interested in working as a psychologist you will need at minimum a masters, but the masters pays really low (45k). If you get a Ph.D, you can make a lot of money, but that typically takes years of getting people to come into your practice. The Ph.D program will also take 6 to 8 years to complete (almost never will someone do it in the minimum, 3 years).





If you want to make 50k a year without doing a 1 year MBA, your best bet is to go with engineering. Engineers usually make 50k a year, but it is also possible to make 55k with a little bit of luck. Problem is that getting through an engineering program will probably take you 5 years. Every single engineer I know did 5 except for 2 guys that did 4 years and an extra semester.





As for studying law, that is your best bet. I am currently a law student at top law school. I will probably make 125k straight out of school if I focus on business law or if I focus on environmental law to work for private institutions; 90k if you come out of a normal school. The fields of criminal law and immigration law can lead you to a decent 80k a year salary (regular schools). Any other field of public interest will probably make somewhere around 40 to 60k a year (any school). However, keep in mind that studying law is expensive and will take 3 extra years of your life, and know that a psychology major will not be that great for admissions.
Reply:The average Psychologist (PhD, doctorate) makes about $65,000 per year - slightly more or less depending on if you are in private practice, university professor, etc. Of course, a PhD program in Psychology is a minimum of 8 years of education. 4 years for the Bachelor's degree, 4 years for the PhD. But for many students, it is more likely about 10-12 years of education and internship (it's hard to do it in only 8 years).





A Master's degree in Psychology will take 6-7 years (4 years Bachelor's and 2-3 years for the Master's). The average pay for a Master's level is about $45,000 per year.





Below a Master's degree is not even worth mentioning.
Reply:psychology doesn't pay until you get your doctorate, but if you are that concerned about money you shouldn't major in a social science at all
Reply:try out for a football team, even the bench warmers make good money.
Reply:With a bachelor's degree, if you want a job in the field of psychology you would probably be lucky to break $30,000 a year (you could make more, but likely in an unrelated field).





Law and psych are two of the worst options if you are looking for short-term study (aside from med school, of course). Both require graduate training to make any money, so if you just want a 4-year degree then out, neither is a good pick. The best money would probably be some form of engineer, as you can probably get a pretty nice job with only a bachelor's (though again, a master's or higher would boost the salary). There is also business, but of course for every multimillionaire CEO there are thousands of modestly-paid, white-collar peons.





However, I would second the notion that if you are only going into a field for the money, then you will likely be setting yourself up for misery, failure, or both. That said, I wouldn't recommend majoring in 17th century Polish literature if that's your passion, but there is probably a happy medium between interest and earning potential that you can figure out.
Reply:Choosing a career based solely (or mostly) on earning potential will ensure you are miserable for as long as you are in that job. Think about what you enjoy and go into that field.