How can I make money now that I (will) have a college degree?

May 16, 2015 7:26 PM

Worked full time in assorted office jobs since 2004 while going to community college. In 2012, I started a (part-time) degree at University of Pennsylvania and in Fall 2015 (maybe Spring 2016) I will graduate with a psychology bachelor's degree. I have about 20K in debt and make less than 40k per year in a job that is not really a career. How can I transition to a career where I make at least 50k per year, preferably more? Many more details inside.

Prior to Penn, I worked as a receptionist at an outpatient medical center for 1 year, then as a bookkeeper for 5 years. I started as a temporary employee at Penn in a research lab in 2010 and then was hired officially in late 2011. Applied and got accepted as a student there and have been working on my Bachelor's degree ever since 2012. Have been working full-time as a research coordinator and now lab manager in a second lab here since. I have been managing student employees at Penn for almost 5 years, and have been doing something like project management as well. I think I'm good at those things. I'm an excellent problem solver, as well. In fact, it's my favorite thing to do. When my boss says "something happened here, and we need to figure it out", I can usually figure it out when no one else can (to be clear, this is never the result of mistakes I've made). I've considered law enforcement, but I'm honestly not sure that's the lifestyle for me. I'm technically savvy, though something heavy in technical skills would not be appropriate. I can do basic (no really, basic) programming and analyses and I have knowledge of technology. I'm good with people and can talk to complete strangers (not cold calling, though) for a few hours happily before I need a break. However, straight customer service is not for me.

I am not interested in Ph.D. programs, but would be willing to get a master's degree. Have been looking into the I/O master's programs at Villanova and Lasalle (local to me) but I have no idea what resulting jobs would be like on a daily basis. I'm not interested in staying in academia. Money is important to me, up to a point. I don't want to take on extra debt unless I can increase my salary significantly, at least over 50K. I don't think I would do social work or teaching, and counseling psychology is questionable. I've also been looking at school counselor programs but my metro area (Philly) is notorious for not being able to staff those positions in most schools. I've also considered human resources but I'm not sure that I'll be challenged in those jobs.

Any ideas you have for potential careers would be great. If you or anyone you know has worked in an I/O career, I'd love to hear from you. General advice is also welcome. Thanks!

posted by ancient star to Work & Money (8 answers total)

I don't want to take on extra debt unless I can increase my salary significantly, at least over 50K.

Honestly, I don't know anyone except those in government with a Bachelor's who make over 50K. YMMV. General advice - don't take on more debt (i.e. a Masters) thinking that it will give you the pay bump you're looking for. A higher education (at least in the U.S.) is not an insurance policy against joblessness/underemployment or a guarantee of higher salary, unless you're talking about an MBA.

There are plenty of people with Masters degrees who are underemployed and can't pay down their debt, or working out of their field entirely, especially in the psychology field. I'm not trying to discourage, but your post sounds a lot like one I would have written before I entered my Masters program. My advice? Stay local. Pay down all of your debt. Yes, this will take years. But don't forget that during this time, you're building experience and learning what you want, and what you don't. Take this time to find, and then interview, people in I/O positions and ask them generally about day to day duties and then about salary - does the position they're working in meet their expectations from when they started? Is there an internship? Is it paid? What do they wish they'd have known when they entered the field? What were some surprises? In contrast, what turned out as they'd hoped and expected? Do they like what they are doing? If they could change something, what would it be? What are the challenges in working in the field? What are the realities that they've learned along the way? If they could hire an ideal candidate for the position, what skills would that person possess? What is the job market like? Interview more than one person. Network. Use social media, use Meetup, use whatever networking tools are available to you. Meet people and talk to them. Attend conferences if you can - that's a great way 1.) network, and 2.) to know if the field sparks a "Yes!" for you. Expensive, but worth it if you have time, money, and resources to do so.

Be patient - sometimes you have to wait things out to figure out what you want, what the landscape of the field is like, and sometimes those two things are not compatible. Disappointing? Yes. But at least you're not in more debt. You have to be radically honest with yourself, your skill set, and have your eyes open so to speak, of the realities that are facing the field. Remember that in some fields, especially psychology, a Masters is the entry level, and you're facing a few years of an internship where you're lucky if you're paid. That means, you're still starting from the bottom when you begin in terms of experience.
posted by onecircleaday at 12:06 AM on May 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you want to find in the field of psychology finding a job that pays over 50k Is going to be very hard.

A good measure of what you should look for in your next full time job is 3 to 5k more than you are making now. If that's over50k then you may have the experience to get the position that most new graduate don't have.

I have an MSW. I have 2 bachelor degrees including one in psychology. I make 41k After 4 years on the job.

If you are considering working in non profits you can get your masters and then the Teach grants well pay off the rest of your debt after 10 years of income based repayments.

Good luck! .
posted by AlexiaSky at 5:08 AM on May 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

A BA/BS in Psychology qualifies you to apply for jobs that require a college degree. Really, that's about it. It's not a degree that gives you specific skills that employers want or need. Sure, you can probably read and write well, analyze problems, etc. Those are all valuable skills - valuable skills that rarely give you a straight line to a $50K job.

Sorry - don't mean to be negative, but that's reality. Everybody I know with a liberal arts degree, or psychology or geography or something like that, has picked up some other skill along the way that is the means to higher incomes. You say you do project management? Get you PMP certification and you'll be in a position to jump to a $50K job. You are technically inclined? Learn to program and you'll be making over $50K before you know it.

You imply you don't want to do sales, but if you are good you can make over $50K next year, and over $100K in 3 years.

The jobs are out there, but they haven't nothing to do with your degree.
posted by COD at 6:31 AM on May 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Might you enjoy a similar job to the one you have now, but in a psychology lab and with more responsibilities? If you know SPSS and other relevant statistical methods, I would imagine you could do quite well as a "research associate" or a similar position in a social science lab/work group. People who both understand the field and have technical skills are in demand.
posted by hydropsyche at 7:02 AM on May 17, 2015

Business analysts make about your target salary doing what you like, and there's room for growth. Project management might be another area worth looking into. You could get into either of those now, see how far you get, and maybe top that up with an MBA once you have more experience in corporateland. (I understand there's a fair bit of overlap between I/O psych and organizational behaviour [MBA].)
posted by cotton dress sock at 8:46 AM on May 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

From what you are describing, it sounds to me like you actually have some good skills that with a college degree should land you a really good job after you graduate. There should be a career counselor in your school (maybe even a department?) that can advise you on job opportunities, as well as help you with your resume, cover letter and prepping for an interview (please, please, please go see them - they can really, really help!)

I think you are in a different position from other students just graduating college, as you already have work experience and professional skills. I think you could do 50k - but you might have to look from a salary perspective than a life-fulfilling-job perspective. It looks like average salary for bookkeeper is 40k, but project manager is 90k. Play around with job searches on glassdoor.com and take a look at job opportunities as well and see what skills they are looking for.

Also keep in mind, that many people look for jobs that are soul-fulfilling, but something that is pretty fulfilling is being able to pay the bills, not worry about benefits like healthcare and having evenings and weekends to yourself.
posted by Toddles at 10:00 AM on May 17, 2015

Federal government jobs pay more than that after a year or so ... The pay schedules are all public so you can see exactly what you'd make. And many of these jobs involve helping people/serving the community.

Also, there are lots of things you could do in tech, from UX research to tech writing to project management. With experience all of those pay over 50k. It's harder to break in with just a psych degree but not impossible.
posted by miyabo at 11:36 AM on May 17, 2015

I think you should reconsider leaving UPenn. UPenn is a pretty cush employer in Philly. If you don't want to deal directly with students or a lab, see if you can get a different job at Penn and work your way up to something. I've been applying to jobs there for years and it seems that the positions typically go to the temp workers who have already been in them (so you already got your foot in the door through what seems to be a common entryway). Leverage your employee (and good student!) status.

You probably won't get the 50k right away, but Penn posts the pay ranges for different positions right on their website, so check out the ranges, and look for jobs one range above your current gig. I a 50k goal has you at 26, 27 or 28 there, so if you are currently at 21-25, it won't take too many years to get the experience under your belt to move on up. Here is the link for their pay structure. Each job posting has the pay structure number posted as part of the description.

But if you do decide to leave, can I have your job? (for serious?)
posted by WeekendJen at 8:56 AM on May 18, 2015 [1 favorite]