Running commentary Volume 32, No. When I completed my doctorate several decades ago, the job market was good, but the choices were narrow. Most of my graduate student friends chose one or another of these options, and many have continued on their chosen paths for their entire careers. Now, psychologists are everywhere. The job market may not be quite as good, but the choices are dazzling.
Psychology is an extraordinarily diverse field with hundreds of career paths.
In addition to the choices of several decades ago, psychologists are now found in government, courtrooms, corporate offices, advertising agencies, consulting firms and high-tech businesses. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education noted that many new psychology graduates who might have been expected to enter academic careers are now being lured away from academe by jobs in business, ranging from survey research to software design. And the complexities and frustrations of the current health-care system have led many who would have been clinical practitioners to jobs just as varied. The cover story of this month's Monitor features profiles of recent psychology graduate students who are pursuing innovative careers that draw on their education and training in new and exciting ways. These young psychologists are making their mark in a variety of arenas, most of which could hardly have been imagined just a few years ago and for few of which the graduates were specifically trained.