10 Transferable Skills You Can Learn By Studying Psychology

They say that people with a psychology degree can work in nearly any field.

This is due to the sheer number of transferable skills you learn during the program that can be used in jobs outside of psychology.

If you're a psychology major, or even just considering what major will help you learn while giving you the most career options, you should consider how these transferable skills from studying psych can get you where you want to be in life and employment.

Top Skills Psychology Teaches You That You Can Use Anywhere

Below you'll find the top 10 transferable skills you can learn from studying psychology, as well as how you can use them in any job to improve your performance and find success in your field.

1. Communication

Whether you're writing notes on patients or speaking with them in person during a session, a psychologist needs to be able to communicate in a professional manner in order to work with members of the public.

This skill can also be important for office workers writing emails, sales managers who need to present new products to employees and customers, or public officials who need to perform speeches.

2. Time Management

Being a college student always means learning how to make the most of your time. By the time you've finished four years of higher education, you'll have time management down to a science and can use this skill for scheduling patient sessions as a psychologist or for managing your day and tasks in any job of your choosing.

3. Critical Thinking

Another good transferable skill from studying psych is critical thinking. The ability to analyze and understand research and ideas is crucial to keeping up with new diagnoses and treatment methods in psychology.

Critical thinking can be useful for any job where you need to complete research or conceptualize ideas will use this skill.

4. Problem-Solving

While some may not think this way initially, a lot of psychology boils down to finding a problem, analyzing it, and coming up with one or more potential solutions to implement.

Most psychology assignments are built on this idea, so you'll learn a lot about problem-solving during your education.

In addition to psychology, problem-solving can be used in any job from teaching to construction. All positions involve identifying issues and ways to solve them on the job.

5. Management/Leadership

In psychology positions, you're often working one-on-one or with small groups of people who look up to you for advice and assistance. This means you have to learn how to take charge as a leader and manage multiple people's needs and tasks at once.

This skill is highly transferable for any management or team lead position, whether as part of a sales team or as the creator of a nonprofit.

6. Collaboration

Just like someone working in the psychology field will need to be able to lead their patients, they'll also need to be able to collaborate with and listen to other members of their patient's medical team and support network.

Knowing how to collaborate on projects or listen to the advice and expertise of others in the workplace is vital for any environment where you have to work together with a coworker.

7. Flexibility/Adaptability

Whether you need to learn a new computer system on the fly or have to adapt to a sudden influx of patients, a psychology major with a job in the field needs to be flexible and able to adapt to sudden changes in environment or behavior.

The same can be said for jobs outside of psychology, such as education or computer programming, where problems can crop up at any time and require you to shift your focus and adapt to the new situation at hand in order to solve them.

8. Organization

Staying organized is critical for someone who takes on multiple patients and treatment schedules, just like time management is. Keeping records in order is also a useful skill for a working psychologist.

Being able to stay organized can also help you in other jobs like administrative work, reception, or sales. Being able to keep your workplace in proper order is an important skill for almost any position.

9. Patience

Working with someone who needs help as a psychology student or psychologist can take a long time - even years. Sometimes, you might come across a patient that's hard to work with.

This is when it's important to have patience with yourself, your patient, and the circumstances that brought them to you.

The same can be said for jobs in call centers, customer service, insurance, or public health. All of these fields require patience and consideration for others.

10. Cultural Sensitivity

While learning psychology in an institution of higher education, students learn about many religions, cultures, and customs that, regardless of whether they agree with and practice them personally, they need to be aware and understanding of while working with patients.

Learning cultural sensitivity can also help you in any work with the public or in workplaces that involve coworkers from different cultures and countries.

Being understanding of others and their differences can go a long way toward creating a peaceful work environment for everyone.

Make the Most of Your Psychology Degree Today

Now that you know about the top transferable skills from studying psych that you can gain and improve on during your degree, it's time to finish your higher education and put those skills to use today so you can get the career of your dreams tomorrow.