You CAN Do Anything with a Bachelors in Psych

"You can't do anything with a bachelors degree in psych."

In addition to its being plain incorrect, this claim bothers me for several reasons.

The first is that, according to Tara Kuther in The Psychology Major's Handbook, the majority of psychology majors do not go to graduate school ... ever. But of course they must be doing something.

The second is that it implies that there is something unique about psych majors in terms of their ability to get jobs with only their bachelors degrees ... as though sociology, philosophy, and chemistry majors are being handed jobs left and right. Yes, the technical knowledge obtained by chemistry majors gives them the upper hand for getting certain kinds of jobs, but the technical knowledge obtained by psychology majors (e.g., behavioral principles, statistical analysis) gives them the upper hand for others.

The third reason this claim bothers me is that it reflects a misunderstanding of the traditional purpose of an American-style college education, which is not to be trained for a particular career. Yes there are some exceptions; nursing and engineering come to mind. But a bachelor's degree in psychology is not supposed to turn you into a psychologist any more than a bachelor's degree in biology is supposed to turn you into a physician. What both of those bachelor's degrees are supposed to do is turn you into an educated human being who knows a little about a wide variety of fields, a little more about one specific field, and has lots of important general skills like the ability to write and speak clearly, analyze complex problems, motivate yourself, and work effectively with others.

The fact is that a bachelor's degree in psychology can be one step on the way to doing just about anything--including becoming a psychologist, a doctor, a lawyer, a newspaper reporter, an advertising executive, ....