Would it be unwise of me to only get an AA in Psychology?

An AA will get you a minor job in someone else ‘s office at best. Unless you have a BA or better, people will not take you seriously.

You will need a PhD if you want your name on the sign.

You can do plenty in psychology with a BA or BS. Not anything with an AA. Stick with it.

What are your career goals? For counseling, you will need at least a Masters degree.

@Marina My goal is to have a career that pays well enough for me to live comfortably. I don’t know exactly what I want to do.

@Facade: Sounds like a BA/BS to me. You can do it – stay strong!

@girlofscience I sure as hell hope so.

A BA/BS will take you farther in terms of salary and advancement than an AA degree.

Yes, and the commonly stated, “You can’t do anything with a bachelor’s in psychology” is simply not true. I graduated slightly more than one year ago with my BS in psychology along with about 70 others. Almost all of us have found excellent positions with the degree.

@girlofscience That’s encouraging. What do you do? I’d like to know what they do as well

I’m actually in grad school, working on my PhD (but I consider it to be a “job” because I get paid, and working in a lab doing research is the main focus).

Others who graduated with me are:
– Research Assistants/Associates, working in a psychology lab at a university
– Research Assistants in the Postbaccalaureate IRTA program at NIH
– Research Analysts for various companies
– Industry Analysts, doing strategy consulting for companies
– Working in mental health facilities
– Going to grad school for either MA/MS, PsyD, or PhD
– Attending law/med school

well the AA won’t get you much, the BA is a bit better but I’d rather you not do the BA if you don’t really want to work in the field of psychology

@Simone_De_Beauvoir: I disagree. I think a college degree is a college degree, and many jobs require so many different skills that it doesn’t exactly matter what your degree is in. Just that you have one. If you don’t know exactly what you want to do, but you want a solid job that requires a degree, you might as well just major in whatever you find most interesting. Psychology degrees, especially, are extremely versatile. They’re relevant to almost any job.

@girlofscience We’re not actually disagreeing – I am suggesting getting the BA, just hoping that perhaps there is a BA out there that she’d rather do more

@Simone_De_Beauvoir: Yeah, I know, it’s just that – it seems like she doesn’t know what she wants to do, in which case, psychology is a good bet because it is both interesting and relevant to many jobs.

I’d have to agree with most people here: You’re better off at least getting a BA in the field. You can barely do anything with an AA.

@girlofscience true, as is sociology

You certainly won’t be able to do any counseling without the PhD. If it’s two years you want, consider Social Work instead of Psychology. I think the chances are better that you can do something with a 2 year degree in Social Work.

Definitely get your Bachelor’s. Again, forget about doing any clinical stuff. But a Bachelor’s in anything will open more doors.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir The field of Psychology is the most compatible with my interests. If I could have it my way, I wouldn’t have to go to school at all. And like @girlofscience said, some companies don’t care what your degree is in as long as you have one.

@Quagmire To make things clear, I’m not looking to be a psychologist or a social worker. I only changed my major to Psychology because I’m completely disinterested in pretty much everything else.

Yeah, I have no idea why people are telling you what degrees you need to be a counselor (it’s only a Master’s, by the way). You never said you wanted to be a counselor. And counseling psychology is only one of more than 30 subfields of psychology. I have no idea why people automatically assume counseling when it comes to psychology, considering that is only a small part of the gigantic field.

Beats me.

Just marry Mmr niceguy and let him handle things for you.

I would highly recommend getting the Bachelor’s degree. It’s only two more years but that opens up a lot of job opportunities than an A.A. just doesn’t.

@Zendo That’s basically the plan, although we intend to take care of each other :)

An AA is pretty much a starter degree. Unless you are getting certification in a very specific field such as heavy equipment operator or certified nursing assistant (or many other hands-on jobs), an AA won’t do much. You really need to go for the BA.

As to what you can do with a BA in psychology, there are a number of things. You can see a long list here, but it can be summarized as any job that requires working with people, which is a lot of jobs. You can go into human resources, personnel management, any sort of sales position, marketing, public relations, management, and many other fields related to social services or governmental work.

Understanding what makes other people tick is never a bad skill to have, and having a four-year degree reassures employers that you are able to set goals and meet them.

@Facade , forgive me for trying to give you info that I thought might help you.

There are certain websites that allow you to get “copies” of your lost degree and even have verification services available for a small nominal fee. If you really hate school and your moral compass is a bit off that might be an option ;)

I have a bachelors in Psychology and everyone else pretty much hit it on the head already. The Bachelor’s degree at least shows people that you stuck it out for 4 years and have the patience to endure. 2 year degrees are only beneficial for certain trades/crafts as you are typically getting a degree in a niche field.

If you’re not sure what you want at this point and haven’t finished up your GER, then just hold off for now. Money is a good motivator but coming from someone who has a good paying job now, I would gladly take a pay cut for something that I have more interest in.

Def get your BA/BS you will regret not getting it. Also just to put some perspective on this situation:

Recently I had to do some hiring (in the field of marketing). One position paid really well (about $75k) and the other was more entry level paying much less ($35–40k). The person hired for the higher paying position had BA/BS and 2 years experience while the lower paying position went to someone with 3 years experience and an AA only.

Another perspective: I hire people as well. For every one resume I have with just a high school or AA degree, I have 50 with a Bachelors.

The job market is competitive.

@Quagmire I wasn’t yelling at you, just saying that that’s not what I want to do
@badapple What do you do?
@drClaw I guess since I have practically no experience, I’ll need the BA

@Facade I work in Business/IT Sales at the moment… but other than that the Psychology degree isn’t as flexible as one would think especially in this market.

So if you’re up for a high pressure “Gil“type of job involving quotas, running around with your head cut off, constant rejection, and what not… then sales is ideal for you!

Needless to say, I am back in school going for my Masters/EdS. in School Psychology (I’ll get a PhD instead of an EdS if possible)