Krystal
What do you do if you're a senior in college and you still don't know what you want to do with your degree?
I have a bachelor's of science degree in psychology. I'm pretty hesitant about getting my masters for a couple of reasons. For one, I don't know what I want. And two, it's really expensive. I've looked at a lot of jobs, but nothing in this field is really catching my eye. I love to do research and would love to work as a lab assistant. #psychology #internships #clinical-psychology #internship #hospital #life-coach #clinical-research
5 answers
Tina Cuje
Tina’s Answer
I see that it states you are a current senior; I would also update your question to state that you are currently pursuing your Bachelor's degree versus you "have" your degree - it will help with the guidance provided as it can certainly differ.
What is your qualitative research project about? Have you enjoyed the project thus far? If so, perhaps the next step is to complete an internship within research in industry versus academia. Perhaps look for internships that specify Market Research, Data Scientist, Data Analyst, and the liking. I would not wait until January 2019 (or even 2018 if that is what you meant) to do an internship; it's wonderful that you have an internship lined up and you should do a summer internship as well. This will help you identify prior to graduation if you enjoy the hands-on experience.
Having your Psychology degree will enable you to go into several directions if you do decide to pursue your Master's degree. In some fields it is necessary to earn a Master's degree; in other fields it's not necessary at all.
The recap of advice is to gain hands-on internship experience this year and that will help you determine if you actually like what you think you do. And then the follow-up to that will be to determine what exact career path you'd like to do (i.e. they are many directions to go in Research) - that follow-up answer will finally determine if you continue on to graduate school or start your career immediately.
Tina Cuje
Tina’s Answer
Hi there. I changed my major many times in college; starting with Speech Pathology and ultimately graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration. My last semester in college I was required to complete an internship which I found on my own and it was the best decision I made for my career because it helped me realize my passion and my talent in recruitment.
I'd like to know if you've completed any internships, specifically in Research given that you mentioned your love for it. Also, when did you complete your Bachelor's degree?
Let's start there and then hopefully I can provide guidance.
I haven't graduated yet, but I will in December this year. I haven't done any internships yet, but I am signed up to do a semester with Up With People in January 2019. I haven't done any internships for research, but my qualitative research class in college requires a real research project that had to be reviewed by the International Review Board. I just finished my data collection and I have to write the results soon. This project has been the only thing I've genuinely enjoyed in college.
Krystal
Krystal, I had to respond in a new thread as I had too many characters!
Tina Cuje
Barbara-Ann Kenealy
Barbara-Ann’s Answer
Don't persue your Masters if you are not sure. You should apply for employment opportunities and work or volunteer in different aspects to determine which youi enjoy.
You should work in a field you enjoy, otherwise going to work will be very difficult.
Robin Dunlap
Robin’s Answer
I completely understand! I was a history major that was planning to go to law school. I ended up taking a job in an industry I was interested in and wanted to learn more. I started at the bottom as a administrative assistant. I realized that I really loved the industry and ended up doing that even after law school. Just do something that you will like to do each day (life is too short to hate what you do) and you'd be surprised where that can take you.
Bhagya Mahabaleshwar
Bhagya’s Answer
A few things worth knowing:
Your degree is rarely the cage it feels like. Most employers hiring for roles in business, tech, consulting, operations, and even many science-adjacent fields care far more about your problem-solving ability, communication skills, and what you've actually done than your major. Biology, for example, trained me in systems thinking, methodology, and working with complex data — all of which translated directly into tech work, even if it didn't feel that way at the time.
Exploration is the actual next step — not a detour. Internships, contract work, pro-bono projects, and volunteer roles are how you figure out what resonates. Not by thinking harder about it. You learn what you like by doing, not by deciding in advance. Try something for a few months and pay attention to which parts energize you and which drain you.
Hold off on a Masters until you have a direction. A graduate degree is most valuable when you know why you're getting it. Doing one because you're unsure what else to do is an expensive way to delay the question. Get some real-world exposure first — then a Masters in a focused area becomes a genuine accelerator rather than a placeholder.
The career you end up in may not exist yet as a clear job title. Solution Architecture, AI consulting, UX research, data storytelling — many of today's most interesting roles didn't have obvious on-ramps five years ago. Stay curious and keep building skills across domains. That flexibility is actually an advantage, not a weakness.
You have more time than the pressure of senior year makes you feel.do masters and persue that more.