Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsOverviewWhere Do Cognitive Psychologists Work?Job OptionsCognitive Psychologist SalariesEducational RequirementsPros and Cons
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Overview
Where Do Cognitive Psychologists Work?
Job Options
Cognitive Psychologist Salaries
Educational Requirements
Pros and Cons
Close
Cognitive psychologists study the internal mental processes that influence human behavior. Professionals in cognitive psychology jobs strive to understand how people form, store, and use memories, how people perceive information in the world around them, how information is processed, and how language develops.
At a GlanceCognitive psychology jobs can involve research or applied careers that focus on understanding how people think. If these sorts of things sound interesting to you, it can be helpful to learn more about the sort of things that professionals who work in this field do.
At a Glance
Cognitive psychology jobs can involve research or applied careers that focus on understanding how people think. If these sorts of things sound interesting to you, it can be helpful to learn more about the sort of things that professionals who work in this field do.
Overview of Jobs in Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is concerned with how people acquire, process, and store information. Major areas of interest in cognitive psychology include language,attention,memory, decision-making, andproblem-solving.
Cognitive psychologyhas many practical applications. People who work in this field may use their knowledge and skills in areas such as education, healthcare, business, and research.
For example, cognitive principles are often used to create educational materials and software design. Some cognitive psychology jobs focus on applying these principles directly to help people who are experiencing problems with thinking, memory, language, or perception.
If you are interested in cognitive psychology jobs, it’s also essential to think about your future work environment. Cognitive psychologists work in various areas.
Many cognitive psychologists conductapplied researchorbasic researchon the human thought process. Cognitive psychologists often work at colleges and universities, government agencies, corporate businesses, and private consulting.
Common career titles include university instructor, human factors consultant, industrial-organizational manager, and usability specialist.
Cognitive Psychology Jobs: A Few Options
Some cognitive psychologists may work in clinical areas while others choose to work in other settings such as education, business, government, and research. Some of the career opportunities that a cognitive psychologist might pursue include:
Healthcare Jobs
There are many cognitive psychology jobs that involve working in healthcare and mental health treatment settings. Cognitive psychologists might work in hospitals and mental health clinics to help people with cognitive issues.
They might treat people who:
Research Jobs
Cognitive psychologists also work in research settings to learn more about mental processes. Many of those who conduct research also teach in university settings. They conduct studies and publish research that furthers our collective understanding of different subjects in the field of cognitive psychology.
Business Jobs
Salaries for Jobs in Cognitive Psychology
Wages and salaries for cognitive psychologists vary widely depending on degree, position, and experience.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, theaverage salaryfor those working asindustrial-organizational psychologistsin 2022 was $139,280. The median annual salary for psychologists in general was $85,330.
The demand for cognitive psychologists also varies. There has been significant growth in other areas, such as human-computer interaction, software development, and organizational psychology.
Education Requirements for Cognitive Psychology Jobs
While there are some entry-level opportunities available to graduates with abachelor’s degree, most careers in cognitive psychology require a master’s or doctorate degree. Those working in applied areas can often find employment with a master’s degree.
These applied areas includehuman factorsand industrial-organizational psychology, which is expected to grow in the future.
Pros and Cons of Jobs in Psychology Psychology
As with any career, there are a number of potential benefits and possible downsides that you should carefully consider before choosing to pursue a job in cognitive psychology. Spend some time researching your options before you make a decision about whether it is the right job for your personality, goals, and needs.
Benefits
Downsides
What This Means For YouIf you are interested in cognitive psychology, it is a good idea to start planning your educational and career plan early on. Think about the type of work you would like to do and where you would like to work. There is a great deal of diversity when it comes to jobs in cognitive psychology, so you will want to carefully tailor your educational path to achieve your career goals.
What This Means For You
If you are interested in cognitive psychology, it is a good idea to start planning your educational and career plan early on. Think about the type of work you would like to do and where you would like to work. There is a great deal of diversity when it comes to jobs in cognitive psychology, so you will want to carefully tailor your educational path to achieve your career goals.
Psychologist Salary Info: The 9 Highest Paying Careers
4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K.Cognitive Psychology. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.Schmidt HG, Mamede S.How cognitive psychology changed the face of medical education research.Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2020;25(5):1025-1043. doi:10.1007/s10459-020-10011-0U.S. Department of Labor.Psychologists.American Psychological Association.Academic careers: What do psychology faculty earn?
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K.Cognitive Psychology. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.Schmidt HG, Mamede S.How cognitive psychology changed the face of medical education research.Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2020;25(5):1025-1043. doi:10.1007/s10459-020-10011-0U.S. Department of Labor.Psychologists.American Psychological Association.Academic careers: What do psychology faculty earn?
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K.Cognitive Psychology. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.Schmidt HG, Mamede S.How cognitive psychology changed the face of medical education research.Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2020;25(5):1025-1043. doi:10.1007/s10459-020-10011-0U.S. Department of Labor.Psychologists.American Psychological Association.Academic careers: What do psychology faculty earn?
Sternberg RJ, Sternberg K.Cognitive Psychology. Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.
Schmidt HG, Mamede S.How cognitive psychology changed the face of medical education research.Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2020;25(5):1025-1043. doi:10.1007/s10459-020-10011-0
U.S. Department of Labor.Psychologists.
American Psychological Association.Academic careers: What do psychology faculty earn?
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