Psychology degree steers different career paths

During Bloomsburg University’s 4th annual College of Liberal Arts Symposium, a panel of psychology alumni returned to talk about how they took their degree in different directions.

“If I could give you any advice about pursuing a career path in psychology, it would be challenge,” said Alphonso Nathan, vice president and lead home-based clinician at Brightside Counseling Services LLC, who talked about the importance of experimenting in different departments. “Try different roles, because you don’t know what you’ll fall in love with. You can do so much with this degree. Take it and make it yours!”

Janet Rarig, BU’s executive director of wellness, elaborated on the topic.

“Be open to opportunities!,” Rarig said. “There’s a process, and everything works out the way it should. Don’t be afraid of new doors opening.”

The conversation soon turned to a different question. Panelists were asked why earning a degree in psychology helped propel them forward in their current occupations.

“Earning a degree in psychology helped me with my job,” said Salvatore Nardini, prevention coordinator at the Center for Humanistic Change. “It makes everything you learned in school so real in the field. Instead of just reading it in a textbook, you meet people and take everything you learned to help them,”

Andrew Corbin, a therapeutic recreation services supervisor at Danville State Hospital, added how psychology aided him in his current job.

“Earning my degree helped me in my field as a supervisor in a hospital,” Corbin said. “It helped me to learn how to write a lot better, which helps me every single day! It allowed me to break down everything I’ve learned and learn continuously and write it out factually.”

Although all the panelists currently work in different job fields, they collectively agreed that earning a psychology degree helped them to further their career and allowed them to choose the path they wanted to go down.