Psychology is often seen as a degree that leads to one destination: becoming a therapist. But according to Tripti Singh, that view is far too narrow. With over two decades of experience in career guidance and global education, Tripti has seen psychology graduates build careers across education, UX, people analytics, public relations, consumer behaviour, mental health, and much more. In this conversation with DiscoverU, she explains what studying psychology really teaches you, why undergraduate education is a starting point rather than a final career decision, how students can explore different paths, and what AI could mean for the future of psychology careers.
“Nothing is for the rest of your life. If anything is for the rest of life, you are redundant and you’re going to die of boredom.”
Q & A with Tripti Singh
What first drew you to psychology, and was it always part of your career plan?
I would be fooling myself and the audience if I said psychology started with this deep desire to understand the human mind. It eventually became that, but initially it was much simpler. I was a patient listener, people liked talking to me, and I felt I had strong communication skills. Psychology seemed like a natural fit. It was also a subject that felt both interesting and serious enough for parents to take seriously. I needed good grades to get into it, I got those grades, and I thought, “I might as well take it.” A few weeks into the course, I wanted to quit because it was hard. But as I continued and didn’t give up on myself, I began to discover that what I was really gaining was a very deep understanding of the human psyche. So psychology started almost accidentally, but eventually became an amazing fit for who I was as a person.
How did psychology eventually lead you towards educational counselling and student guidance?
A big part of my undergraduate journey was learning to understand myself. Psychology students were stereotyped as the “nerds” who went to the library after class and didn’t emerge until their work was done. Initially, I resisted that label. But eventually I accepted it and realised there was nothing wrong with being the studious person who showed up for herself. My peer group also played an important role. We were a small, competitive group, and people believed in me more than I believed in myself. That helped me realise that perhaps I did belong there. I started asking more questions, staying back after class to understand concepts better, doing the lab work seriously and spending time in the library. That was when I began developing self-belief. By the time I reached my master’s degree, I had developed a habit of stepping back before every decision and asking myself, “Who am I in this decision space? Who do I want to be, and what do I want to take away from this?” When I chose counselling psychology as my specialisation, it was a deliberate choice. I knew clinical psychology wasn’t right for my personality. The hospital environment, the rigidity and the red tape didn’t fit who I was. Counselling psychology gave me exposure to different demographics and areas, and eventually I realised that I connected most strongly with adolescents and young adults. From there, education became the space where I felt I could create the greatest impact.
Psychology is still often associated almost exclusively with therapy. What are some of the biggest misconceptions about psychology careers?
The first misconception is that you need to study psychology in high school to study it at university. You don’t. In fact, I strongly advise students not to drop mathematics simply because they want to study psychology. Keep mathematics if you can, because it gives you another way of thinking and keeps options open. The second and much bigger misconception is that your undergraduate degree determines your entire career. It doesn’t. Your undergraduate journey is the next three or four years in which you have a safe space to fail, explore, grow into an adult and discover what you’re good at. We often take the medical, engineering and law model from previous generations and try to apply it to every career today. But that’s not how careers work anymore. Even engineers who graduated decades ago often moved into finance or completely different fields. What their engineering education gave them was a particular way of thinking—systems thinking, structured problem-solving and the ability to connect processes. Similarly, psychology develops its own powerful ways of thinking. Your major isn’t necessarily your job. It’s one of the roads towards discovering yourself, your strengths and the kind of impact you want to create.
“Your undergraduate study is not the end all and beyond all of your career.”
What makes psychology graduates particularly versatile in the workplace?
Psychology students develop several skills that are extremely valuable across careers. First, they develop a strong understanding of themselves—their motivations, biases and behaviours—which naturally helps them understand other people. That can make them very effective at people management. Second, psychology trains you to synthesise information across disciplines because you’re looking at areas such as neuroscience, cognition and behaviour together. You become comfortable dealing with complexity and ambiguity. Put a psychology student into a chaotic situation or a complex system and they can often thrive because they’re used to working with the grey areas. Third, psychology develops strong communication skills. You learn to communicate with empathy as well as clarity. If I put those skills into a bucket and apply a filter that says, “Generate career opportunities,” almost anything would fall out. It really depends on who you are and what you want to create an impact with.
“Put a psychology student in a chaotic element or a complex system and they will be able to thrive.”
What are some unexpected career paths psychology graduates can explore?
I know people from my batch who have gone into completely different fields. One person is leading a restaurant chain. Another moved from advertising and market research into public relations. Someone is working in marital therapy, another in mental health products, and another in animal behaviour. One person works with a major insurance company in the United States, evaluating mental health claims. Even the people who aren’t working in traditional psychology roles are applying psychology in some way. Someone leading a restaurant business, for example, is constantly dealing with people, managing teams, understanding customers and applying consumer behaviour. Their psychology background helps them do that better. So I don’t think students should ask, “What job can I get with psychology?” They should ask, “Where can I apply the way I think, the strengths I’ve developed and the impact I want to create?” That’s where the career possibilities become much wider.
What should students know if they’re specifically considering clinical psychology?
If you’re absolutely certain that you want to work clinically—with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, suicidal ideation or grief—you need to understand that it is a serious, long-term commitment. There is no shortcut to becoming a strong clinical psychologist. I believe someone considering clinical psychology should aspire to a PhD and should understand the depth of practical and diagnostic training required. Don’t assume that completing an undergraduate degree followed by a short postgraduate diploma is enough to build a meaningful long-term career in clinical psychology. If you want to practise in this space, you need to be genuinely committed to the journey. It’s similar to medicine in the sense that you’re dealing with people’s lives and mental health, even though the role and training are different.
On the other hand, if what interests you is social-emotional support, school counselling, relationships, marriage or the everyday challenges people face, don’t automatically assume you need to take the clinical route. Speak to counsellors and understand the different pathways available. The right training depends on the kind of work you actually want to do.
“There is no shortcut to being a clinical psychologist.”
Why is practical exposure so important for psychology students?
Internships can help students discover whether the reality of psychology matches the version they’ve imagined. If you’re interested in clinical psychology, try to get exposure through public community clinics, NGOs or schools serving underprivileged communities. You may encounter case studies involving trauma, abuse and other complex situations. That exposure can tell you very quickly whether you’re genuinely drawn to the work. In fact, when I work with psychology students, many initially say they want to become clinical psychologists. After they spend time understanding what the work actually involves, a large majority realise they don’t want that path. Sometimes it’s the length of training, sometimes the financial expectations, and sometimes they simply realise that the work doesn’t excite them. You need to expose yourself to different sectors because you can’t make an informed decision in a silo.
What are some of the newer career opportunities emerging for psychology students?
One of the most exciting developments is the intersection of psychology and technology. User experience is a great example. Psychology students can contribute to UX because technology isn’t just about making something technically efficient; it’s also about understanding how people interact with it. There’s a growing need for people who can think about behaviour, motivation and user experience. Human-computer interaction is another fascinating intersection, particularly for students who combine psychology with data science or technology. Video games, digital products and apps all need people who understand how humans think and behave. Another very interesting area is people analytics and data analytics. Companies now have enormous amounts of behavioural data, but data by itself doesn’t explain human behaviour. A psychology student who understands both data and people can help interpret what the data actually means and translate it into strategies for marketing, revenue or employee engagement. That’s a very exciting frontier because it combines psychology, technology and business.
“The coolest newest job in the last two, three years that I’m looking at psychology students gunning for is people analytics, but also data analytics.”
How is AI changing careers in psychology? Is it a threat or an opportunity?
I actually think AI is creating more corporate opportunities for psychology students. Technology companies need psychologists and social scientists to help build better products, understand users and develop chatbots and other systems. So in that sense, AI is creating new applications of psychology. When it comes to mental health, I don’t believe AI will replace therapeutic services. AI can help with loneliness, basic information, brainstorming or even simple techniques such as breathing exercises. But therapy depends on rapport. You need to feel heard, understood and safe with another human being. That relationship is difficult to replicate with AI. People may use AI as an assistant, but that doesn’t mean they won’t need therapists. In fact, I think AI will eventually become like a very powerful search engine and assistant rather than a replacement for human expertise.
“AI is giving more job opportunities, corporate job opportunities for psychology students.”
How should students and professionals use AI when making career decisions?
AI is excellent for brainstorming, collecting information and bringing data together. But I wouldn’t use it to make important decisions on its own. In educational counselling, for example, AI can generate a list of universities very quickly. But it doesn’t necessarily understand the nuances of a student’s profile, the context behind previous application cycles, or why one university might be a better fit than another. Experience allows you to connect those dots. I now use AI as an assistant because it saves me hours of manual research. But clients still come to us with AI-generated lists and ask, “What do you think?” That’s where human expertise matters. AI can give you generic information, but it doesn’t know you deeply enough to make the decision for you.
Looking back, who guided you, and what do you wish someone had told you earlier?
I was fortunate that psychology itself gave me a lot of the tools I needed. I wasn’t primarily driven by financial decisions. I was driven by empathy, service and the desire to solve problems faced by adolescents and young adults in India. When I realised there wasn’t really a programme teaching college counselling when I started, I became very self-driven about filling that gap. I spent hours researching online, contacting admissions officers, reading books and travelling to university libraries. Psychology had taught me how to research deeply, so I used that skill to understand education and student development. But looking back, I wish someone had told me to explore other industries as well. I went very deep into psychology because I loved it, but I never really compared it with law, finance, business or other fields. My parents weren’t indifferent; they simply didn’t have access to that kind of career information. Their generation was focused on education and building their businesses. Today, students have far more information available to them, so they should use it to explore before committing.
“You can’t make informed decisions in silo.”
Key Learnings
Your degree is a starting point
An undergraduate degree builds thinking skills and self-awareness; it doesn’t lock you into one career.
Psychology opens many doors
From counselling and education to UX, people analytics, consumer behaviour and technology, psychology can be applied across industries.
Explore before you specialise
Internships, conversations and exposure to different sectors can help you make more informed career decisions.
Clinical psychology requires commitment
If clinical practice is your goal, understand the depth, time and practical training the profession demands before choosing the path.
Build skills beyond your major
Data, technology, communication and research skills can dramatically expand the career opportunities available to psychology graduates.
Use AI as an assistant
AI can accelerate research and brainstorming, but human judgement, context and expertise remain critical for important career decisions.
Find your personal fit
The right career sits at the intersection of your strengths, interests, personality and the kind of impact you want to create.
Conclusion
Tripti Singh’s journey demonstrates that a psychology degree can be much more than a route into therapy. Her experience highlights the value of self-awareness, exploration and staying open to unexpected career possibilities. From educational counselling to UX, people analytics and AI-enabled technology, psychology graduates today have more options than ever. The key is not to find the one career you will do for the rest of your life, but to understand yourself well enough to keep making informed choices as you grow.
Tripti Singh is an experienced academic counsellor with a Master’s in Counselling Psychology and over 21 years of experience in career guidance and global education. She currently serves as Head of Postgraduate Services at The Red Pen, where she supports students worldwide in navigating master’s and PhD applications to leading universities. A member of the IECA Graduate Committee, USA, Tripti is also a frequent speaker at universities and national forums, sharing insights on psychology, higher education, career exploration and global education.
