Working with Children or Adolescents (e.g., working as a teacher's assistant in a school for children with learning and/or behavioral difficulties, serving as an advocate/educator for teenage mothers, being a counselor at outdoor educational facility for troubled youth, etc.)

If you are interested in working with children, job opportunities exist in mental health agencies as well as in educational institutions and child care centers. Positions include child care aide, children's museum staff, educational tutor for at-risk children, or helping at-risk adolescents adjust to pregnancy or school dropout. Government funding typically supports these positions, often in private, public or non-profit agencies. Similar to other employment areas, without an advanced degree, entry-level positions often offer few opportunities for advancement and the pay scale is relatively low. However, these jobs can provide excellent experience for persons considering future graduate training. To become competitive for these positions, students may consider taking courses that will also prepare them well such as PSYC 2050: Child Development, PSYC 3090: Infancy, PSYC 3020: Adolescence, and PSYC 2530: Child Psychopathology). Prior experience may be required for these positions, so it is useful to seek out field experience opportunities, internships, or volunteer placements; therefore, during your time as an undergraduate, you may complete an internship for course credit (e.g., PSYC 3760: Field Experiences, PSYC 3991: Independent Study, the Sociology Internship course, or through cooperative education credits for internships obtained at the University Career Center: 303-871-2150), find part-time or volunteer work with a local agency (e.g., a school, a foster care agency, etc).