Behavioral Sciences: One Degree, Many Job Options
October 31, 2009 by admin
Filed under Career Management
Kelli Smith asked:
What Exactly Are the Behavioral Sciences?
The behavioral sciences fall somewhere between social sciences and natural sciences, absorbing some components of each. It’s a big category, so it typically gets broken down into two smaller ones: Neural-Decision Sciences and Social-Communication Sciences.
Neural-Decision Science studies the relationship between biology and decision-making, and disciplines in that field include psychology, ethology, psychobiology, social neuroscience, and management science.
Social-Communication Science focuses on communication. Specifically it deals with how both language and communication can affect the individual, relationships, and social interaction in general. A common discipline in this field is anthropology, but other disciplines include organizational behavior and behavior finance.
What Can You Do With a Behavioral Sciences Degree?
Here are just some of the careers you can choose to pursue and, briefly, what’s involved in each:
Anthropology: Anthropologists study the physical, social, cultural development, and behavior of human beings. Within anthropology several specialties exist such as sociocultural, linguistic, or biophysical. A bachelor’s degree in the behavioral sciences can be a strong starting point to continue on to a master’s degree or PhD in anthropology.
Ethology: A zoological science, ethologists study animal behavior, specifically instinctual rather than learned behavior. Ethology, as a part of behavioral science, instead looks at instinctual behavior in humans.
FBI Behavioral Science Unit: You can work for the FBI with a degree in this field. It typically does involve criminal profiling, made popular by TV and films, but it also has several other components, including studying the behavior of criminals in general and even working to better the operational effectiveness of the FBI itself.
Psychology: Since psychologists study human behavior, it makes sense that this field fits neatly within the behavioral sciences category. To become a practicing psychologist, you almost always need to have a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) or PhD. All states traditionally require psychologists who see patients to have a license or certification.
Sociology: Sociologists look at society and social behavior. Sociology examines groups and organizations, different cultures, and social institutions. A master’s degree or PhD. in sociology is usually necessary, but majoring in behavioral sciences at a university can provide a solid educational beginning.
Interestingly, significant job growth has occurred in surprising areas that either didn’t previously exist or weren’t traditionally linked with the behavioral sciences:
Neuromarketing: This new field uses neuroscience to study consumer behavior, but it’s extremely small in the private sector at this time.
Public-Opinion Research: Behavioral science can better explain influences on public opinion and how it forms.
Health Education/Public Health: Behavioral science comes into play here in helping people make healthier choices for themselves. This can often involve community-wide education initiatives on topics as diverse disease prevention, nutrition, drugs and alcohol abuse, or even the quality of life for senior citizens.
Job Prospects and Salaries for Behavioral Scientists
Salaries vary throughout behavior sciences, however in 2007 these occupations earned the following annual median salaries:
• Sociologists: $61,140
• Anthropologists: $53,080
• Clinical Psychologists: $62,210
• Health Educator: $42,920
With so many career options, you should have plenty of job prospects with a behavioral science degree.
What Exactly Are the Behavioral Sciences?
The behavioral sciences fall somewhere between social sciences and natural sciences, absorbing some components of each. It’s a big category, so it typically gets broken down into two smaller ones: Neural-Decision Sciences and Social-Communication Sciences.
Neural-Decision Science studies the relationship between biology and decision-making, and disciplines in that field include psychology, ethology, psychobiology, social neuroscience, and management science.
Social-Communication Science focuses on communication. Specifically it deals with how both language and communication can affect the individual, relationships, and social interaction in general. A common discipline in this field is anthropology, but other disciplines include organizational behavior and behavior finance.
What Can You Do With a Behavioral Sciences Degree?
Here are just some of the careers you can choose to pursue and, briefly, what’s involved in each:
Anthropology: Anthropologists study the physical, social, cultural development, and behavior of human beings. Within anthropology several specialties exist such as sociocultural, linguistic, or biophysical. A bachelor’s degree in the behavioral sciences can be a strong starting point to continue on to a master’s degree or PhD in anthropology.
Ethology: A zoological science, ethologists study animal behavior, specifically instinctual rather than learned behavior. Ethology, as a part of behavioral science, instead looks at instinctual behavior in humans.
FBI Behavioral Science Unit: You can work for the FBI with a degree in this field. It typically does involve criminal profiling, made popular by TV and films, but it also has several other components, including studying the behavior of criminals in general and even working to better the operational effectiveness of the FBI itself.
Psychology: Since psychologists study human behavior, it makes sense that this field fits neatly within the behavioral sciences category. To become a practicing psychologist, you almost always need to have a Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) or PhD. All states traditionally require psychologists who see patients to have a license or certification.
Sociology: Sociologists look at society and social behavior. Sociology examines groups and organizations, different cultures, and social institutions. A master’s degree or PhD. in sociology is usually necessary, but majoring in behavioral sciences at a university can provide a solid educational beginning.
Interestingly, significant job growth has occurred in surprising areas that either didn’t previously exist or weren’t traditionally linked with the behavioral sciences:
Neuromarketing: This new field uses neuroscience to study consumer behavior, but it’s extremely small in the private sector at this time.
Public-Opinion Research: Behavioral science can better explain influences on public opinion and how it forms.
Health Education/Public Health: Behavioral science comes into play here in helping people make healthier choices for themselves. This can often involve community-wide education initiatives on topics as diverse disease prevention, nutrition, drugs and alcohol abuse, or even the quality of life for senior citizens.
Job Prospects and Salaries for Behavioral Scientists
Salaries vary throughout behavior sciences, however in 2007 these occupations earned the following annual median salaries:
• Sociologists: $61,140
• Anthropologists: $53,080
• Clinical Psychologists: $62,210
• Health Educator: $42,920
With so many career options, you should have plenty of job prospects with a behavioral science degree.
Kabbalah: a Practical Science
Bnei Baruch asked:
There are various kinds of sciences in the world, but the ones that we value the most are those that can affect and improve our lives today. After all, if something doesn’t benefit our life here and now, or in the foreseeable future, then why would we want to waste our time to actually learn it?
Science exists in order to research nature and find ways to improve our lives. If we see that a certain science will benefit us, then we will invest great effort and means to learn it.
Throughout history we have seen that science develops in order for society to progress and advance. For example, scientific advancement led to the invention of the steam engine and other mechanical devices. On the other hand, when these inventions became obsolete, we no longer had any use for the science that created them. In other words, a science can appear and disappear depending on our need for it.
Kabbalah is an ancient science that has recently reappeared and continues to become increasingly popular because it offers knowledge that is of great benefit to today’s society. It is the science that enables us to understand ourselves and the world around us in its entirety. There is no other science that can completely explain the structure, function, and laws of the universe.
Why is Kabbalah able to offer us a complete knowledge that is beyond the boundary of more traditional sciences? It’s because Kabbalah deals with concepts that are beyond time and space—our eternal, spiritual existence. And since this science studies things that are eternal, the science itself is eternally valuable. That is to say, the information it offers will never become “obsolete.”
But if Kabbalah contains such great knowledge, then why aren’t more people learning it? The reason for this is that Kabbalah cannot be learned the same way that other sciences are learned. If a person tries to learn Kabbalah in order to be knowledgeable or smart, then he will not really learn it. In order to learn Kabbalah, a person must focus on the new sensations he feels while studying since the purpose of studying is to begin to feel the part of reality that’s beyond time and space.
Today many people are learning the correct way to study Kabbalah and are discovering this eternal, infinite realm. Millions of people study Kabbalah, whether over the Internet, through books or other media. Some study it everyday and “live by it,” so to say, while others simply remember that Kabbalah exists. In any case, once a person begins to study and understand Kabbalah, he never forgets it because he has already come into contact with the eternal, spiritual part of the universe. The knowledge he gains through studying Kabbalah is already an inseparable part of him and has a positive influence on his life and his development. Today, there are many scientists who use this wisdom for practical research and attainment, and they invite those who are interested to join them.
There are various kinds of sciences in the world, but the ones that we value the most are those that can affect and improve our lives today. After all, if something doesn’t benefit our life here and now, or in the foreseeable future, then why would we want to waste our time to actually learn it?
Science exists in order to research nature and find ways to improve our lives. If we see that a certain science will benefit us, then we will invest great effort and means to learn it.
Throughout history we have seen that science develops in order for society to progress and advance. For example, scientific advancement led to the invention of the steam engine and other mechanical devices. On the other hand, when these inventions became obsolete, we no longer had any use for the science that created them. In other words, a science can appear and disappear depending on our need for it.
Kabbalah is an ancient science that has recently reappeared and continues to become increasingly popular because it offers knowledge that is of great benefit to today’s society. It is the science that enables us to understand ourselves and the world around us in its entirety. There is no other science that can completely explain the structure, function, and laws of the universe.
Why is Kabbalah able to offer us a complete knowledge that is beyond the boundary of more traditional sciences? It’s because Kabbalah deals with concepts that are beyond time and space—our eternal, spiritual existence. And since this science studies things that are eternal, the science itself is eternally valuable. That is to say, the information it offers will never become “obsolete.”
But if Kabbalah contains such great knowledge, then why aren’t more people learning it? The reason for this is that Kabbalah cannot be learned the same way that other sciences are learned. If a person tries to learn Kabbalah in order to be knowledgeable or smart, then he will not really learn it. In order to learn Kabbalah, a person must focus on the new sensations he feels while studying since the purpose of studying is to begin to feel the part of reality that’s beyond time and space.
Today many people are learning the correct way to study Kabbalah and are discovering this eternal, infinite realm. Millions of people study Kabbalah, whether over the Internet, through books or other media. Some study it everyday and “live by it,” so to say, while others simply remember that Kabbalah exists. In any case, once a person begins to study and understand Kabbalah, he never forgets it because he has already come into contact with the eternal, spiritual part of the universe. The knowledge he gains through studying Kabbalah is already an inseparable part of him and has a positive influence on his life and his development. Today, there are many scientists who use this wisdom for practical research and attainment, and they invite those who are interested to join them.
