Occupational Psychologist

I'm also studying OP at the moment. I would definitely agree with the above poster that you should gain work experience in a few jobs before you start the Masters course. If you go into it I think it's very hard to fully make sense of some of the subject matter and also once you have done the course it's hard to convince potential employers that you know what you're talking about if you appear to have limited experience of your own when it comes to working in different organisations.

I've really enjoyed my course so far and I do recommend it to other people. One thing that varies between different universities though is the focus on theory vs. practical skills. My course is very theory-based as most people on the course are mature students and come into the course with 5-20+ years experience of working in a range of fields. Many people have already got experience in HR, management or Learning & Development and do the MSc to move up within their organisation or to gain a professional qualification to get a better standing within their chosen field.

Hi, I'm currently doing an Occ psych masters so hopefully I can help.

1. You don't need a doctorate to become an Occupational psychologist, though by doing either a professional doctorate or PHD you would qualify for chartership without having to do the supervised practice.

2. Stage 2 also involves completing a log book and experiencing several areas of occupational psychology practice, this has to be approved by the BPS. Once it has been you become a chartered occ psychologist. But you can work in occupational psychology without being chartered

I have a few useful presentations on chartership if you want any more information on it.

I've enjoyed the masters, there's a lot of areas to cover so there's a lot of diverse areas to work in as a result. I would recommend trying to get some relevant work experience before you start so that the course content makes sense. If you want to know anything else let me know