[Fuzzpig]

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[Lord Asriel]

If you are going to be dual chartered you will need a Forensic Stage 1 qualification in any case.

However, doing an MSc by itself may not be enough to get an assistant post. In my service when we recruit for assistants, having an MSc distinction may be a sign of good academics, but to be shortlisted you really need the experience, references and savvy to demonstrate that you won't need me or any of my colleagues to hold your hand or have to keep an eye on you all the time.

As for the DClinPsy having a 1st is a good thing. Regardless, you will definitely need the clinical work experience and signs of research ability too. A research heavy MSc with publications can help with the latter.

[humming]

I don't think having a masters will make you "stand out" so to speak from the crowd when applying for jobs like an assistant psychologist role because of the high level of competition. But masters itself is an additional qualification which is nice to have even if you have 1st in your first degree - especially in research terms, it takes you to a level closer to what it would be like at doctoral level and of course, gives you the level 1 qualification thus I would argue it is worth the costs - you can pay back the loan etc but your masters is there for life.

Having said that, to be shortlisted for the roles like an assistant psychologist you will need other relevant experience, ideally supervision/references from psychologists and the ability to demonstrate how your experiences, skills and qualifications will enable you to fulfill the responsibilities of the role whilst continuing to develop.

[Fuzzpig]

(Original post by Lord Asriel)
If you are going to be dual chartered you will need a Forensic Stage 1 qualification in any case.

However, doing an MSc by itself may not be enough to get an assistant post. In my service when we recruit for assistants, having an MSc distinction may be a sign of good academics, but to be shortlisted you really need the experience, references and savvy to demonstrate that you won't need me or any of my colleagues to hold your hand or have to keep an eye on you all the time.

As for the DClinPsy having a 1st is a good thing. Regardless, you will definitely need the clinical work experience and signs of research ability too. A research heavy MSc with publications can help with the latter.

Thanks for replying

I'm unsure now really how I could ever prove that I have the experience to become an assistant even with an MSc then! There are assistant posts advertising "would be suitable for a new graduate" but these are very few and far between and none I've seen so far in the two areas I feasibly could live to work. The only experience I have to speak of is my month in the prison psychology department where of course as a student I was only really shadowing, writing risk reports/compiling information for prisoner files and sitting in on cognitive program end reviews with some of the prisoners.

Such a difficult decision and so many things to weigh up. The loan on the Masters makes life a little difficult in terms of me securing a mortgage with my fiancée too.

I see what you're saying about publications, that's another point awarded to the Masters side! For becoming chartered I know I don't necessarily need to complete the masters, though the assistants in the prison did all tell me they wished they'd done it that way as working in the prison full time and working for the chartership at the same time was really hard work.

[*Elizabeth*]

(Original post by aliluvschoc)
Apologies for the length of this, I'm just suddenly having second thoughts.

I accepted an offer for MSc Forensic Psychology in April of this year, on the basis of me achieving a 2:1 or above in my BSc Psychology.

I love Forensic Psychology and in an ideal world would become a Clinical-forensic Psychologist. I know that the MSc would put me on the right track, offering me the first full year of the basis for graduate chartership as a Forensic Psychologist. I had a month worth of experience with Forensic Psychologists in a category C prison last summer.

I initially wanted to complete the masters to have something that would put me ahead of other Psychology graduates in the saturated graduate market. The most important point of this masters (ignoring for the moment that it would help me become chartered in the future) is that it would make it easier to get accepted on to an assistant position to get enough experience to start applying for the Clinical Doctorate.

However, I graduated with a first. My tutors and I never believed that would happen. I've been looking at job requirements and I feel that with the first I may now already have the slight edge over some of the other new graduates that would be competing against me for the assistant jobs.

I'm still set to join the masters course in September, but it will involve me taking on a £10,000 career development loan which will still not cover the £7000ish course fees and £5500 accommodation fees. I know I will be able to afford it all in some way or another, but the loan is making me think twice about this. I could after all return and do this masters in a few years time...

In essence then: Do I have a hope in hell of getting enough *good* experience to get onto a Clinical Doctorate, with only my 1st class BSc Psychology? Or will competing still be just as difficult as it would be had I achieved my expected 2:1? Would you put in the extra thousands of pounds of investment to achieve a masters if you were me? I know that a masters is a huge step up from having just a BSc but it may be more than I need to achieve my aim for now.

Would I have a chance at a position such as this: http://www.jobisjob.co.uk/dartford/o...murv4bq?pos=34

Congrats on the first!

Ok, for applying for clinical, some courses (Surrey uni!) shortlist for interview on the basis of performance with a research methods test, so unless applicants perform in the top % scoring applicants, having postgraduate qualifications will not make any difference to an application, at least in terms of getting an interview.

I took out a career development loan and the repayments were lethal!

You don't need to have a postgrad qualification to get onto clinical training. For some unis, having relevant experience and being able to reflect seems to be more important. However, I've seen some of the marking sheets clinical psy admission tutors use (accessible via a few internet searches) and a completed MSc adds a few extra points to experience, but so does years of relevant experience. Someone with a first, MSc and PhD would receive the max amount of academic points, but someone with a first could achieve the same number of points as someone with a completed PhD with the right type of experience.

Probably would question what you mean by 'good' experience as I think some assistant psychologist vacancies vary in the job content- ie some are more admin /database based, whereas others are much more hands on with client groups. You could obtain some really useful clinical experience with non graduate positions which could be really useful for developing skills etc.

I personally think that a complete BPS accredited MSc which potentially leads to 'plan b' career options ie forensic psychologist etc is a good option to go for. I know of a few people who completed the foremsic MSc and got onto clinical training at UCL the following year (they had a 2.1 and years of assistant psychologist experience). Please note that most unis for the clinical doctorate only count completed qualifications as part of the selection criteria, so something to think about perhaps!

Would always recommend an MSc with relevant experience alongside it. I worked as a volunteer assistant psychologist one day a week whilst doing my full time MSc. I would have also added a bank support worker position alongside it if I could do it all again as I've learnt so much from my support worker position!

Also consider that MScs etc are likely to increase in fees. I can't believe how expensive MScs are now

[Fuzzpig]

(Original post by *Elizabeth*)
Congrats on the first!

Ok, for applying for clinical, some courses (Surrey uni!) shortlist for interview on the basis of performance with a research methods test, so unless applicants perform in the top % scoring applicants, having postgraduate qualifications will not make any difference to an application, at least in terms of getting an interview.

I took out a career development loan and the repayments were lethal!

You don't need to have a postgrad qualification to get onto clinical training. For some unis, having relevant experience and being able to reflect seems to be more important. However, I've seen some of the marking sheets clinical psy admission tutors use (accessible via a few internet searches) and a completed MSc adds a few extra points to experience, but so does years of relevant experience. Someone with a first, MSc and PhD would receive the max amount of academic points, but someone with a first could achieve the same number of points as someone with a completed PhD with the right type of experience.

Probably would question what you mean by 'good' experience as I think some assistant psychologist vacancies vary in the job content- ie some are more admin /database based, whereas others are much more hands on with client groups. You could obtain some really useful clinical experience with non graduate positions which could be really useful for developing skills etc.

I personally think that a complete BPS accredited MSc which potentially leads to 'plan b' career options ie forensic psychologist etc is a good option to go for. I know of a few people who completed the foremsic MSc and got onto clinical training at UCL the following year (they had a 2.1 and years of assistant psychologist experience). Please note that most unis for the clinical doctorate only count completed qualifications as part of the selection criteria, so something to think about perhaps!

Would always recommend an MSc with relevant experience alongside it. I worked as a volunteer assistant psychologist one day a week whilst doing my full time MSc. I would have also added a bank support worker position alongside it if I could do it all again as I've learnt so much from my support worker position!

Also consider that MScs etc are likely to increase in fees. I can't believe how expensive MScs are now

Thank you that's really helpful! I think I will take the masters this year, I can do it without paying living costs as my parents have just announced they're moving to Kent. The course fees went up this year and they'll go up again, I also get £1000 off as I graduated this year from Kent. Seems all's in favour of dong the masters then.

By 'good' experience I mean relevant experience. The courses all seem to make a point of saying that not all experience is relevant, as you say some are more hands on than others and so on. I also need to factor in how much I could be earning in such a position and whether I could pay the loan off (now £5375), and pay rent too.

I'm going to have a look at bank positions, that's something I never would have thought of! Thanks for all of the advice you've given me a lot to think about!

[*Elizabeth*]

(Original post by aliluvschoc)
Thank you that's really helpful! I think I will take the masters this year, I can do it without paying living costs as my parents have just announced they're moving to Kent. The course fees went up this year and they'll go up again, I also get £1000 off as I graduated this year from Kent. Seems all's in favour of dong the masters then.

By 'good' experience I mean relevant experience. The courses all seem to make a point of saying that not all experience is relevant, as you say some are more hands on than others and so on. I also need to factor in how much I could be earning in such a position and whether I could pay the loan off (now £5375), and pay rent too.

I'm going to have a look at bank positions, that's something I never would have thought of! Thanks for all of the advice you've given me a lot to think about!

ooo hello fellow kent graduate!

I'm finishing my PhD at kent uni and also completed my undergraduate degree there

I'm currently working as a bank support worker near canters to get some much needed clinical experience, really enjoying it so far! (Found the support worker position via the job centre website).

I have a few friends who completed the forensic MSc at Kent (if that's the one you're referring to) and they loved it One moved onto the forensic psychology doctorate in birmingham and the others moved onto assistant psychologist positions. I was massively envious of them. Their MSc looked so very interesting.

Hope you have a good summer!

[Fuzzpig]

(Original post by *Elizabeth*)
ooo hello fellow kent graduate!

I'm finishing my PhD at kent uni and also completed my undergraduate degree there

I'm currently working as a bank support worker near canters to get some much needed clinical experience, really enjoying it so far! (Found the support worker position via the job centre website).

I have a few friends who completed the forensic MSc at Kent (if that's the one you're referring to) and they loved it One moved onto the forensic psychology doctorate in birmingham and the others moved onto assistant psychologist positions. I was massively envious of them. Their MSc looked so very interesting.

Hope you have a good summer!

I'm glad you liked Kent so much to stay on too! It does look like a fantastic course so I think that's the right way forward for me, I think I just really needed some persuasion from people who actually know what it's all about!

Anyway, just applied for the career development loan form, I guess that's the derision made Have a good summer too

[Lord Asriel]

Just be cautious about career development loans. Unlike student loans they interest rate is usually higher, the repayments start soon after you graduate and its a hassle to defer them.

I know of several people that went into psychology masters with the idea they would immediately find relevant work/ get onto clinical and start paying it all back, but got caught out when things didn't go according to plan.

Another way would be to do a relevant job for a while so that you could save for fees beforehand, and accrue experience while you do it (who knows you may even get onto a doctorate with just the experience and save yourself all the money). Or work for somewhere that will pay you to do your MSc/postgraduate, like some IAPT services.