which degree would give me a more stable future?

I always thought something in criminal investigation....just not policing. I would prefer to be working behind the scenes or interviewing criminals, which is why I thought of law if forensic psychology would just leave me with a degree I couldn't use.


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Why don't you go for something like audiology?

Isn't it usually the police that do the investigation? My uncle is a detective- he works in a specialist area interviewing very dangerous offenders and investigating high profile cases, he got there through the police. My partner is joining the police at a higher level (graduate level) which means he will skip being 'on the beat'. You can do that with any degree.

Forensic psychology sounds like an inflated degree, in which case you could go into police work and forensics without the opportunity cost and debt. Law oversubscribed and obtuse. I would strongly suggest biomed out of all of them.

Which one do you think would give me a more stable career and future?

I have always been sure I wanted to go into forensics psychology, but the closer I get to applying for universities, the more I am swaying away from it. Talking to people I know in uni right now, and also talking and seeing conversations on this website probably isn't helping.

I have come down to 3 choices of what I would want to take at university an what I could see myself doing in the future. The three I have down to are:

1. Forensic Psychology
2. Biomedical Science (i would have to take a foundation year)
3. Law or Law and Politics combined

Which one do you think would give me a more stable career and future? I really am interested in all three so I wish I could decide just over which one I liked more, but the one I like slightly more than others seems to be the one I might not have the most stable future with. Law has always been at the back of my head, and my love for politics could come in on that as well. I'm just really confused and in the middle of my future career crisis and need any advice you have got.

There are 780 qualified forensic psychologists in the country. This includes those who are teaching,the retired and those taking career breaks.

There are more than that number of university places to read forensic psychology each year in North-West England alone.

Considering I would be studying in the north west I'm not sure if I am worried by that figure.

One thing I think you have to consider is whether psychology in general interests you, as opposed to just the interest in the forensic psychology branch. It's well known that forensic related jobs are pretty scarce so I'd say you have to think about whether you would be happy working as a psychologist in other branches (clinical, educational, child, etc) if forensic psychology jobs were lacking. Likewise, could you see yourself as a lawyer or biomedical scientist?

Have you ever considered a degree in social work? I'm a Forensic Chemistry student who's dropping out (after three years) and reapplying for Social Work. Whilst the forensic part greatly interested me, I realised I wouldn't be happy being any other type of chemist so social work was my solution. I love talking/helping people of all age ranges and really think I'd be happy in that profession. There's also the chance to potentially work with criminals (Forensic Social Work) but failing that there's also the Mental Health branch which I think would be just as appealing. Social work is a combination of psychology, sociology, law and politics (social policies etc) so it's worth a think if you think you'd be suited to that/have relevant work experience (in a social care environment)

Well you should be. About 1 in 5 law graduates get to be lawyers. Given that many forensic psychologists will have other psychology degrees, you might be looking at 1 in 100 forensic psychology graduates getting a career in it.

I have always been sure I wanted to go into forensics psychology, but the closer I get to applying for universities, the more I am swaying away from it. Talking to people I know in uni right now, and also talking and seeing conversations on this website probably isn't helping.

I have come down to 3 choices of what I would want to take at university an what I could see myself doing in the future. The three I have down to are:

1. Forensic Psychology
2. Biomedical Science (i would have to take a foundation year)
3. Law or Law and Politics combined

Which one do you think would give me a more stable career and future?

Biomedical Science, then switch to Medicine.

Good money and a stable career all in one

Yes you can certainly do that - there is no guarantee that a paralegal will get a training contract. Your face has to fit and it is often about who you know. My boyfriend is a solicitor so this is how I know and my niece has applied for hundreds of training contracts and got nowhere.

Best bet is a science degree

If you are betting, it's night already.

My view is: if you go after money and you do something boring (read: don't like) — that's dooming. Example: alleged engineers that study for money and eventually are stuck in position of low management thinking of suicide.

The reality is, that few people are good at X job. If you like that, you have higher possibilities of doing it better, but not necessarily well.

With forensic psychology I would hope to work with the more high risk and dangerous criminals and cases.
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I really hate to break it to you but this...really isn't much of a thing. Of course it exists, but it's very very rare to get a job in this field. Police departments usually have about 1 or 2 forensic psychologist per unit. And doing a degree in Forensic Psychology specifically is highly unlikely to just jump you into this area of work. (My past Psychology lecturer worked in forensic psychology if you want to know where I got my info).

Having said that, if this sort of area interests you (although it is really nothing like romanticised Criminal Minds etc.) then going into policing would probably be more beneficial than spending money, time etc on a specific and closed FP degree.

If you think you'd be interested in Psychology in general, then many courses have modules in FP.

As for the other subjects idk much about them, except I have a sibling studying Law, but you really shouldn't choose a degree based on job prospects. The availability of jobs changes all of the time, definitely by the time you finish your degree.