Why is a Psychology Degree so heavily slandered?
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Building on what was said about people not knowing what psychology is about that is very true, a lot of people who apply on a whim and who have never done psych A level get a nasty shock on day 1.
The same applies to the 90% wanting to pursue clinical psychology. They think mental illness is an interesting area and that helping people sounds rewarding, but almost none of them have done a single days work experience with people in a mental health setting.
The reality can be very different to the idea and I bet a large majority would freak out the first time they had deal, and work with, someone in extreme mental distress and be put off the idea completely.
Experience in an area or subject prior to application is so key in determining if something is right for you or not, and that is something I see lacking in psych applicants.
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The same applies to the 90% wanting to pursue clinical psychology. They think mental illness is an interesting area and that helping people sounds rewarding, but almost none of them have done a single days work experience with people in a mental health setting.
The reality can be very different to the idea and I bet a large majority would freak out the first time they had deal, and work with, someone in extreme mental distress and be put off the idea completely.
Experience in an area or subject prior to application is so key in determining if something is right for you or not, and that is something I see lacking in psych applicants.
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[QUOTE="lachachacha;58915149"]
This
+1
Original post by the artful lounger
In my experience, psychology students tend to be insufferable know-it-alls that think because they got a first in their abnormal psychology module they can go around diagnosing everyone they meet with random rare psychological disorders.
They also act like their degree is exceptionally difficult, when they actually are on the lower end of contact hours, and their course is of only comparatively moderate difficulty.
It's also somewhat like the "media studies" of private school students, i.e. the subject the upper middle class WASPs take if they were too lazy/stupid to get decent grades in e.g. sciences, languages, maths, etc.
Of course this is very biased and entirely anecdotal :P[/QUOTE
Soooooo accurate! The 'media studies of private school students'
They also act like their degree is exceptionally difficult, when they actually are on the lower end of contact hours, and their course is of only comparatively moderate difficulty.
It's also somewhat like the "media studies" of private school students, i.e. the subject the upper middle class WASPs take if they were too lazy/stupid to get decent grades in e.g. sciences, languages, maths, etc.
Of course this is very biased and entirely anecdotal :P[/QUOTE
Soooooo accurate! The 'media studies of private school students'
This
+1
Original post by LenniesRabbit
I hope I do not come across as naive as I am truly tying to understand this from all points of view, but as a 16 year old student who aspires to pursue a career in Occupational Psychology at postgraduate stage, I cannot understand the hate that the course gets. I have had this career in mind from year 7, but my reasons are far from the cliché "I'm interested in the human mind". I feel that Psychology has a much deeper and more intimate relation to us as humans and, whilst not strictly on par with Neurology, can help in more ways than we could possibly imagine.
Psychology has been helping us to gain understanding of the mind AND the body for centuries. However, I feel that the reason for such slander is due to the lack of jobs and opportunity that can come from it.
I totally understand this, and it is always something that will be in my head throughout my education, but I cannot understand how it is said to be 'impossible' to get a job with it! SO many different things can come from Psychology, but I see where getting a job strictly in Psychology can be hard in such a competitive business.
I will still take psychology as I am passionate in that it means something more than I can possibly explain and I am willing to write a million job applications to stay in the psychological field. But there no hope for me job wise after Uni?
All your opinions are valued. Thank you
Psychology has been helping us to gain understanding of the mind AND the body for centuries. However, I feel that the reason for such slander is due to the lack of jobs and opportunity that can come from it.
I totally understand this, and it is always something that will be in my head throughout my education, but I cannot understand how it is said to be 'impossible' to get a job with it! SO many different things can come from Psychology, but I see where getting a job strictly in Psychology can be hard in such a competitive business.
I will still take psychology as I am passionate in that it means something more than I can possibly explain and I am willing to write a million job applications to stay in the psychological field. But there no hope for me job wise after Uni?
All your opinions are valued. Thank you
As a psychology graduate, I have to agree with some of the points already raised on this forum, in particular the issue of supply and demand.
I feel universities are to blame for this. They're very smart and know that the course is very popular. Therefore the entry requirements are quite lenient. 260 UCAS points is a standard offer and a psychology A level isn't required. That means there's around 200 people on every cohourt, so when graduation comes, they're is a very high selection of eligible graduates for a very shallow pool of jobs. Universities will tell prospective students that they 'only' have to graduate with a 2:1, gain some post graduate work experience (usually 12months) then gain a place on a post graduate training programme, and that's the path into professional psychology. Examples of work experience include gaining an assistant psychologist post, which is the psychology graduate equivalent of winning the lottery because the university marketing campaigns won't tell you that assistant psychologist posts often receive 200 applicants for one position! This competition and a perceived lack of deception leaves a lot of graduates frustrated.
As for subject content, there is a terrible misconception. There's a debate as to whether it is a 'real' science or not. Because it's a very young science, there is a lot of debate and contrasting theories, so this can lead to comments such as ''psychology is just one big arguement''. Also, it's not all about Freud, and 'mind reading'. I wish I knew what mind reading is. I did my third year project on child language acquisition, which is something not commonly associated with psychology.
So I guess it's slandered because there's an awful lot of graduates going for very few jobs, and there's a lot of misconception about what psychology actually is.
You seem very motivated, OP, so I'd say definitely pursue psychology if it's what you want to do. Just remember it's a very competitve field. If you start building your portfolio of work experience early then you'll feel the benefits later, especially when others are having typical post graduate ''what do I want to do?" crises.
Original post by o-glez
As a psychology graduate, I have to agree with some of the points already raised on this forum, in particular the issue of supply and demand.
I feel universities are to blame for this. They're very smart and know that the course is very popular. Therefore the entry requirements are quite lenient. 260 UCAS points is a standard offer and a psychology A level isn't required. That means there's around 200 people on every cohourt, so when graduation comes, they're is a very high selection of eligible graduates for a very shallow pool of jobs. Universities will tell prospective students that they 'only' have to graduate with a 2:1, gain some post graduate work experience (usually 12months) then gain a place on a post graduate training programme, and that's the path into professional psychology. Examples of work experience include gaining an assistant psychologist post, which is the psychology graduate equivalent of winning the lottery because the university marketing campaigns won't tell you that assistant psychologist posts often receive 200 applicants for one position! This competition and a perceived lack of deception leaves a lot of graduates frustrated.
As for subject content, there is a terrible misconception. There's a debate as to whether it is a 'real' science or not. Because it's a very young science, there is a lot of debate and contrasting theories, so this can lead to comments such as ''psychology is just one big arguement''. Also, it's not all about Freud, and 'mind reading'. I wish I knew what mind reading is. I did my third year project on child language acquisition, which is something not commonly associated with psychology.
So I guess it's slandered because there's an awful lot of graduates going for very few jobs, and there's a lot of misconception about what psychology actually is.
You seem very motivated, OP, so I'd say definitely pursue psychology if it's what you want to do. Just remember it's a very competitve field. If you start building your portfolio of work experience early then you'll feel the benefits later, especially when others are having typical post graduate ''what do I want to do?" crises.
I feel universities are to blame for this. They're very smart and know that the course is very popular. Therefore the entry requirements are quite lenient. 260 UCAS points is a standard offer and a psychology A level isn't required. That means there's around 200 people on every cohourt, so when graduation comes, they're is a very high selection of eligible graduates for a very shallow pool of jobs. Universities will tell prospective students that they 'only' have to graduate with a 2:1, gain some post graduate work experience (usually 12months) then gain a place on a post graduate training programme, and that's the path into professional psychology. Examples of work experience include gaining an assistant psychologist post, which is the psychology graduate equivalent of winning the lottery because the university marketing campaigns won't tell you that assistant psychologist posts often receive 200 applicants for one position! This competition and a perceived lack of deception leaves a lot of graduates frustrated.
As for subject content, there is a terrible misconception. There's a debate as to whether it is a 'real' science or not. Because it's a very young science, there is a lot of debate and contrasting theories, so this can lead to comments such as ''psychology is just one big arguement''. Also, it's not all about Freud, and 'mind reading'. I wish I knew what mind reading is. I did my third year project on child language acquisition, which is something not commonly associated with psychology.
So I guess it's slandered because there's an awful lot of graduates going for very few jobs, and there's a lot of misconception about what psychology actually is.
You seem very motivated, OP, so I'd say definitely pursue psychology if it's what you want to do. Just remember it's a very competitve field. If you start building your portfolio of work experience early then you'll feel the benefits later, especially when others are having typical post graduate ''what do I want to do?" crises.
what do you want to do as a job/career?
if i plan on taking psychology but im not entirely sure whether i want to do postgrad study is a psychology degree still good for media,marketing and PR,journalism,HR and healthcare sectors? (Those are the sectors im interested in) seeing as ive done research and feel that i would probably be unlikely to pursue psychology at postgrad partly due to the current job market and the potential when in about 5 years which ive heard isnt exactly favourable
People can be so snobby about psych.... I think it's ridiculous when people say it's an "easy" option for A Level or degree just because it isn't Physics or Further Maths or something like that, because really at A Level there are no easy options! But I guess you can't blame them when the "face" of psych students and the general stereotype happens to be people who go to uni for the sake of it but people who genuinely want to study it and become psychologists or maybe teach it have to bear the brunt too. I'm doing psychology with sociology and hope to teach one or both so I get double the slating haha.
Original post by scrawlx101
what do you want to do as a job/career?
if i plan on taking psychology but im not entirely sure whether i want to do postgrad study is a psychology degree still good for media,marketing and PR,journalism,HR and healthcare sectors? (Those are the sectors im interested in) seeing as ive done research and feel that i would probably be unlikely to pursue psychology at postgrad partly due to the current job market and the potential when in about 5 years which ive heard isnt exactly favourable
if i plan on taking psychology but im not entirely sure whether i want to do postgrad study is a psychology degree still good for media,marketing and PR,journalism,HR and healthcare sectors? (Those are the sectors im interested in) seeing as ive done research and feel that i would probably be unlikely to pursue psychology at postgrad partly due to the current job market and the potential when in about 5 years which ive heard isnt exactly favourable
I'm working as a teaching assistant in a primary school at the moment, so I guess the natural progression would be to train as a teacher. I can't see myself being a teacher though. I want to be an educational psychologist but I understand its going to be a lot of work.
There tends to be graduate jobs/schemes for marketng, HR, and recruitment that don't specify a particular degree. I'd guess media and journalism might require a more specialist degree. Psychology would be a good degree for health care sector work, as some post graduate courses ask for it. I guess what's more important is any voluntary or paid work you do alongside your degree. I worked in a bar for most of my degree so that allowed me to get interviews for a few hospitality graduate schemes (although I wasn't successful). So for health care, maybe casual/bank support work, or befriending might be a good idea to help you get your foot in the door. If you're interested in journalism, maybe you could see if there is a journalism society or even create your own! I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the degree itself isn't all that vital, but some kind of undergraduate work experience is.
Yes it's a very popular course, and practically all universities offer it. However, it is not an easy course and is one of the few where you hone both qualitative (e.g. essay writing) and quantitative (e.g. statistics) skills, meaning that it is transferable to a number of roles post-graduation.
OP - if you want to do psychology, then do it. The 'poor' employment statistics will at least be in part because people go after coveted positions such as assistant psychologists (and then don't get them) and don't apply for generic graduate schemes. It is a good degree that can support you in a number of roles or further study
OP - if you want to do psychology, then do it. The 'poor' employment statistics will at least be in part because people go after coveted positions such as assistant psychologists (and then don't get them) and don't apply for generic graduate schemes. It is a good degree that can support you in a number of roles or further study
Original post by LenniesRabbit
I hope I do not come across as naive as I am truly tying to understand this from all points of view, but as a 16 year old student who aspires to pursue a career in Occupational Psychology at postgraduate stage, I cannot understand the hate that the course gets. I have had this career in mind from year 7, but my reasons are far from the cliché "I'm interested in the human mind". I feel that Psychology has a much deeper and more intimate relation to us as humans and, whilst not strictly on par with Neurology, can help in more ways than we could possibly imagine.
Psychology has been helping us to gain understanding of the mind AND the body for centuries. However, I feel that the reason for such slander is due to the lack of jobs and opportunity that can come from it.
I totally understand this, and it is always something that will be in my head throughout my education, but I cannot understand how it is said to be 'impossible' to get a job with it! SO many different things can come from Psychology, but I see where getting a job strictly in Psychology can be hard in such a competitive business.
I will still take psychology as I am passionate in that it means something more than I can possibly explain and I am willing to write a million job applications to stay in the psychological field. But there no hope for me job wise after Uni?
All your opinions are valued. Thank you
Psychology has been helping us to gain understanding of the mind AND the body for centuries. However, I feel that the reason for such slander is due to the lack of jobs and opportunity that can come from it.
I totally understand this, and it is always something that will be in my head throughout my education, but I cannot understand how it is said to be 'impossible' to get a job with it! SO many different things can come from Psychology, but I see where getting a job strictly in Psychology can be hard in such a competitive business.
I will still take psychology as I am passionate in that it means something more than I can possibly explain and I am willing to write a million job applications to stay in the psychological field. But there no hope for me job wise after Uni?
All your opinions are valued. Thank you
Maybe Psychology deserves some of it?
See what are latest hot news about Psychology.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/27/study-delivers-bleak-verdict-on-validity-of-psychology-experiment-results
Original post by Juichiro
Maybe Psychology deserves some of it?
See what are latest hot news about Psychology.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/27/study-delivers-bleak-verdict-on-validity-of-psychology-experiment-results
See what are latest hot news about Psychology.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/27/study-delivers-bleak-verdict-on-validity-of-psychology-experiment-results
knew this would be bought up...way to depress me man...but in all honesty isnt there always going to be a question about the validity of all results found in science subjects in general?
Original post by Jabberwox
As someone who has recently graduated with a degree in Psychology, I find some of the points in this thread quite insulting.
where did you graduate from? curious as i want to study psychology at uni
Original post by scrawlx101
where did you graduate from? curious as i want to study psychology at uni
I graduated from Aberystwyth, and yeah it's not the most fantastic university in the country if we're talking league tables, but I enjoyed every minute of it and don't regret taking a Psychology degree at all.
People have this weird mindset that Psychology is a load of magician mumbo-jumbo and mind-reading trickery. We are not telepathists or psychics. They also think Psychology is an easy soft subject. It is not. Statistics I found extremely difficult (that's why most Psychology courses require you to have a decent grade at Maths) and qualitative report writing is no easy task at all. We also did biology-related modules relating to the brain and neural mechanisms, as well as a work experience placement module where we had to apply psychology to a real world setting and produce a report on it.
Obviously I wouldn't class it on par with Physics or Mathematics but it's definitely not a walk in the park and I worked extremely hard to get my 2:1. The people who claim it is a soft subject have never studied Psychology or know what it entails.
Disappointingly we never did a mental health module but some of the modules briefly covered aspects of it. Psychology isn't just about mental illness either. It covers intelligence, child language development, social behaviour, memory, obedience, aggression and a whole range of diverse topics.
Original post by Jabberwox
As someone who has recently graduated with a degree in Psychology, I find some of the points in this thread quite insulting.
I have not even began with Psychology, but as a lover of the subject, I agree with you.
What are you thinking of doing with the degree/what are you doing at the moment?
Also have you got any tips for developing your personal statement for uni for specifically Psych?
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Original post by LenniesRabbit
I have not even began with Psychology, but as a lover of the subject, I agree with you.
What are you thinking of doing with the degree/what are you doing at the moment?
Also have you got any tips for developing your personal statement for uni for specifically Psych?
Posted from TSR Mobile
What are you thinking of doing with the degree/what are you doing at the moment?
Also have you got any tips for developing your personal statement for uni for specifically Psych?
Posted from TSR Mobile
For the PS stuff, check the links in my signature (which will be at the bottom of my first post in this thread) - there is an article on writing a psychology PS
Original post by scrawlx101
knew this would be bought up...way to depress me man...but in all honesty isnt there always going to be a question about the validity of all results found in science subjects in general?
Psychology and social sciences in general are more prone to validity issues because the subject matter is often not amenable to direct observation. You use operational definitions and correlates to infer its existence or/and the way it works. This is troublesome because you can claim that something that does not exist exists with the appropriate manipulation of data (see: p-hacking). That is why Psychology has been the first subject of this large scale replication project. I am guessing other social sciences will be next.
Original post by Jabberwox
I graduated from Aberystwyth, and yeah it's not the most fantastic university in the country if we're talking league tables, but I enjoyed every minute of it and don't regret taking a Psychology degree at all.
People have this weird mindset that Psychology is a load of magician mumbo-jumbo and mind-reading trickery. We are not telepathists or psychics. They also think Psychology is an easy soft subject. It is not. Statistics I found extremely difficult (that's why most Psychology courses require you to have a decent grade at Maths) and qualitative report writing is no easy task at all. We also did biology-related modules relating to the brain and neural mechanisms, as well as a work experience placement module where we had to apply psychology to a real world setting and produce a report on it.
Obviously I wouldn't class it on par with Physics or Mathematics but it's definitely not a walk in the park and I worked extremely hard to get my 2:1. The people who claim it is a soft subject have never studied Psychology or know what it entails.
Disappointingly we never did a mental health module but some of the modules briefly covered aspects of it. Psychology isn't just about mental illness either. It covers intelligence, child language development, social behaviour, memory, obedience, aggression and a whole range of diverse topics.
People have this weird mindset that Psychology is a load of magician mumbo-jumbo and mind-reading trickery. We are not telepathists or psychics. They also think Psychology is an easy soft subject. It is not. Statistics I found extremely difficult (that's why most Psychology courses require you to have a decent grade at Maths) and qualitative report writing is no easy task at all. We also did biology-related modules relating to the brain and neural mechanisms, as well as a work experience placement module where we had to apply psychology to a real world setting and produce a report on it.
Obviously I wouldn't class it on par with Physics or Mathematics but it's definitely not a walk in the park and I worked extremely hard to get my 2:1. The people who claim it is a soft subject have never studied Psychology or know what it entails.
Disappointingly we never did a mental health module but some of the modules briefly covered aspects of it. Psychology isn't just about mental illness either. It covers intelligence, child language development, social behaviour, memory, obedience, aggression and a whole range of diverse topics.
is this a good selection of unis,I got ABB at AS and im going into A2 in sept,hoping to do psychology
:loughborough/Leicester/Bristol(Undecided) - AAB
reading - ABB
UEA - ABB
Coventry - ABB
Essex/Westminster(Undecided) - BBB
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by LenniesRabbit
I have not even began with Psychology, but as a lover of the subject, I agree with you.
What are you thinking of doing with the degree/what are you doing at the moment?
Also have you got any tips for developing your personal statement for uni for specifically Psych?
Posted from TSR Mobile
What are you thinking of doing with the degree/what are you doing at the moment?
Also have you got any tips for developing your personal statement for uni for specifically Psych?
Posted from TSR Mobile
At the moment, I'm on the dole :P
Seriously I think the graduate prospects are a bit bleak but that's because there are simply so many psychology graduates and not enough assistant psychologist posts which is the 'dream' occupation for most psychology graduates, but it simply isn't feasible. That's why you have to broaden your horizons a bit and be flexible. I've enquired about volunteering in the NHS as getting a paid job in a health setting with no experience is near impossible (I made a previous thread about this a few days ago).
I can't remember exactly what I wrote in my PS but I remember fleshing out some of my favourite aspects/topics of A-Level and the ones which fascinated me the most. They like it if you demonstrate that you actually understand the content and have done further reading on it.
It's just an awkward degree, but I don't see why it's any worse than all the other non vocational courses like English, geography, history etc. Thing is a lot of kids naively think having a degree in psych makes them a psychologist and an expert in the field which is just cringe worthy. A lot of psychology students are arrogant and maybe this is why they get made fun of? I work alongside psychologists now and I can honestly say what they do is NOTHING like what you learn at university.
When I did my psychology degree I had an aspiration of doing clinical before I found out what a MASSIVE BALL ACHE it is to even get an assistant psych post let alone get onto a DclinPsych course so ended up doing another undergrad degree in a vocational field. That isn't to say I wouldn't have got there eventually but I didn't fancy it at the time. I am glad I've got my psych degree to fall back on though incase I ever change my mind.
At the end of the day university is so much more than what job you'll get after it, you can never guarantee job success with any degree. It's best to do something you enjoy and then it'll lead you in a direction that is fulfilling.
When I did my psychology degree I had an aspiration of doing clinical before I found out what a MASSIVE BALL ACHE it is to even get an assistant psych post let alone get onto a DclinPsych course so ended up doing another undergrad degree in a vocational field. That isn't to say I wouldn't have got there eventually but I didn't fancy it at the time. I am glad I've got my psych degree to fall back on though incase I ever change my mind.
At the end of the day university is so much more than what job you'll get after it, you can never guarantee job success with any degree. It's best to do something you enjoy and then it'll lead you in a direction that is fulfilling.
Original post by scrawlx101
is this a good selection of unis,I got ABB at AS and im going into A2 in sept,hoping to do psychology :
loughborough/Leicester/Bristol(Undecided) - AAB
reading - ABB
UEA - ABB
Coventry - ABB
Essex/Westminster(Undecided) - BBB
:loughborough/Leicester/Bristol(Undecided) - AAB
reading - ABB
UEA - ABB
Coventry - ABB
Essex/Westminster(Undecided) - BBB
They seem like good universities.
There seems to be more and more courses that offer a year in work/placement. I'd consider going to a university that offers that.
I study Psychology at Loughborough and it's most definitely not easy! It's very ignorant of people to presume Psychology is one of the easier degrees out there. So what if people just choose to do it because they can't think of anything else to do, that just doesn't apply to psychology that applies to a range of degrees. Yeah most people start off wanting to do Clinical and yeah only a few actually go on to this but who cares. There's so many possibilities with a Psychology degree of course people will jump from one option to another. It's up to the individual what they make of their degree, no mater what the degree is. I just think it is so rude for people to go around thinking and acting like their degree is more superior to others. Yeah you might make more money but it doesn't make you a better person.
My advice is to just go with what you want to do and don't give up. Yeah it is difficult to have a career in Psychology, but I imagine it is for anything. Just try not to listen to idiots who slate Psychology because they're just uneducated about the subject and so don't understand it's importance.
My advice is to just go with what you want to do and don't give up. Yeah it is difficult to have a career in Psychology, but I imagine it is for anything. Just try not to listen to idiots who slate Psychology because they're just uneducated about the subject and so don't understand it's importance.
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