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Why do most psychology students stop after graduating?

Maybe I'm getting a little confused but it seems to me that there are many psychology students who don't go into the field?

Is there a particular reason for this, it's hard to imagine this is all down to psychology being a competitive field to get into afterwards. What things do most psyc-students go into afterwards in that case?

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Reply 1

-WhySoSerious?

Isn't the training required like 7 years or something?

Reply 2

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

because they finally realise how **** psychology is :biggrin:

Reply 3

Jayjayjay

...Maybe there are too many of them.
How many people do you know who are doing Psychology (and Criminology)?
- They can't all have exactly the same occupation/s. They end up branching out into other things or something that they are good at or that interests them.

Reply 4

Angelil

-WhySoSerious?

Isn't the training required like 7 years or something?

^^This. Plus, school life is very different to undergraduate life, and postgraduate life is very different again. People may just decide after 3 years at uni that they want to get on with their lives and out into the working world. I know I felt like that after I'd finished my master's - couldn't really face the idea of another 3-4 years at uni when all I wanted to do was work and finally shack up with my boyfriend (who lives overseas, where I now live with him, so there was no chance of doing it and my PhD at the same time even if I'd wanted to go onto further study that badly.

Reply 5

Lampshade

Because they choose a degree that looks fun and interesting rather than one that will directly further their career plans.

Reply 6

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

mdhey89

Grow up you silly little swine

lol so why does everyone in my school who is doing it at the moment hate it?

Reply 7

Symph

I would guess it's due to the cost of continuing on to a Masters and Doctorate, the competitive aspect and sheer amount of experience you need in order to specialise, and the fact that 1 degree is enough for most people.

Reply 8

LukeatForest

You make it sound conspiratorial. I guess they picked a subject they enjoyed, then when they graduated they chose a career where they'd make money. That's the way of things with a lot of subjects, a lot of degrees. You can diversify into various fields and perhaps achieve more in fields that are loosely based on your degree, or even not at all.

Reply 9

Lord Asriel

I think its mainly about the limited number of places the current training system has for psychologists. If there was more space I am sure more people would go on to become a psychologist rather than the 15-20% that do become chartered psychologists.

Some of this can't be helped. For example it costs the government something like £200,000 to train each clinical psychologist and you cannot expect the taxpayer to fund this much for every one of the 2000 yearly applicants. Similarly for academic psychologists (the kind that teach you at uni) need to have PhDs and there are not enough supervisors for everyone that wants one. Other psychology branches require further study and supervised training, some of which is self funded (Occupational Psychology for example) and can be very expensive.

Instead people often do related jobs. Teaching is very popular, as is counselling for psychology undergraduates. Lots go into HR or the civil service too. Others do completely different things or do generic graduate jobs like the kind open to English or History or Biology graduates.

Reply 10

rabinkunwar

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

because they finally realise how **** psychology is :biggrin:

BANG ON TARGET!

Reply 11

Tombola

Lampshade

Because they choose a degree that looks fun and interesting rather than one that will directly further their career plans.

LukeatForest

That's the thing... I would have thought since they enjoyed psychology, they'd want to go into something that is at least slightly related to it.

Or is it just a degree?

Reply 12

Jamsie_853

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

lol so why does everyone in my school who is doing it at the moment hate it?

Look alphabet, just because you got five rejections today does not justify you taking out your 'anger' on others who have different interests to you. Let them get on with what they want to do, and I'm sure they will grant you the same liberty.

Going back on track though, I think there are too many people applying for psychology today, merely for the fact it's 'interesting.' I've chosen to do it because I want to shape my career out of it, I know what is expected, and I know the route required, and I know, that by the time I'm in my late twenties or so, I will have got what I needed to make it become a reality.
As a prospective psychology undergraduate myself, it does annoy me sometimes when people apply for it merely because it is 'interesting', it makes me wonder why they took it in the first place! :rolleyes:

Reply 13

Symph

I know so many people on my course who applied for psychology without having read up on it, studied it or taken any interest in the actual career path for a psychologist. I'm probably one of the few who are so set on becoming chartered, and I just can't see many people wanting to carry on after these 3 years as it is a lot more work than most people think.

Reply 14

Jamsie_853

Symph

Exactly the same as me, good luck to you and I hope you are enjoying the course. :smile:

Reply 15

yadda yadda

Jamsie_853

Why do you want to shape your career out of it? Maybe because you find it interesting?

Reply 16

Jamsie_853

yadda

Why do you want to shape your career out of it? Maybe because you find it interesting?

Being interested is not the reason why I want to do it.
Sorry if I have not made myself clear, but it ticks me off slightly when people choose it because they find it interesting, especially the students who have already studied it and put it in their personal statement without any originality. I'll get launched upon for this opinion, but it just annoys me because I want to to make my career out of it, not because I find it interesting, but because it's something I enjoy, something I'm good at and something I envisage will have a fulfilling, engaging career, which I personally believe are better reasons than finding it interesting.

Reply 17

XAlonso

i think some of them go on to become psychologists

Reply 18

mdhey89

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

lol so why does everyone in my school who is doing it at the moment hate it?

Because you probably go to a crap school where people don't know how to work hard.

Reply 19

Lampshade

Tombola

That's the thing... I would have thought since they enjoyed psychology, they'd want to go into something that is at least slightly related to it.

Or is it just a degree?

3 more years of no commitments and cheap beer.