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choosing a university course!

hey guys, is it better to choose a course that you are genuinely interested in or to choose a course that will give you more opportunities after university (i.e employment)?

right now i am debating whether to study psychology or law at uni T-T and i honestly cannot bring myself to choose one. for me psychology is really interesting as i am studying it for alevels right now (im in y13 btw!) but i also have an interest in law too as it seems very complex and challenging.
Law doesn’t have a significantly better employment record than psychology.

You’re more likely to thrive and get a good degree grade and less likely to drop out if you pick a subject that you find genuinely interesting.

The only caveat here is that a lot of people choose psychology degrees because they think they are about counselling and helping people when psychology at undergraduate level is absolutely an academic subject and very statistics heavy. So make sure that you understand what a psychology degree involves in detail.
Reply 2
As above - do your research, and be realistic about what a 'degree in....' will lead to.

An undergraduate degree in Psychology does not make you 'a Psychologist' - see Clinical psychologist job profile | Prospects.ac.uk and its a hefty 'science' at degree level. There are far too many Psych grads for the few relevant jobs available and the majority will get jobs in totally different career areas.

Law involves a great deal of reading and hard study, which many people underestimate - and it helps if you have a sense of logic and some self-confidence. Remember that you can do postgrad Law with a first degree in any other subject, so you could make this decision later.

Look beyond the straight 'Psych' or 'Law' subjects - and think about what aspects of these subjects really does interest you:

Undergraduate programmes | Brain Sciences - UCL University College London
University of Central Lancashire | BSc (Hons) Mental Health and Wellbeing (uclan.ac.uk)
BSc Childhood Studies | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol

Business Management with Law Degree BSc(Hons) | University of Brighton
BA Law and... | SOAS
Criminology BSc (Hons) (bath.ac.uk)
Reply 3
Original post by PQ
Law doesn’t have a significantly better employment record than psychology.

You’re more likely to thrive and get a good degree grade and less likely to drop out if you pick a subject that you find genuinely interesting.

The only caveat here is that a lot of people choose psychology degrees because they think they are about counselling and helping people when psychology at undergraduate level is absolutely an academic subject and very statistics heavy. So make sure that you understand what a psychology degree involves in detail.

yes!! i totally agree with the second statement you made, thank you so much for this :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by McGinger
As above - do your research, and be realistic about what a 'degree in....' will lead to.

An undergraduate degree in Psychology does not make you 'a Psychologist' - see Clinical psychologist job profile | Prospects.ac.uk and its a hefty 'science' at degree level. There are far too many Psych grads for the few relevant jobs available and the majority will get jobs in totally different career areas.

Law involves a great deal of reading and hard study, which many people underestimate - and it helps if you have a sense of logic and some self-confidence. Remember that you can do postgrad Law with a first degree in any other subject, so you could make this decision later.

Look beyond the straight 'Psych' or 'Law' subjects - and think about what aspects of these subjects really does interest you:

Undergraduate programmes | Brain Sciences - UCL University College London
University of Central Lancashire | BSc (Hons) Mental Health and Wellbeing (uclan.ac.uk)
BSc Childhood Studies | Study at Bristol | University of Bristol

Business Management with Law Degree BSc(Hons) | University of Brighton
BA Law and... | SOAS
Criminology BSc (Hons) (bath.ac.uk)

thank u so much for this!! the links you included helped in my research for the courses i want to apply to :smile:

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