Where can I take my Psychology degree?

I would like a job I really enjoy, one that doesn't feel like work, but more like a hobby, but still with a decent wage. I've tried looking on job websites, but nothing has really caught my eye.

Hello

I'm in my first year of Psychology, but, unlike others, I have no idea where I'd like to work in the future. I honestly don't think I want to do anything related to Psychology. I'm very interested in Science, Politics and debate, counting Christopher Hitchens, Stephen Fry and Richard Dawkins amongst my heroes.

I would like a job I really enjoy, one that doesn't feel like work, but more like a hobby, but still with a decent wage.

Start over at university, this time choosing a degree relevant to what you want to do later?

In regards to that, have I completely ruined my life, so to speak? Some people seem to think any degree is a path to a future job... Are you inferring my Psychology degree will only be useful in getting jobs concerning Psychology? If so, maybe I should change degree...

The crux of my problem is that I have no idea what I want to do in the future.

Don't worry, it's not true. Granted, it's not going to walk you into a job, but if you don't know what you want to do then what degree would you switch to anyway? Psychology, as long as you study it at a half decent uni, is the first step towards graduate qualifications that allow you to practice as a Psychologist, but only about 15% of graduates actually do this. It's a transferable degree because it's literate, numerate and teaches you a lot of skills. There are a hell of a lot of jobs out there these days that don't require a particular degree. My advice would just be to spend some time over summer thinking about what you'd like to do as a career, and then start accumulating work experience and knowledge about it. Psychology will only 'ruin your life' if you graduate without any ideas or experience - or you graduate and realise you actually wanted to do medicine or something requiring an equally specific undergrad.

In regards to that, have I completely ruined my life, so to speak? Some people seem to think any degree is a path to a future job...

What kind of jobs, other than Medicine, would surprise me to find they require a specific degree? It would frustrate me to find I was excluded from a job I wanted to do because of my degree...

You need to do some deep soul-searching and critical analysis of your interests, what job you would enjoy and the "form" of the job (office, lab, out in the field, in a production plant, service job interacting with customers...). Then get out there and apply to jobs/internships and hope for the best.

While it is true that there is a large number of jobs that don't require a specific degree (and therefore you would qualify for these with your Psych degree), there is also a very small number of jobs that DO specifically require a Psych degree (i.e. they don't accept other degrees). So your degree does not really put you at an advantage compared to other applicants, unless you wanted to become a professional psychologist, which you have already said does not interest you.

Furthermore, there are plenty of jobs that require specific degrees. Medicine, law, dentistry, engineering are the first that come to mind (and I'm sure there are more), but also plenty of science jobs (e.g. chemistry, bio, physics...) and business jobs (e.g. accounting) which are not open to people with arts degrees.

Slightly confused about your second paragraph, did you mean my degree doesn't put me at a disadvantage?

There is a distinction between the types of jobs: those that don't require a specific degree and those that do.

Your degree in psychology doesn't put you at a disadvantage for the jobs open to all degrees. But it also doesn't put you at an advantage for jobs requiring a specific degree since you're not interested in the only job that truly requires a psych degree (psychologist).

Vocational degrees like medicine/law/engineering also don't put you at a disadvantage for jobs open to all degrees. But they DO give you an advantage for the relevant jobs over candidates with other degrees. For example, if 2 people are competing for the same engineering job, the one with the relevant engineering degree will be much more likely to get the job than the other candidate who has a degree in something other than engineering.

But my above problem stands that I find bits of all subjects rather interesting.

I think that applies to a lot of people, but in the end you just have to pick something you think you will enjoy and see what happens. There is no way to be sure it will be the "right" choice, just trust your instincts. Of course, doing some thinking and research about what will happen AFTER university is also an important step (which I think you might have slightly overlooked) before embarking on a degree.

I think many students enjoy certain aspects of a broad range of degrees. But you can't spend the rest of your life going to university and studying every single subject which interests you.. That's why you have spare time to pursue other interests. Back when I was 15-16, in addition to chemistry and chemical processes, I was very interested in history and international relations (Cold War was my favorite topic) and also particle physics (CERN particle accelerator and all that) and evolutionary biology (fascinated by Darwin etc..). Now I'm studying chemical engineering which has nothing to do with the last 3 topics I mentioned but that does not mean I've lost interest in those. I keep up to date with what's going on in those fields from time to time, I read newspapers, journal articles, books etc.. My point is you're never going to find a degree subject which encompasses ALL of your academic interests. And that's a good thing, otherwise it would make you a very dull person.

So either move forward with your psych degree and start figuring out where to go from here OR start over with a degree that more closely matches your interests and will give you opportunities to get the career you want

What's this about how you can't go into graduate medicine with a psychology degree? I know 2 people that have, and one other who did medicine after a degree in music!

Really?

Like so many others you take yourself to the job centre and sign on! IMHO there's no point doing a degree without serious prospects of a job at the end of it.. especially with fees at 9k a year! Moral of the story here? Do your research on the course and the employment prospects before you apply to uni!

Surely when applying for a job they'd always take the person with a decent degree over another with no degree? The employment prospects for Psychology seem pretty broad (or very narrow if you want to do Applied Psychology - but I don't), I made this thread just to check I wasn't limiting my job prospects by taking a Psychology degree.