Career Options for a Psychology/Criminology Student?

So I'm currently just about to finish my undergraduate degree in BSc Psychology with Criminology and I'm hoping to get a 2:1. I've decided that, after graduation, I'm going to volunteer/work in a number of different roles to see what suits me and what I'd like to pursue as a career.

Right now I'm not sure what I want to do, so I'm hoping that working in different roles will give me a taste for what route I'd like to go down. Also, a bit of experience won't hurt when applying for a particular job anyway!

Can anyone give me any advice for any careers I should look into? Here's a list of some of the jobs I'm interested in but not 100% on:

- Forensic psychologist (This was my dream for so long, but I think that I need some experience in prisons/with offenders to know whether or not the job would be right for me. Mainly worried about whether I could deal with talking to serious offenders such as rapists and murderers, even though I'm fine reading about them now - much different in person I'm sure!)
- Educational psychologist (Or something to do with child development?)
- Psychotherapist
- Mental health nurse
- Psychiatrist (But I know I can't do this without a degree in medicine!)
- Social worker (But I don't think I'd like dealing with adolescents; I'm more interested in children)
- Psychology teacher in further education (Don't think I'd be very good at this though)
- Probation officer
- Midwife (I'm aware I can't do this with my degree though, and that it's more about dealing with mothers rather than babies)
- Counselling psychologist
- Working in a nursery/playgroup?

There's probably a lot more that I could add to this list. Basically, I'm interested in anything forensic/children/mental health/psychology. I'm more than happy to do more courses but I don't want to be in education for too much longer!

I just need some inspiration! Please let me know any advice you have of any careers you can think of that I might be interested in, or any advice for the careers listed above. I need some sense of direction!

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated!!

Thank you!
Jess

Well for nursing you need a nursing degree I think... Have you considered the non-profit sector as well because that's an option too ������ I just wanted to wish you good luck and let me know how it goes. I am looking to do joint honours Psych & Crim but not
too sure what I want to do careers wise... Also, how about the police force?


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Well for nursing you need a nursing degree I think... Have you considered the non-profit sector as well because that's an option too I just wanted to wish you good luck and let me know how it goes. I am looking to do joint honours Psych & Crim but not too sure what I want to do careers wise... Also, how about the police force?

Hey Jess. You're gonna have to try and narrow this down to a couple I feel. Each one of those is very different.

The best way to realise what you will like is voluntary experience. For instance, I want to do medicine via my first degree in psychology, but currently battling with the reality of the harshness of it and coming to terms with mortality and all the horrible things that can happen to the body. Experience opens up cravats that you would perhaps otherwise not consider.

If you had to choose 3, which would those be and why?

I'm a psych grad who went into medicine. Currently on placement in a forensic psychiatry department working in prisons, alongside forensic psychiatrists, nurses and forensic psychologists. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the field

I wouldn't worry about your feelings toward working with offenders. Whilst in principle it sounds morally difficult, the reality is far easier to deal with.

In forensic psychology a lot of the people you work with are people who are mentally unwell, and may have committed their offence due to being unwell. This certainly dilutes down any malice you feel toward them as they become patients rather than criminals.

The next thing is the difference between a piece of paper and the person in front of you. You don't see the person for their crime, you see them for the individual in front of you. Actually you can form good relationships with offenders and their crime seems somewhat distant from the reality in front of you; they can be genuinely nice people. You see them for who they are and not what they've done.

Finally very few criminals are genuinely psychopathic merciless criminals doing it for a laugh. People commit their crimes for many understandable reasons e.g. being unwell, self defence, revenge, intoxication, needing money, terrible social circumstances and life events etc. Whilst this of course does not vindicate what they did, it allows you a degree of understanding which in turn can soften your opinion of them.

Of course you will meet genuinely nasty people who have done dreadful crimes for poor reasons, but they are very much the minority. Then it is simply a matter of being a professional and doing your job, regardless of your personal feelings.

In terms of myself, I qualify as a doctor next year and am currently doing my elective. This is a 6 week period where we can do anything we like (medically related) anywhere in the world. My day consists of;

Going to jail and assessing patients
Seeing patients on the ward at the secure hospital I'm based at
Seeing outpatients who have been discharged from the hospital and are now in the community i.e. visiting them in their homes
Attending the multidisciplinary team meetings
Attending the teaching and academic programs they put on at the hospital

I did a BSc an MSc and am now obviously doing my MBChB, but a standard psychology BSc is enough to qualify someone for a graduate entry medicine program. Medicine obviously opens up over 70 careers and you can become anything from a GP to a surgeon. I'm interested in pursuing psychiatry as a career although I haven't fully made up my mind.

Forensic psychology is a great career but, as with all professional psychology jobs, is dreadfully competitive to get on to. Medicine is also competitive to get in to, but forensic psychiatry is a far easier career (psychiatry is massively undersubscribed) to get in to once you overcome the hurdle of getting into medicine. It also has far better job security, is better paid and is generally a more senior position within the forensic team (made up of OTs, nurses, psychologists, social workers, support workers, doctors etc).

Sadly due to the delicate and secure nature of the field it is often difficult to get direct work experience in the service unless you are a medical student. I was discussing this with the consultant forensic psychiatrist who is supervising me. He says that you have to go through far more hurdles in terms of trust permission if you are non-medical.

In lieu of that difficulty I'm happy to answer any other questions you have about forensic services, the roles of doctors and psychologists etc. Hope that helped.

Hey, I'm starting to think about future careers now and I'm wondering what career options could Psychology lead to if study it at university?


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Wow that was so helpful! Thank you!!

Can I ask what you did your BSc and MSc in? & Where? & What did you do for work experience/volunteering? Thank you again!

Hi,

I'm a psych grad who went into medicine. Currently on placement in a forensic psychiatry department working in prisons, alongside forensic psychiatrists, nurses and forensic psychologists. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about the field



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