Architecture or psychology degree?

Hi!! So, I've been super confused about this decision about applying for one of those two degrees. To start of I do art , maths, psychology and English lit at a level (year 12)
I've made many pros and cons lists, talked to friends and family spent alot of time thinking about this decision but I'm not sure which route to go for (both routes appear equally interesting to me)

Architecture- I've always had a liking towards designing. Got a 9 in GCSE art and an A in product design, which boosted my confidence about art. I love the idea of creating art with such a huge scale and in a technical way. thinking about it now my approach towards architecture is going to be more artistic than mathematical. The problem with Architecture is that in reality I don't think I'm passionate About buildings- im Passionate about art in large scales, something that will leave a mark. I think that i would love the art component (practical) of an architectural degree but be bored in the lectures? And I'm not sure what the job requirements will be... Will I hate it? Would I not ear alot of money?

Psychology- if I do psychology I want to follow it up with a master's. My aim is to qualify as a clinical psychologist, perhaps specialising in forensics (I know that's a bit ambitious but it's the goal). I got interested in psychology when I was in year 10. Didn't do it at GCSE. The idea of studying such an ambiguous and grey area of the human body intrigued me. I've always been interested in criminal behaviour, finished mind hunter loved it . Did a debate on psychopaths a few months back so I can fairly say that I'm passionate enough. However the main problem in my opinion is that my career would mess with my mind, being exposed to all these mental health issues, maybe I won't be able to separate work from home and grow sad and dull, hate life- that's my biggest fear, that I would hate my job after a while.

Lol thanks for reading all of that 😂. My main questions are- did you do any of the above degrees or work in the workplaces mentioned above and how did you find it? Overall which decision do you think is the best (regarding all the factors above, plus financial requirements, job availability, etc) and any other opinions or inputs are always welcome

Hi!! So, I've been super confused about this decision about applying for one of those two degrees. To start of I do art , maths, psychology and English lit at a level (year 12)
I've made many pros and cons lists, talked to friends and family spent alot of time thinking about this decision but I'm not sure which route to go for (both routes appear equally interesting to me)

Architecture- I've always had a liking towards designing. Got a 9 in GCSE art and an A in product design, which boosted my confidence about art. I love the idea of creating art with such a huge scale and in a technical way. thinking about it now my approach towards architecture is going to be more artistic than mathematical. The problem with Architecture is that in reality I don't think I'm passionate About buildings- im Passionate about art in large scales, something that will leave a mark. I think that i would love the art component (practical) of an architectural degree but be bored in the lectures? And I'm not sure what the job requirements will be... Will I hate it? Would I not ear alot of money?

Psychology- if I do psychology I want to follow it up with a master's. My aim is to qualify as a clinical psychologist, perhaps specialising in forensics (I know that's a bit ambitious but it's the goal). I got interested in psychology when I was in year 10. Didn't do it at GCSE. The idea of studying such an ambiguous and grey area of the human body intrigued me. I've always been interested in criminal behaviour, finished mind hunter loved it . Did a debate on psychopaths a few months back so I can fairly say that I'm passionate enough. However the main problem in my opinion is that my career would mess with my mind, being exposed to all these mental health issues, maybe I won't be able to separate work from home and grow sad and dull, hate life- that's my biggest fear, that I would hate my job after a while.

Lol thanks for reading all of that 😂. My main questions are- did you do any of the above degrees or work in the workplaces mentioned above and how did you find it? Overall which decision do you think is the best (regarding all the factors above, plus financial requirements, job availability, etc) and any other opinions or inputs are always welcome

Hi!! So, I've been super confused about this decision about applying for one of those two degrees. To start of I do art , maths, psychology and English lit at a level (year 12)
I've made many pros and cons lists, talked to friends and family spent alot of time thinking about this decision but I'm not sure which route to go for (both routes appear equally interesting to me)

Architecture- I've always had a liking towards designing. Got a 9 in GCSE art and an A in product design, which boosted my confidence about art. I love the idea of creating art with such a huge scale and in a technical way. thinking about it now my approach towards architecture is going to be more artistic than mathematical. The problem with Architecture is that in reality I don't think I'm passionate About buildings- im Passionate about art in large scales, something that will leave a mark. I think that i would love the art component (practical) of an architectural degree but be bored in the lectures? And I'm not sure what the job requirements will be... Will I hate it? Would I not ear alot of money?

Psychology- if I do psychology I want to follow it up with a master's. My aim is to qualify as a clinical psychologist, perhaps specialising in forensics (I know that's a bit ambitious but it's the goal). I got interested in psychology when I was in year 10. Didn't do it at GCSE. The idea of studying such an ambiguous and grey area of the human body intrigued me. I've always been interested in criminal behaviour, finished mind hunter loved it . Did a debate on psychopaths a few months back so I can fairly say that I'm passionate enough. However the main problem in my opinion is that my career would mess with my mind, being exposed to all these mental health issues, maybe I won't be able to separate work from home and grow sad and dull, hate life- that's my biggest fear, that I would hate my job after a while.

Lol thanks for reading all of that 😂. My main questions are- did you do any of the above degrees or work in the workplaces mentioned above and how did you find it? Overall which decision do you think is the best (regarding all the factors above, plus financial requirements, job availability, etc) and any other opinions or inputs are always welcome

Go to some open days and chat to the lecturers/students in each department. You can also go along to taster sessions:
eg. https://www.unitasterdays.com/search.aspx?SID=2

But from you've written it really doesn't sound like you want to be architect...

I wouldn't even think about jobs yet - do the subject you're most interested in and the career will follow. Follow your passion.

I originally thought I wanted wanted to do English Lit at university because I enjoyed reading and I eventually wanted to go into publishing or journalism even though my secret passion was Japanese. I ended up changing my mind and applying for Italian and Spanish on the final day of the UCAS deadline because I lost confidence in my ability with English Lit due to less than stellar mock results. At this point, I thought I'd become a translator and/or interpreter. I started my degree at Edinburgh and on the first week I switched my degree to French and Spanish because I got excellent grades in Spanish as well as French in high school (I didn't think I'd do well in French). I chose Japanese as my 3rd subject (you normally do 3 subjects for your first 2 years in Scotland). At this point, I was seriously considering going into interpreting and I couldn't wait to graduate because I didn't enjoy my main degree as much and couldn't imagine myself doing a Master's. In my 3rd year, I changed my degree to solely Japanese having lost interest in French and Spanish and went to Japan for my year abroad. At this point, I considered eventually becoming a lawyer or journalist in Japan. Afterwards, I graduated from my degree and then I taught medical and business English in Japan for a year. During my year working in Japan, I gained perspective and realised that I wanted to get back into my French and Spanish. I came back to the UK and am now in the process of getting my 2nd degree in French and Spanish (I only had a year left to go before I changed to Japanese so I'm just doing that). Now, I'm considering doing a Master's in Japan in something like International Relations/Japanese Lit etc because I realised how much I enjoyed my honours' level courses in Japan as well as in Edinburgh. I also realised that I have an affinity for research in general. Now, I'm considering eventually becoming a university researcher/academic or going into foreign diplomacy or journalism.

Ergo, what you want to do or become will ALWAYS change. Don't limit yourself by forcing yourself towards a narrow career path at such a young age. Do what you enjoy and you'll slowly hone into what you truly want to do.

Thank God I didn't study English Lit and that I'm not a publisher; I'm sure people who do it enjoy it but thinking back now, that wasn't for me. Thank God I'm not a translator; I've done countless of translations in my languages and I find it incredibly monotonous. In first and second year, I never considered going into academia or research because I wasn't interested in my main degree (French and Spanish); well, now I am. In my third year in Japan, I grew to absolutely love the honours' level courses I took. If I were not to have followed my true passion (Japanese), I would have done either an English Lit degree, or an Italian and Spanish degree or a French and Spanish degree and detested university so much so that I definitely would not have considered what I want to do now - what makes me happy. I would have probably done something that made me miserable in the long run.

It could also be that I'm indecisive; but, frankly speaking, you don't seem that decisive either!

Please - do what you want to do. If I were to follow my advice, I would have applied to do Japanese at high school, but for some reason I never listened to myself and ended up doing things in a roundabout way until eventually doing what I originally wanted to do.

That's amazing that you ended up doing what you wanted to do in the end, it really is. And yes you guessed correctly, I am an extremely undecisive person which makes these decisions really difficult. You know, the fact that I have to choose between these two degrees is a bit uncomfortable- that I won't be completely passionate about the one I choose. Thanks for your advice though, I'll be sure to follow it ))

It sounds like you're basing your degree off of potential jobs and pros and cons. It also sounds like you're idealising the image of what it means to be an architect, clinical psychologist or something. It won't be like what you're imagining and definitely not like what you see on TV.

Just do a subject you love and want to study. Don't worry about the job now. If you study something because of a potential job, you will most likely hate the subject at university, have a horrible uni experience and also hate your job in the future.

What subject do you actually enjoy? Is there a subject that you enjoy?

Hmm... I'm going to be bias here.

I would strongly advise you to enrol onto a Design degree course or Apprenticeship (which is not art by the way, as design is about identifying solutions and any art you do is done solely to convey ideas in visual language). Since you claim to not be all that passionate about designing buildings and related structures, but do have a significant interest in Art and Design, whilst also having managed to get an A in GCSE Product Design, I think it would be better for you to become a Product Designer rather than an Architect. I mean, Product Designers are in demand right now, and the pay is very decent, especially in America. The skills you develop as such a designer is transferable, and unlike Architecture which limits you to only designing buildings and nothing else, with a Product Design qualification, you can work in many different fields such as UX, UI, Interaction, Car, Transport, Event, Exhibition, Engineering, Mobile, Software, Furniture, Kitchen and Service Design, among many others. Also, from what I have seen, the job itself seems very rewarding and sociable.

I do not know much about Architecture itself in terms of job availability or pay, but I think that if you wish to go down that route, with your qualifications, it would be better to become a Civil Engineer of some kind, such as a Structural Engineer.

But if that subject was seen as a "soft" subject that wouldn't necessarily be great for my career would it? I mean everyone would love to do degrees based on only passion, but then you have to think about the future as well. I don't want to end up in a huge debt in like 4 years time and no money to pay it off If I do a degree that's rare to be successful in. Yeah you're right, I am basing my expectations on media and Google searches because those are the only sorcess I have- I should go to mote open days. If I were to choose a set of favourite subjects- art, product design ( did it at GCSE but wasnt recommend to do product and art at alevel) and parts of psychology (approaches, forensics, etc)

Your career is what you make of it. I have a very dear friend in her mid 20s who studied Fashion/Tailoring, a soft subject, at a university in the UK that is in the bottom rankings. Yet, now she's leading a very successful career earning a lot of money in teaching medical and business English to doctors, surgeons, accountants, lawyers etc for a great company in Japan. She's always offered all-expenses paid business trips within Japan and she's currently on a 3 month business trip where all of her rent/food/commute expenses are being paid for.

What I mean to say is - things do and will turn out. Don't complicate things by thinking too much about the future just yet. First and foremost, if you're being completely honest with yourself and you're not caring about what's soft or respectable - in an ideal dream, what would you love to pursue studying and why?

Don't you need physics for engineering? Also, engineering isn't something that I'm attracted toward, one of the other reasons I didn't take product at a level- it was way more technical based than the aesthetics.

Your career is what you make of it. I have a very dear friend in her mid 20s who studied Fashion/Tailoring, a soft subject, at a university in the UK that is in the bottom rankings. Yet, now she's leading a very successful career earning a lot of money in teaching medical and business English to doctors, surgeons, accountants, lawyers etc for a great company in Japan. She's always offered all-expenses paid business trips within Japan and she's currently on a 3 month business trip where all of her rent/food/commute expenses are being paid for.

What I mean to say is this - things do and will turn out. Don't over-complicate things by thinking too much about the future. First and foremost, if you're being completely honest with yourself and you're not caring about what's soft or respectable - in an ideal dream, what would you love to pursue studying and why?

I'm not sure if I could narrow it down to one degree. Honestly in a very very idealistic world I'd love to study movie direction (film communication) or graphic designing, something really creative, or multimedia desind/ animation. That's based on pure enjoyment, there might be more degrees which I don't remember at the moment.

Sorry, I should have put "engineering design" there, rather than just "Engineering".

Well, when you're doing architecture, you will have to work alongside engineers and follow their guidelines and rules, which will be complex and technical because they do not want you to go around designing a building or structure that easily collapses or is not practical for use in physical environments, regardless of its aesthetics. Also, you do not really get to choose how your structures will look or could be considered to look like on the job -- your client does. So, even if you are not going to do engineering, you will still have to do engineering or be limited by engineering to some degree as an architect. Remember, design is not about aesthetics, it is about finding practical solutions to problems; the aesthetics of the design outcome is simply a product of the design process.

I half agree with you, half not. Your friend's story is inspiring, but I believe in such success stories those people also have rare levels of business acumen, intuition, open-mindedness, determination and people skills, which not everyone has.

Young people are investing a lot of money in those three years of education, which lead them to the next stepping stone after they graduate (and yes the steps after graduation are often malleable and subejct to change). Having an idea of where a certain degree subject might lead you provides valuable motivation whilst studying - some people simply are motivated by an idea of 'the future'. I agree with the idea students should also be motivated by the intrinsic value of learning about their chosen subject, but soley pursuing a degree because one is passionate about the subject is not necessarily something I would advise. You can be passionate about so many different things, the thing you should pick should be based on some kind of balanced reasoning.

Having the reassurance that you are pursuing something which you find intellectually challenging and stimulating and are curious about is good, but knowing that the subject will open doors to a career you would enjoy and be lucrative for you, is important as it proves a worthwhile investment of all that money. That's my 10 cent!

At the moment, Art and Design, though I despise the art and much prefer the design. I am going to progress onto a Product Design BA Degree course though (hence the bias), but I have the option to do a BSc, which is more technical and less aesthetics friendly. I just need to determine which university course and institution is better for me atm.