What do you think I should study psychology at university, or another subject??

Okay, I'm in year 13 and to be honest with you, I'm not really sure what to study at university. I wanted to do mecanical engineering for a while (I'm quiet good at maths). However, for the past year it just feels like theres something robotic constatly working out maths equations.

So I've been thinking about what I would enjoy the most. I like interacting with kids (yes, I know that sounds weird to say as a guy). But most of my cousins are like 4/5/6 years old. I love playing tag with them. I also quiet like helping them with homework. I love the bond I have with them.

I thought about studying psychology, which is quiet broad in my opinion. Then I could do something more specific (like be a teacher) or do something else if I ever change my mind.

Note: I am doing A level biology, physics and maths, and I am quite bad at essay writing, but that's just something I'll have to work on.

So do you think I should study psychology or do you think another subject would suit me?

Reply 1

always-confused

If you're not sure what to do yet, I would highly recommend taking a gap year. :smile:

It's a great opportunity to think over and explore your options

Reply 2

University of Strathclyde

Official Rep

Original post by muhammad0112

Hey @muhammad0112 :biggrin:

Have you tried chatting to your teachers and family about your course choices? They'll know you better than you might think and maybe they'll provide a bit of insight in to what you could do next!

As you say though, Psychology can be quite broad and there are lots of transferrable skills you'd gain from a Psychology degree so you can turn them to lots of things after you graduate. There's also opportunities to be much more vocation-specific (e.g. we offer a combined Psychology & Counselling degree). If your main goal would be to work with children based on being with your cousins- it's maybe an idea to get a little bit of work experience in different environments as dealing with your cousins will be different from dealing with other kids :smile:

That being said though, it sounds like you do have the qualities of patience and communication that would be needed.

And as @always-confused has said- the opportunity to take a gap year is there. Sometimes having a chance to get your grades and know where you stand with those is a big pro, and in the meantime you can try to build up your work experience, skills and even your savings before starting uni. Totally up to you but if you do feel like you're really unsure then you can consider it!

Hope this helps a bit! Let us know what you decide :colondollar:

- Caitlin

Official University of Strathclyde Rep

Reply 3

iammichealjackson

Hi,

I'd also take a gap year. Psychology at uni will rarely involve any interacting with people - infact i imagine if your like interacting with people engineering is better as you'll do more team work (as a graduate) and team projects during uni.

You'd only ever interact with kids if you went and did a PhD in developmental psychology or a doctorate in educational/clinical psychology, which are both something you do after a degree.

90% of a psychology degree is reading papers and essay writing, so i really wouldn't jump into it without learning more about it (if you want to read some psychology books, here are some recommendations: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2739866

I think there might be some degrees where you can do statistics and psychology combined, which could combine both maths/engineering interests and psychology.

Reply 4

University of Surrey Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by muhammad0112

Hi there,

I am currently a 2nd year psychology student here at Surrey. From what you was saying about children, maybe psychology would be a good option as you can delve further into developmental psychology and also be exposed to other areas of psychology. At surrey, we have a skills centre that can help with essay writing and I am sure other universities may have this on offer to. I am also sure that any university will help you with whatever skills you need to work on!

I think you have to maybe do some more research into psychology and the different career paths you can go down and see if that interests you. If you are still not sure then maybe it's a good idea to take a gap year and take the year to discover your interests.

I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any questions. I can answer these for you.

Becca