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Is a Psychology degree only worth it if someone doesn’t continue post graduate?

Hi, I’m considering applying to do Psychology at university, but was wondering if it’s worth doing unless I plan to have a career in psychology and continue into post graduate education? If I did do Psychology I would most definitely plan on continuing it as my career, however I often see a lot of people saying a psychology degree “isn’t worth” etc so was just wondering.

Also, aside from that; is the pay any good for a career in psychology?

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 1

bones-mccoy

Psychology is one of those degrees that can open a lot of doors and can be useful for getting onto grad schemes as far as getting a generic degree goes.

The reason people say it's not worth it is because of the amount of postgraduate studying and experience that's required to become a registered psychologist, plus the competition you'll experience when applying for assistant psychologist roles and getting onto training programmes. Realistically it takes at least 7 or so years to become qualified, and that's only taking into account a 3 year undergrad, a year of experience and a 3 year professional doctorate - you'll most likely also have to complete an MSc and get a few years more experience as well. So it's a long time and a lot of studying. That said, qualified psychologists are paid relatively well judging by the salaries I've seen advertised.

Reply 2

Nerol

Original post by kzadboy7

Hi!

The best place to look for information about psychology careers is here: https://careers.bps.org.uk/

A BSc in Psychology is generally the first step in a psychology career. The degree itself allows you to apply for Assistant Psychologist roles, though you will be expected to have relevant experience on top of your degree. If you do a BSc in Psychology and then decide against a career in psychology, the degree offers many transferrable skills, such as research methods, scientific inquiry, report writing etc.

The problem, I suppose, is that there are a lot of psychology graduates. You would need to think about how to make yourself stand out. You could consider volunteer work and relevant work experience alongside your studies.

If you are interested in a psychology career, the BPS-accredited BSc is a must. However, if you chose a different undergraduate degree and then later decided you wanted to go into a psychology career, you can take a conversion course at MSc level instead.