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Psychology students....what do you plan to do after your degree?

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Original post by iammichealjackson

How does being a research assistant compare to doing a masters (to progress to do a PhD)? Obviously you get paid, although its probably harder to find and get in...

I have three friends who are working as research assistants within psychology. Two of them are working on an honorary basis as a way of accessing their samples for their PhD's, and one is a full time paid RA. Two of them (paid one and one PhD) did Masters degrees first, the other PhD student started 6 months after she graduated with a first. A fourth friend was working as an honorary research assistant following her MRes in the hope of securing a paid research position but that didn't work out but she is now working in IAPT.

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Reply 61

iammichealjackson

Original post by memifer

SO most of them did a masters first anyway? I don't know if i have the funds to... im aware of one person in the year above me whose doing a paid RA placement in london straight after graduating. OF course some placements i looked at required masters but others didn't so i guess it depends on what the placement needs...

When i looked at jobs.ac.uk some RAs in Cambridge and Durham are paid 24K a year! Seems crazy high for an academic job

Reply 62

username504651

Original post by Sakura-Chan

Is that for undergrad or postgrad? I really enjoyed my time there, and there are some absolutely fantastic lecturers and facilities :smile:

Undergrad, yea I quite liked it when I visited!

Reply 63

Lord Asriel

How does being a research assistant compare to doing a masters (to progress to do a PhD)? Obviously you get paid, although its probably harder to find and get in...

I did my PhD via the RA route, and don't have an MSc. It was a steep learning curve, but I obviously got through it, and later covered much of the stuff I would have in my clinical training. Hasn't hurt my career at all I feel.

I think while it is helpful, if you have a good supervisor who is willing to support you, you can pick up much of what you need to do directly. In that way doing a PhD is a lot like being an apprentice, rather than sitting in lectures as you will on a taught masters. However, I don't think an MSc will hurt you, but they are formidably pricey.

Reply 64

iammichealjackson

Original post by Lord Asriel

Cheers for the advice. I really don't consider a taught (or mixed taught/research) masters to be worth £7,000 of tuition, plus expenses (i get an fake MA "upgrade" from my university anyways). When did your RA job get posted online, and when was the deadline? Ive seen a lot being posted in july/august, is that the norm?

Reply 65

Lord Asriel

When did your RA job get posted online, and when was the deadline? Ive seen a lot being posted in july/august, is that the norm?

I can't remember as it was over 10 years ago. However, unlike Assistant Psychologist posts which are advertised in the summer as the incumbents move onto clinical training, RA posts are often put out around the year as they are often grant dependent, and the timetables for these are staggered. www.jobs.ac.uk is a good place to look for them if you are interested.

Reply 66

Ben Kenobi

Psychology sounds very interesting field to me. However, I wonder what kind of graduate jobs you could get with this undergraduate degree and are there any advantages when compared with a traditional science?!

Reply 67

Juichiro

Original post by Danniitb

When I finished my psych degree I did an MSc in forensic psychology and now I'm doing an MA in mental health nursing. When I qualify and have worked for a few years to get experience ill start applying for clinical doctorate programmes

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Did you pay the two masters yourself?

Reply 68

Juichiro

Original post by Ben Kenobi

Just a degree will not get you somewhere that any other degree wouldn't.

Reply 69

Ben Kenobi

Original post by Juichiro

Just a degree will not get you somewhere that any other degree wouldn't.

so really it just depends on what kind of job you want to do after your degree. Work experience will also help to distinguish a job applicant.

Reply 70

username840737

Original post by Juichiro

Did you pay the two masters yourself?

I paid for my first one but the nursing is an NHS course so they pay tuition and give a monthly bursary for the 3 yrs

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Reply 71

twinmummy10

Original post by Danniitb

I paid for my first one but the nursing is an NHS course so they pay tuition and give a monthly bursary for the 3 yrs

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How does it work if you pay yourself?

Do they allow installments? Im considering doing a masters after my degree but would never have the money to pay up front!

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Reply 72

username840737

Original post by twinmummy10

How does it work if you pay yourself?

Do they allow installments? Im considering doing a masters after my degree but would never have the money to pay up front!

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They give two options. Either pay yourself at the beginning of the course and you usually get a discount on the cost too. Or you can pay in instalments. It's usually 3 payments a year but the university should have all that explained on the fees section of their website

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Reply 73

Blue56

Original post by Sohaila14

This all seems so daunting, I know a few people who have graduated from a psychology degree and still have no jobs nothing. It's really putting me off things

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From what universities? And what degree classification?

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Reply 74

Juichiro

Original post by Dpdr

From what universities? And what degree classification?

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University name and degree classification is useless if not backed up with work experience. There are tons of graduates with the same (or better) classification as you.

Reply 75

Juichiro

Original post by iammichealjackson

Holy mother of God! I am guessing you must be a statistics genius to be paid this! Where is this being advertised?

Reply 76

Blue56

Original post by Juichiro

University name and degree classification is useless if not backed up with work experience. There are tons of graduates with the same (or better) classification as you.

Aware of that, and never stated anything contesting it. You didn't answer the question.

Reply 77

iammichealjackson

Original post by Juichiro

Holy mother of God! I am guessing you must be a statistics genius to be paid this! Where is this being advertised?

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/search/?keywords=research+assistant+psychology&sort=re&show=25&s=1

Im not sure if its just about stats.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 78

Sir Fox

Study medicine.

I'm studying Psychology at the University of Dundee (currently in my 2nd year, abroad in Australia) but after I'm done with my Bachelor I'm pretty much set on studying medicine back home in Germany. There's a national 'waiting quota' of 20% for people who didn't get the grades at school to get into medicine directly, so depending on how many people apply you wait for a number of years (currently 6) and then go right into medicine without any further application or interview or whatever. Most people spend the time doing professional training in nursing, as emergency medical assistants etc., as my grades at school were good but not good enough (you don't stand a chance in Germany if you didn't get final grades equivalent to A*A*A or higher) I decided to study another degree.

If the time people in the waiting quota have to wait increases until 2016 and I don't get right into medicine the year I graduate, I will probably do a master in neuroscience.