Psychology- is it too competitive?

I've always been fascinated by the subject and i'm taking it for A-level. However, what do you think of it as a long term career? Is it too competitive? I'm just worried that I could get a degree in it, but remain unemployed. What careers could I go into with that degree? I know about all the different types of psychologist, but what other jobs? Thanks :smile:

Reply 1

Montrose

17

There are so many things you can do with a psychology degree though. I mean, if you are a Manager (that covers so many things.....councils, shops, transport services....practically any job!) psychology is a great asset because it gives you skills in dealing with people. It also gives you mathematical analysis skills which are great for Businesses.

In short, actual psychology jobs are very competitive and tough going because the subject is in a boom, but if you go for it and in the end don't get a psychology job, that would not make your degree useless: you just pick out the relevant skills (of which there are many) when applying for jobs. :smile:

Reply 2

ExitMusic

9

Like most non-vocational degrees, Psychology offers lots of transferrable skills like problem solving and analysis which are applicable to a wide number of jobs...the list is almost endless. However it is true to say that getting into the professional field of psychology is very tough.

Reply 3

Bananarama

2

I would strongly advise against choosing psychology as a degree. All the people I know who did it have gone onto low paid jobs and further training that don't have anything to do with psychology, and they really regret it. :frown:

Reply 4

Montrose

17

What do they define as a low paying job though? A lot of graduates expect to come out and being earning £35K+ straight away and that just isn't very realistic with all but a select few.

Reply 5

hangover_cure

2

do it at a-level and see how it goes

i enjoyed it and nearly thought about taking it into degree level cos it was so interesting

Reply 6

tiger_vio

OP

11

Thanks for the input! I have noticed so many people with the degree that have not been able to use it ;/

Reply 7

Rebel Yell

Well according to the BPS website, there's a national shortage of Clinical Psychologists. But at the same time they also say that for every clinical psychology course there are three students applying for it. :frown:

Reply 8

LatinMachine

1

Psychology is a very popular subject, hence, most Psych students want to go into a Psychology-related discipline, which makes sense. But you need further training, and there are limited places, so yes, it's hard to get into.

But you also have to think that a lot of employers don't particularily care WHAT degree you have, it matters that you have a degree, as it shows that you can think at a higher level. And a big pet peeve of mine is that a lot of people seem to think that University is supposed to be training for a job. In most cases, it's NOT. People don't go to study Biology and then go off and be a Biologist just like that. Most have to do a post-grad. Some people don't become a Biologist at all. The point was that they liked Biology, had the University experience, and enjoyed their degree. You may not be "destined" to be a Psychologist, there could be a really good other career out there for you.

Reply 9

Lind

There is so much you can do with a psychology degree - yes you will probably have to do further training after your undergrad degree - but that quite the norm in most things now.

Psychology - clinical, ed, health, sports, occupational etc
Occupation therapist
mental health Nursing
teaching
Researcher
the list goes on

I really recommend studying psychology - i've learned so much and have decided to take the clinical pathway - yes it's competitive, but if you really want to do something, you'll get there eventually!! :smile:

Reply 10

shortysally

1

oooo this interests me as well...I'm 99% sure I'm going to apply to do psychology at Uni...I loved the AS and am really looking forward to A2....the competitiveness does worry me a bit too, but if everyone let that stop them, there'd be no psychologists left...so everyone has to have a chance at least :smile:

I did work exp with a clinical psychologist and I really enjoyed it and got an idea of how difficult it is to get in to (it is very hard) ...but she clearly LOVED her job and it seems like a great area to go in to...I found the clinical psych thing a tad depressing though...I'm thinking of looking in to Educational psych cos I also like working with kids but do not want to be a teacher!!
Anyone know anything much about educational psych?
If it's something you enjoy though I say go for it :smile:

xxxx

Reply 11

k0932741

1

shortysally

oooo this interests me as well...I'm 99% sure I'm going to apply to do psychology at Uni...I loved the AS and am really looking forward to A2....the competitiveness does worry me a bit too, but if everyone let that stop them, there'd be no psychologists left...so everyone has to have a chance at least :smile:

I did work exp with a clinical psychologist and I really enjoyed it and got an idea of how difficult it is to get in to (it is very hard) ...but she clearly LOVED her job and it seems like a great area to go in to...I found the clinical psych thing a tad depressing though...I'm thinking of looking in to Educational psych cos I also like working with kids but do not want to be a teacher!!
Anyone know anything much about educational psych?
If it's something you enjoy though I say go for it :smile:

xxxx

Yay Psychology is awesome, i enjoyed AS too, be prepared A2 is so much more work but still good, though i found AS more interesting... depends on the modules you take though!!!

Back to the topic...Psychology may be competitive but at the end of the day you end up with a degree which ok, might not neccessarily get you a job in Psychology but by the time your looking for a job you might not want to be in the psychology field. Employers are still (despite the large amount of poeple with degrees) impressed with people who have degrees under there wing, it not only shows commitment to something but also reflects skills learnt along the way. Best advice - do what you enjoy and see where it leads you in life :smile:

money isn't everything, o.k it helps but happiness is always the best option!

Reply 12

shortysally

1

pinkaliengoo

Yay Psychology is awesome, i enjoyed AS too, be prepared A2 is so much more work but still good, though i found AS more interesting... depends on the modules you take though!!!

Back to the topic...Psychology may be competitive but at the end of the day you end up with a degree which ok, might not neccessarily get you a job in Psychology but by the time your looking for a job you might not want to be in the psychology field. Employers are still (despite the large amount of poeple with degrees) impressed with people who have degrees under there wing, it not only shows commitment to something but also reflects skills learnt along the way. Best advice - do what you enjoy and see where it leads you in life :smile:

money isn't everything, o.k it helps but happiness is always the best option!

I agree

yay for happiness! hehe! Our psychology teacher's gonna be off ill for a lot of the first term which is a pain but there's no way I'm dropping it! We'll manage somehow! :smile:

Good post

welcome to TSR btw! :tsr2:

results Thursday urgh...good luck!!!

xxxxx

Reply 13

Shake 'n Bake

14

IMO Psychology is one of those degrees that is very interesting and challenging to study but doesn't give you alot of access to high paying jobs, if that is what you want.

Psychology allows you to apply for all sorts of jobs, like many other degrees. Unfortunately some people do not know what Psychology is truly about and it is labeled as a Mickey Mouse course :rolleyes:

Bare in mind that Psychology related jobs are hard to get.

Reply 14

LatinMachine

1

shortysally

I agree

yay for happiness! hehe! Our psychology teacher's gonna be off ill for a lot of the first term which is a pain but there's no way I'm dropping it! We'll manage somehow! :smile:

As much as I loved my Psych teacher, we got on so well and he helped me in so many ways, he was more useful to me as a mentor rather than a Psych teacher. It is my personal belief that it is possible to teach yourself Psychology and come out with an A, if you have the natural ability to write a good essay (+ some debating/critical analysis skills, which basically comes down to arguing with yourself on paper).

All you need to do is read the books and memorise the stuff, and you'll be ticketyboo :biggrin:

Reply 15

.butterfly.x.

11

I am doing a degree in psychology even though I don't think I will do a psychology related job. The idea of marketing sounds interesting to me which I know can be accessed through this degree. I enjoyed it so much at AS level that I applied to do it at uni and then I moved up 2 grades at A2 level because I found it easy to motivate myself and I wanted to learn unlike my other subjects.

Even if my future career does not involve psychology I will still be glad that I have done the degree because I still want to learn more about it. (Sorry, starting to sound like my personal statement!! lol)

Reply 16

.:fluff:.

1

I'm starting a psychology degree in september because i became fascinated with the subject, i didn't want to be stuck doing a degree that i didn't enjoy just so i could end up with a high paid job. I'm hoping to either carry on to do a masters in forensic psychology or become a psychology teacher, I'm not sure. As someone has already said alot of people expect to come out of university and be earning £35K straight away but it doesn't work like that. I'd prefer to be working in a low paid job that i enjoy than a high paid job that i detest getting up for every morning :p:

Reply 17

friendsfreak88

I am going to study psychology at uni in September and can't wait. I would like to go into clinical psychology or counselling psychology I think. Luckily my course is a 4 year SW which means I get to do a work placement in my 3rd year to give me a flavour for what working as a psychologist would be like. Even if I don't like it, it will hopefully gie me more of an idea of what I would like to do as a career and help me get a job once I get out of uni/ help me to get onto a post grad course.

I definitely don't think that you should rule out studying psychology or trying for a job within the field of psychology because it is competitive. Hard work and dedication will get you a long way and the degree gained won't be worthless. God for it if that is what you want to do!