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Prospects of a Bsc Psychology degree?

robpcdude

What are the directly-related prospects of a BSc Psychology degree?

Reply 1

Amethyst16

psychologist - get a masters in psychology
counsellor
Assistant psychologist - research etc

Reply 2

LatinMachine

1

Info about Psych careers here:

http://www.bps.org.uk/careers/careers_home.cfm

Reply 3

Don John

17

I've seen accountants with Psychology degrees

Reply 4

Lolly-88

13

Don John

I've seen accountants with Psychology degrees

Accountants don't even need a degree.

Reply 5

K..W.Studd

1

Just out of interest, say you didnt want to go into a career directly related to Psychology like a clinical Psychologist, what other career options does a Psychology degree open?
Also, are there any doors that Psychology definitely closes, as in is there anything you will definitely not be able to do with a Psyc degree ,for instance a doctor or dentist are obvious answers.

Reply 6

Lolly-88

13

K..W.Studd

Just out of interest, say you didnt want to go into a career directly related to Psychology like a clinical Psychologist, what other career options does a Psychology degree open?
Also, are there any doors that Psychology definitely closes, as in is there anything you will definitely not be able to do with a Psyc degree ,for instance a doctor or dentist are obvious answers.

That's not actually true you can still become a doctor or dentist after a psychology degree if you wanted you can apply to study medicine or dentistry afterwards as a post grad as long as you had the relevant a-levels.

Reply 7

LatinMachine

1

The career prospects for a Psych degree are actually quite depressing. Only 28% of people with a Psych degree are employed in a graduate job i.e. ones that needed a degree. About 25% are studying (includes working part-time and full-time students), and a whopping 41% of people are employed in non-graduate jobs that didn't require a degree at all (figures from the Good University online guide to graduate prospects). Considering the 41% is the second highest figure on the table (to American Studies, at 43%), it just goes to show that Psychology is a difficult degree to have.

Reply 8

K..W.Studd

1

That is really really scary....

Reply 9

jennyng2000

11

theres loads of jobs- forensic psy, criminal psy, occupatinal/ogansational psychologist, counciling, research, teaching ect, plus a lot of jobs want you to have a degree, doesnt matter what subject.

i think one of the main reasons for many psy students to not be working in an area that needs a degree is first- to become a psychologist in any field it requires further study (in the mean time you may take up a part time non degree job) and also there are loads of psy students, so its bound to be more competative for psy students than rare degrees eg physics which may make you stand out and get a job more eaily.

hope that helps

Reply 10

K..W.Studd

1

That is much more reassuring, but honestly, is it a bad idea doing a Psychology degree. Are we making lives very difficult for ourselves, especially if you dont want to go into a directly realted Psychology job?

Reply 11

Lolly-88

13

K..W.Studd

That is much more reassuring, but honestly, is it a bad idea doing a Psychology degree. Are we making lives very difficult for ourselves, especially if you dont want to go into a directly realted Psychology job?

You could say the same about pretty much every non-vocational degree. There aren't that many graduate jobs around and therefore you need to really give some serious consideration over what you might want to do in the future and think of the best way to achieve that. It's no use thinking subject A isn't very respected or doesn't have very good employment prospects so i won't do that. Because even if you do a subject which is respected and go to a good uni there is still no gurantee that you won't be like the hundreds of other graduates stuck in a non graduate job that you could have got at 18.

Just have a look in the careers section and see some people who've gone and done things like physics (which is supposed to have good prospects) at a good uni (Warwick) and still are struggling to get a job.

Reply 12

Interrobang

20

People may not be in a graduate job cos they choose not to as well... They might be wanted to get some cash to do some travelling, without the ties of a 'proper' job...

Reply 13

Psychobot

I think it's very important to choose a subject at university that you will have a REAL interest in and that will inspire you in some way to continue learning when the material becomes a little difficult to deal with.

The prospects of a Psychology degree are as great or as terrible as you choose them to be. I agree with the earlier reply that perhaps it is a lack of focus on a career that makes it difficult to create career prospects.

Psychology was never going to be a degree in economics - one where you can graduate and land a 30K per year job if you're a bright spark, but similar to medicine, if you choose it to be, you can carve a real career out of working as a psychologist.

If you don't want to become a psychologist, a degree in psychology prepares you very well for a career in marketing or human resources- matching people to jobs and managerial roles here will pay very well.

If you have a real flair and a love for a subject that is all about the desire to investigate people's motives, desires, influences, then go for psychology and stick at learning- even if it takes years... remember that with learning comes personal growth and a better pay packet.

Reply 14

The_Howfen

It worries me now that I think alot of people are taking Psychology degrees becasue a) everyone else seems to be doing it and b) they might be quite naive and not actually realise how much work is involved.

With enough determination you can get anything you want out of the degree. Are you prepared to go that extra distance so you stand above the rest or study a couple more years longer to get that job 'in' Psychology you want.

It's there for the taking, make of it what you will. And remember however many 1000's of psychology students there are, we're all in the same boat.

Reply 15

K..W.Studd

1

Just out of interest, how easy is it to move from a Psycholgoy degree, into teaching. Both Primary and Secondary.

Reply 16

Interrobang

20

You can do a PGCE as soon as you graduate :smile:

Reply 17

K..W.Studd

1

Is that true KT? You could move immediately into a primary school PGCE, what about a secondry school PGCE in, for example, maths?

Reply 18

Interrobang

20

"Degree requirements
PGCE admissions tutors will want you to show that you have enough knowledge to teach the subject and/or age range for which you have applied.

How do they decide?
In addition to looking at the title of your degree, they also look for subject knowledge from other achievements and from a detailed breakdown of your degree content. Evidence of subject knowledge can also come from:

details of any other academic, professional or vocational qualifications;
assessment of relevant prior achievement;
an audit of your subject knowledge carried out by the ITT provider.
Secondary
In England and Wales, it is generally expected that at least 50% of your degree subject should be directly relevant to the subject you hope to teach. If you have not studied the subject as part of your degree or taken relevant professional qualifications, contact the institution to ask if they will consider you on the basis of your current qualifications. If the answer is yes, you need to be explicit in your personal statement about how your degree relates to what you hope to teach. Psychology graduates could, for example, relate modules on the 'anatomy of the brain' to the science curriculum, or 'quantitative methods' to maths. If the institution decides that you do not have enough subject content in your degree, you could consider studying some higher education modules in the subject you hope to teach. This can be done on a part-time or distance learning basis."

Reply 19

lea164

There are lots of careers directly related such as clinical psychologist, forensic psychologist, educational psychologist, psychotherapist, researcher, teacher. Then there are also job in marketing and human resources. Also acountancy and media jobs the actual subject of the degree doesn't usually matter. Psychology gives you a lot of transferable skills to get a job.

Prospects of a Bsc Psychology degree?

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