it's time to talk about Psychology degrees: can everyone please stop doing them?

Reply 280

A Rolling Stone

OP

20

wow it was over a year ago since i wrote this. f*** i'm getting old

Reply 281

Bob Johns

10

nah OP's got the right idea here, if you're in your late teens/early twenties going into uni, the endgame is obviously to get a job out of it and make a living. why would you purposefully choose a grade that gives ****e all in the way of decent job prospects? and sure you enjoy it now, but you won't be enjoying it ten years down the line when you're working 9 till 5, stuck in a squalid little house wondering where it all went wrong. A Rolling Stone is laying down FACTS.

Reply 282

username4832702

12

@A Rolling Stone
Has your opinion on this changed in a year?
What are you doing now?

Thanks :smile:

Reply 283

Sinnoh

22

Original post by Neethu Ann

Also why are you only targeting that "mainly girls" are the one taking psychology ? There are many guys that has taken psychology and is in big positions and getting a decent salary

This is the only point I want to argue - really, it is mainly girls. Picking some at random here but at Queen Mary it's 89% female, at Bath it's 87%, at UEA it's 80%, at Southampton it's 82%, at Queen's Belfast it's 83%, Glasgow is comparatively a complete sausagefest with only 72% of people on the psychology course being female.

Reply 284

Serene Dreams

22

A boy I know who applied for Psychology this year is thinking of doing a GDL at the end to have a legal career. Just a few months earlier he was determined he was going to be a clinical psychologist, which is why he applied for this course. It isn't a useless degree, it's just that a lot of 6th form students have unrealistic expectations and once disillusioned, they realise the reality of having to look elsewhere for a job because not everyone realises just how many years of dedication are required before they can be what they initially wanted.

Reply 285

stereotypeasian

21

Original post by A Rolling Stone

Please don't give me the excuse that you "enjoy" the subject, you may find psychology more tolerable than others but nobody "enjoys" the pressure of hard work, assignments, exams and 9am lectures.

yes because psychology is the only in university where you will put in hard work, complete assignments, take test and have 9am lectures, isn't it ?

Reply 286

A Rolling Stone

OP

20

my views haven't changed one bit, but i am surprised at how angsty I came off in my original post, like i was really going for the jugular lol

as it happens, my sister has jumped through almost all of the hoops to become a psychologist (insane how many loops we are talking about...its like the hunger games)

i am plodding along in my reasonably creative pharma-related job :smile:

Reply 287

Neethu Ann

9

Why do you even want to argue about this point ? If there are more girls studying in this field then let it be, why do people even bother to know how many percentage of girls or boys are studying for a course ? If people want to study the course they like then let them be, why do people have to judge by it ?

Reply 288

Sinnoh

22

Original post by Neethu Ann

Why do you even want to argue about this point ? If there are more girls studying in this field then let it be, why do people even bother to know how many percentage of girls or boys are studying for a course ? If people want to study the course they like then let them be, why do people have to judge by it ?

I only mentioned it because you seemed to be denying the fact

Reply 289

yotsr123

19

Original post by A Rolling Stone

my views haven't changed one bit, but i am surprised at how angsty I came off in my original post, like i was really going for the jugular lol

as it happens, my sister has jumped through almost all of the hoops to become a psychologist (insane how many loops we are talking about...its like the hunger games)

i am plodding along in my reasonably creative pharma-related job :smile:

how long did it take her to become a psychologist?

Reply 290

ajj2000

20

Original post by Neethu Ann

Why do you even want to argue about this point ? If there are more girls studying in this field then let it be, why do people even bother to know how many percentage of girls or boys are studying for a course ? If people want to study the course they like then let them be, why do people have to judge by it ?

Should there be a national ‘men into psychology’ campaign to try to even up the numbers somewhat?

Reply 291

username4521132

19

I think we should work out what type of grads the labour market needs and use that to determine how many places for courses should be up for grabs. At end of day tax payers money which will never be repaid are funding students to go and considering we are in times of budget cuts and austerity we can't be sending thousands of kids to study mickey mouse degrees at third rate unis while the NHS is at breaking point and social services are underfunded.

Reply 292

username1811933

16

Original post by steamed-hams

I think we should work out what type of grads the labour market needs and use that to determine how many places for courses should be up for grabs. At end of day tax payers money which will never be repaid are funding students to go and considering we are in times of budget cuts and austerity we can't be sending thousands of kids to study mickey mouse degrees at third rate unis while the NHS is at breaking point and social services are underfunded.

You could argue that psychology is a good degree to have under your belt to then work in mental health services, the care sector, social work, or occupational therapy. Sure, a masters would be needed. But psychology is a good degree to do first which is more academic that a nursing degree, and has many possible routes afterwards. Academia, marketing, data science, healthcare, support work etc. Most people in most degrees do not know what they want to do after a degree. Psychology is not the exception. English literature students don’t know what they want to do afterwards. History students. Physics students. Chemistry students. At least psychology has SOME possible routes for which a degree is necessary. There are many vacant psychology roles in the UK, and this will only increase as mental health issues become more prevalent. Psychology is a degree which has many different possible routes; the problem is that people don’t decide their route until they have finished the degree. There is nothing wrong with psychology degrees themselves. As an above poster said, the route into a psychology career at the moment does require dedication and hard graft. And this is down to an individual with the degree and what they want. Nothing at all wrong with the degree. As well as this, the reason that psychology is mocked and stigmatised is that psychology services in the UK are underfunded. A limited amount of people get onto clinical psychology courses, and although this rate is increasing, there should be more funding and training places available to fill the MANY vacant psychologist roles available. I have seen a lot. I hope in time training can become more accessible, but mental health is still a relatively new field. As per my first reason, it is down to an individual as to what they want to do with a degree, and whether that pursuit is ‘successful’ is purely a matter of perspective. Of course, someone earning big bucks might view a mental health services job as ‘unsuccessful’, but it is rewarding and, like an above poster mentioned, valuable. Ignorant perspectives from closed minded loners mock these whole-hearted and resourceful careers. In reality, I bet the people who mock are secretly jealous they don’t have more heart. Closed-minded is never good.

it's time to talk about Psychology degrees: can everyone please stop doing them?

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