Jobs in Psychology

This is a list

Care home worker
Domiciliary care
Nurse
Occupational therapist
Physical therapist
Speech and language therapist
Community support worker
Social worker
School employee

Im currently in my second year studying psychology at uni. I have no clue what job i want after I graduate, originally i thought clinical psychology but ive just learned that clinical is most competitive. I was a little iffy about doing and post graduate degrees but if i really had to i wouldn't mind (what worries me most is not finding a job when i graduate and just having the stress of loans over my head)

Is it possible to get a job in the field of psychology with just a bachelors degree?
What is the best and easiest psych route to take? Like which is most in demand?

Hi Jas,

I hope your well! Its completely understandable to be unsure of what you want to do after you graduate. I think a lot of people are put off by the fact that Clinical Psychology is very competitive. However if it is something you are interested in then don't give up on what you want to do. You have to work hard and believe in yourself, all the hard work will pay off and you hopefully will stand out against the competition. I suggest that you shouldn't abandon what you want to do just because its competitive. As much as its daunting and worrying, use it to your advantage in making you more driven and motivated to have a successful career. Also have a look at this link: https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/degree-subjects-your-options/301050-what-can-i-do-with-a-psychology-degree It may be helpful, however some jobs listed may need you to do a masters but it gives you a range of ideas at the different career paths you can take.

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask my any questions. I am also a second year Psychology Student currently looking for placements in Human Resources.

Becca (2nd Year Psychology Student)

Im currently in my second year studying psychology at uni. I have no clue what job i want after I graduate, originally i thought clinical psychology but ive just learned that clinical is most competitive. I was a little iffy about doing and post graduate degrees but if i really had to i wouldn't mind (what worries me most is not finding a job when i graduate and just having the stress of loans over my head)

Is it possible to get a job in the field of psychology with just a bachelors degree?
What is the best and easiest psych route to take? Like which is most in demand?

They are all competitive.

A quarter of Psychology graduates have masters' degrees. It's pretty much normal. It's very apparent when you read Psychology graduate CVs and applications.

There are loads of jobs you can get with a bachelor's degree:
- teaching assistant
- human resources (contrary to what others say this is shrinking)
- marketing
- support worker
- health care assistant
- charity sector (various roles)
- Assistant Psychologist (competitive)

In terms of those who make a beeline for clinical, a mistake many psychology graduates make is they don't realise that PWP/assistant psychologist are more achievable than they think, it's just often they have the wrong experience/not very patient/could improve on interviews and skills.

Thank you!

Yes, I understand that finding experience whilst I'm still at uni is really important. So what kind of experience should I be looking for because ive seen a lot of positions in the field require you to have already graduated and so it'd be even harder to gain experience. I've talked about this in a separate post but its soo hard to find experience because a lot of employers require you to already have it before you start working with them, be it paid or voluntary work.

Jobs specific to psychology require additional qualifications, and quite a lot of experience before you qualify. Healthcare jobs (apart from low level and low paid jobs like support worker or HCA), social care and teaching will also require further qualifications, but not as long a process.

You can apply for generic grad schemes (e.g. management, HR) with a bachelors degree, as long as they don't specific a particular degree subject

Hi Becca. Thank you for the support!! It definitely is something I'm interested in and I completely understand that everything requires hard work. I guess I just wished everything would seem more clearer and straightforward. If only, eh? 😂 Hope you're well x

Thank you! Just out of curiosity, which would you say is more useful; taking on a masters or enrolling in a grad scheme?
Because either way I know both will require hard work so which is more beneficial.
I guess a masters is more appropriate if I have a specific route and a grad scheme for the more generic career paths. Right?
Also are grad scheme usually funded by the employers?

A grad scheme is a job - some may have additional study, but many won't. So it depends what you want to do

Understood. I think I did look into grad schemes run by the NHS but I didn't understand all of it and I think its more of a "apply in 3rd year" type thing. But it's definitely put on my list of things I should look into a little more so thank you!

Looks like it's for management or other non-healthcare roles

Yep :/ I haven't seen many which are like health care or mental health related. Another issue is distance and travelling, I think i stress a lot about things that are out of my control and that I will possibly need to make sacrifices for

That's cos those would require further study (like nursing, IAPT, occupational therapy etc.), rather than a grad scheme