Psychology Masters and experiences

I heard to get a masters in psychology you need experience but most work experiences that are psychology based tend to require a masters. So my question what work experiences can you get that doesn't require a master?

Reply 1

greg tony

17

Original post by Nooppea

I heard to get a masters in psychology you need experience but most work experiences that are psychology based tend to require a masters. So my question what work experiences can you get that doesn't require a master?

I am not sure what roles you are looking at, but i have never needed a masters for any psychology role ive ever had, such as a PWP, assistant psychologist and not even to get on the clinical psych doctorate.

Most masters unless they are practitioner courses (i.e. therapeutic skills) only often require you to have the money to do them, and very little else.

Greg

Reply 2

bones-mccoy

20

Work experience, although not always an explicit requirement for masters courses, can give you a lot of skills and knowledge which will both bolster your application and give you insight which you often don't obtain from the qualification itself. I'd recommend looking at HCA/support worker roles, particularly if you're interested in going down the clinical/forensic route. They don't require prior experience or a masters.

Reply 3

University of Kent

Official Rep

15

Original post by Nooppea

I heard to get a masters in psychology you need experience but most work experiences that are psychology based tend to require a masters. So my question what work experiences can you get that doesn't require a master?

Hi @Nooppea ,

There are some work experience roles such as a crisis line volunteer. It depends what kind of experience you are looking to get. Universities sometimes advertise research assistant roles (sometimes paid) which you could apply for or you can get in touch with staff at a university to see if they are conducting research you could get involved in.

I would say it is worth letting people know who work in healthcare that you are interested in gaining work experience as they may know of some opportunities.

Experience can be very tricky to find especially within Psychology. What kind of experience are you hoping to find?

Alia
University of Kent Student Rep

Reply 4

Thefunkyscot

1

Original post by greg tony

I am not sure what roles you are looking at, but i have never needed a masters for any psychology role ive ever had, such as a PWP, assistant psychologist and not even to get on the clinical psych doctorate.
Most masters unless they are practitioner courses (i.e. therapeutic skills) only often require you to have the money to do them, and very little else.
Greg

Can I ask what your pathway looked like onto the clinical doctorate? You've mentioned the roles you had but how long did you work each of these for? trying to be realistic about how long and what breadth of experience i will need
thank you

Reply 5

greg tony

17

Original post by Thefunkyscot

Can I ask what your pathway looked like onto the clinical doctorate? You've mentioned the roles you had but how long did you work each of these for? trying to be realistic about how long and what breadth of experience i will need
thank you

I would take my pathway as representative of me only, its a sample of one and it will differ a lot for others/you. I did circa 10 months in each role (last one was only for 3 months), but overlapped them also (where able i worked above normal hours, so effectively 50 ish). I had 4 different paid roles pre doctorate (PWP, Assistant Psy x2, mental health outreach) but also a voluntary roles alongside these (Research asst for a charity). Overall it was 2 years of experience before starting the doctorate (got accepted at 18 month point).

What i should add though is two things. One i did a postgrad during this time, and also i drew on a previous career before Psychology. It is generally unrealistic to expect to get on the doctorate in the time it took me (unless you have a previous career which you can draw upon, not always directly but one that aids your overall life skills and reflective abilities). These things take time and are not always measured in what roles you have, but more related to how much you can reflect and grow as a person first and foremost.

Hope this helps set the scene

Greg

Psychology Masters and experiences

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