Psychology degree mistake

1

Hi. My 17 year old son, currently in year 12, is wanting to choose a psychology degree simply because school are rushing them. He has no idea what path he wants to take long term. He doesn’t really understand what’s it about. After doing so much research of a PD, it’s seems it’s classed as a ‘mickey mouse’ degree, one of the lowest potential salary earners. Not much career progression. Most has been negative about it. We’ve been through just about every career and he just doesn’t seem interested in anything at all. Not even a gap year! I think it’s peer pressure too. Can anyone help?

Reply 1

Spam_the_ram

3

Hi there!

Quite a lot of schools do push to make uni choices around this time as the year 12 summer is a good opportunity to do things for the personal statement. First of all, I would say there is no such thing as a 'micky mouse' degree and any degree is worth doing if you enjoy the subject. I would say picking your course based off salary is a bad idea as you should not be spending so much time, money, and effort on something if you don't truly enjoy it. It's important to do a subject you like than anything else. I would advise trying to find a course that he's interested in rather than future job prospects because you also don't know what it will be like by the time he graduates.

Also I have several friends studying Psychology and they all love it and want to do something different with it! If it is a subject he's interested in he should absolutely go for it and not let people online sway his choice. But if it is something he has picked arbitrarily because of pressure I suggest doing an online course or lecture to see if he likes it before committing to studying it. UCAS has quite a lot of short courses online that really help get an idea of the subject so I recommend! The other important thing to remember is you get 5 spots on your application, and they don't have to be for the same course. If the subjects are wildly different you can also send separate personal statements to the uni by contacting admissions (I'm sure his school can help) and that gives you extra time to consider it before you actually choose your firm choice in the June of year 13.

Of course this is all just my opinion, but from someone who didn't know what to do in year 12 I hope it was helpful!

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post

by Deutche66

Hi. My 17 year old son, currently in year 12, is wanting to choose a psychology degree simply because school are rushing them. He has no idea what path he wants to take long term. He doesn’t really understand what’s it about. After doing so much research of a PD, it’s seems it’s classed as a ‘mickey mouse’ degree, one of the lowest potential salary earners. Not much career progression. Most has been negative about it. We’ve been through just about every career and he just doesn’t seem interested in anything at all. Not even a gap year! I think it’s peer pressure too. Can anyone help?

As above, the concept of "mickey mouse degree" is nonsense designed to sell tabloid papers. Realistically - most graduates go into jobs unrelated to their degree, and graduate salaries aren't really indicative of long term earnings potential. Also, most employers don't care what degree subject graduates studied.

Career choice, graduate employment prospects, and long term salary outcomes are far more dependent on the individual than on the degree. A highly motivated individual doing a "mickey mouse degree" as the Sun or similar may like to call them (which incidentally, psychology wouldn't generally be considered as anyway) who goes out of their way to aggressively pursue internship and work experience opportunities, engage in leadership positions and societies, and prepare their CV and for interview and assessment centres as well as any exam, is likely to do better than the individual who did "data science for big tech" and just took their exams every year and did nothing else (even if they got top results in all of those).

I would suggest he focus on what he genuinely enjoys doing and learning about, thinking about how he learns best and what types of assignments he likes doing, and then what kinds of topics he is interested in, and pursue a degree in something he chooses based on that. Ultimately he can apply to any generalist grad schemes in e.g. investment banking, accountancy, the civil service, NGOs, other generic business managerial grad schemes, the media, law, etc, etc, with any degree.

Unless he wants to specifically go into a particular registered profession (e.g. professional psychology areas, allied health professions, medicine, etc) then he doesn't need to do any specific degree. So if he's particularly interested in psychology intellectually it's a fine choice (and also gives the option, in this case, of pursuing further study to become a professional psychologist if that's his interest - although that's a long process).

Reply 3

CardiffUni Rep 2

Official Rep

11

Original post

by Deutche66

Hi. My 17 year old son, currently in year 12, is wanting to choose a psychology degree simply because school are rushing them. He has no idea what path he wants to take long term. He doesn’t really understand what’s it about. After doing so much research of a PD, it’s seems it’s classed as a ‘mickey mouse’ degree, one of the lowest potential salary earners. Not much career progression. Most has been negative about it. We’ve been through just about every career and he just doesn’t seem interested in anything at all. Not even a gap year! I think it’s peer pressure too. Can anyone help?

Hi there,

Thought I'd put my input as a psychology student who is soon to graduate :smile:

Totally agree with all the messages above, but to also add that there's a lot of routes in psychology right now, after the degree! There's a diverse range of fields where you can apply a psychology degree to, eg., marketing, leadership, human factors, which are generally well-paying industries.

As mentioned, doing as much as research as possible into the degree might help with being sure if psychology is what your son wants to pursue. I recommend online courses such as MOOCs (massive open online courses), such as those provided on FutureLearn. I did this myself, and it really helped make a decision! I also definitely recommend doing a visit to some open days - some universities offer taster lectures, as well as insight into what the course is really all about.

If employability and career progression is a concern, I also recommend researching which universities give the best employability and career progression support. Its worth looking into whether they offer summer internships, how many years after graduation you still get career support, and the specific career support! I was worried about employability before choosing universities/my degree and found that this really helped as well.

Best of luck!

~ Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep

Reply 4

UOBuckingham Rep

Official Rep

7

Original post

by Deutche66

Hi. My 17 year old son, currently in year 12, is wanting to choose a psychology degree simply because school are rushing them. He has no idea what path he wants to take long term. He doesn’t really understand what’s it about. After doing so much research of a PD, it’s seems it’s classed as a ‘mickey mouse’ degree, one of the lowest potential salary earners. Not much career progression. Most has been negative about it. We’ve been through just about every career and he just doesn’t seem interested in anything at all. Not even a gap year! I think it’s peer pressure too. Can anyone help?

Deutche66
I'd agree with everything mentioned here especially visiting Open days...shameless plug for ours this Saturday Open Day June 2025 | The University of Buckingham. Some universities, like Buckingham, have 2 intakes each year - ours are September and January, so if you choose a gap year and change your mind, and still apply direct on our website for January instead. Psychology keeps lots of doors open, so it might be a good idea to go with that. Alternatively, delay university until you have a passion for a particular career. Lots of students here have tried something else out first and that has helped them decide what to study. Read Mohammed Taweh (BSc Psychology) | University of Buckingham and his journey to study Psychology.
Good luck
Annie

Psychology degree mistake

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