Is psychology degrees worth it

I want to study psychology at uni because I’m good at it and I enjoy learning about it. The issue is that there aren’t many opportunities for employment right after you graduate and if there are, it’s a small salary. To earn lots you need a doctorate in clinical psychology but even then, it’s not 6 figures…

I want to study psychology at uni because I’m good at it and I enjoy learning about it. The issue is that there aren’t many opportunities for employment right after you graduate and if there are, it’s a small salary. To earn lots you need a doctorate in clinical psychology but even then, it’s not 6 figures…

Hi there 😊
It's understandable that you may have some concerns about employability when you graduate. The job market can be a difficult area to navigate with increasing competition across all fields at the moment. For psychology in particular, having postgraduate study and proceeding to doctorates does help you to keep climbing up the ladder to reach them higher positions - unlikely to be a six figure salary but they are still significant salaries which can increase as you become more experienced in a rewarding career. A masters degree is also not always necessary to progress onto a doctorate if you wished to save money there, although they are certainly advantageous for a range of reasons and can put you in a good position.

However, as a graduate with a psychology degree you will also be in a great position to apply to various graduate jobs, internships and schemes. Psychology itself is a highly sought after degree from employers and is a useful currency to get you into lots of different job areas. For example, here's some schemes and programmes you could pursue as a psychology graduate where your skills would come in use:
I mention these as I believe they all recently opened for applications so this would be a good time to have a look, but there is plenty more options out there too. I recommend having a look at them online to get a more detailed idea of what they entail, but they are a good demonstration of career paths you could take with a reasonable wage as a graduate plus lots of progression opportunities to keep building your skills - and wage!

A psychology degree puts you on the first stage of the psychology career ladder if that's what you wish to pursue, but will also teach you a wide range of useful skills such as critical analysis, data analysis and many aspects of research, written and verbal communication and many many more. Additionally, should you wish to change course a little upon graduating from your degree, you could always complete postgraduate study to progress into careers such as:
And lots more!
As is the case for many fields right now with our current employment climate, there is competition for all these jobs and schemes and this is a reasonable concern. But with working hard for a good grade and securing some good work experience along the way you will be in as good a position as anyone else. Working on making yourself the best applicant you can goes a long way, which your university's careers department will help you with too 😊
If you find you enjoy psychology then this is certainly a good reason to study it at university. It is a very broad, varied and flexible degree which offers a great range of skills. Ultimately, making the right decision for you will be down to lots of personal factors and preferences. Visiting some open days and asking these questions is always a great place to start so I really recommend visiting as many as you can - it really helped me to make my final decision on what I wanted to study (our next one is 8th November!).
Hope that helps!
Becky
University of Salford Student Rep

If immediate employability after undergrad and high salaries are your priorities, I wouldn't be thinking Psychology. Almost all of the postgrad psychology mainstream routes are either initially very low paid, or many pay for postgraduate qualifications. Even for those with postgrad and doctorates, most of us aren't making 6 figures.
Look at the statistics of average graduate salaries and Psychology is towards the bottom end of the range: https://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/student-advice/careers/what-do-graduates-do-and-earn

That the job market for psychology graduates isn't particularly great I'll acknowledge. But a psychology degree doesn't open just doors in psychology, it will open the doors for many graduate schemes in jobs like HR or marketing or other miscellaneous positions in which the career progression is probably better than that of a psychologist.
Doctorates in clinical psychology are crazy competitive and yes, the salary of a qualified clinical psychologist is on the region of £50000 per year, which admittedly is not the highest salary ever, but it's not too shabby either and it certainly beats the average UK wage. Plus, that's just at the NHS, you might earn a lot more going private. But if you're specifically looking to earn six figures, even then psychology might not be the wisest career to pursue for you.

I want to study psychology at uni because I’m good at it and I enjoy learning about it. The issue is that there aren’t many opportunities for employment right after you graduate and if there are, it’s a small salary. To earn lots you need a doctorate in clinical psychology but even then, it’s not 6 figures…