Biology or psychology which degree would be more lucrative ?

[SunshinDay]

Any ideas ?

Biology by miles. I wouldn’t call either lucrative though - the job market is crap no matter what degree you have at the minute!

Psychologists are struggling now. People prefer to get affirmations from chat gpt it seems.

So many with psychology degrees, few jobs. Biology is better - more options, especially for funded postgrad studies and career options

Neither.
Your child should do the degree they are most interested in, not the one they think will make them rich, and definitely not the one their parents think will be lucrative.

‘Lucrative’? Weird.

An occupational psychologist who works for a big corp squeezing productivity out of a large workforce? A shit load. A counselling psychologist working with addicts? Not a lot.

Depends if they have a specific career in mind or planning a masters or beyond.

Some industries like many office jobs don’t require a specific degree but if they might want to work in a lab or be an educational psychologist then there’s a clear winner.

Biology.

in an idealistic world we should just do what interests us the most,. However lots of people want to ve employable at the end of the significant investment and enjoy several things equally.

She likes both a lot , yes she's keen on making back the money she will be spending on fees.
Sometimes it says that psychology is taught as a science
She's not sure she would want to go into psychology though but there is more than just being a psychologist.

The issue with biology is it would be a broader course than say bio chemistry

Psychology has been a BSc and is taught as a science (because it is one) for a very long time.

What does she want to do?

If she’s money motivated - neither! Psychologists and biologists do not generally earn well. If she wants to progress in either field she’ll need Masters and preferably PhD.

If she doesn’t particularly want to work in either area then either would do and aim to do vac schemes and apply for as many grad schemes as possible.

She doesn't know this is the issue

She likes both subjects but her biology choices are curtailed because she didn't do another science she can access a good uni for biology but probably an even better one for psychology

Which one would she rather study?

Both have the potential to be part of future problems and be in demand, the jobs required and that will pay well are not invented yet, so being adaptable and lucky will also have an influence on future earnings.

As she knows there is an explosion of mental health diagnosis recently, I predict, there will be a huge need for psychologists for the adults of the children today whom have been brought up on screens, shut off from other humans. Some damage that will take time, patience and expertise to improve.

With biology, living things matter, they form the basis of the building blocks of life, as human actions mess with the evolutionary balance again adapting or slowly down the change or trying to predict what will happen with unrecoverable damage, experts will be needed.

So either will be part of the future.

Lucrative? Who knows, who knows whom is going to pay for what.

If it was one of our children asking this question, between these two subjects, they really couldn't decide, wanted to try and future proof their career, I would take earnings as such out of the equation, for this decision, I would veer a little bit more towards biology, but if they chose psychology would try and advise them on the choice they made.

She should study what she wants to for her BSc.

How old is she?

Why is the ‘prestige’ (let me guess RG?) of the uni factoring in her decision making? You said she meets the requirement of a good uni for Bio - why does she want an even better one? And please define ‘even better’….

Neither are great options for someone whose main focus is earnings - biology jobs are oversubscribed too and it's not a highly paid job. It's unlikely to lead her to the better paying jobs in science fields which go to biochemists, pharmacologists and engineers.

Having said that, a degree is just one step on the journey. There are many jobs and graduate schemes that do not require a specific degree at all. She'd be best off choosing a career and working backwards from that - developing skills and work experience that will get her the job she wants at the end of it.

If pushed I'd probably say biology purely because she will stand out slightly more over the legions of psychology graduates, but I don't think it will make much difference.

My biology degree was never going to make me rich.

it did, however, qualify me for a job training to be a chartered accountant which has led to a well paid career. But so would a psychology degree.

Am I missing something here?

She likes both subjects a lot, she's extremely good in both subjects.

She understands she will leave uni with a stifling level of debt however it's portrayed as a loan she may never pay back .

She's going to then try and enter an extremely competitive job market where she will need everything going for her ?

So she's already aiming at top uni but she wouldn't be able to study say biology at UCL because she didn't do a science but she would be able to do pyscology there. UCL is a hugely regarded top university with amazing research facility's and the opportunity to make amazing contacts.

Am I missing something doesn't everyone want to go to the best uni they can and set themselves up and get the best value for the huge amount of debt they will incur ?

Oh lord. Her main focus isn't earning but she wants to be able to sustain herself and get a good career and be employable and wanted.

I should have used the words in demand. 😅

She needs to identify a job she'd like to do and work back from there. Neither of these subjects will lead directly to employment. They're fine and demonstrate thoughtfulness (realistically this effect will depend on which uni).

Itchy

Southampton. V ucl

UCL compared to say Bristol or Bath isn’t likely to make the blindest bit of difference to her future. Yes UCL has amazing research and network potential - but they’re things that are important to Masters and particularly PhD students, realistically they won’t make any difference to undergrads.

I work for a large pharmaceutical company that hires a lot of biologists we never hire someone with only a BSc and it is getting more common for people with PHDs to be applying for entry level positions.

so at the moment she would most likely need to be willing to pay for more education before getting a job.

Joint honours? My BSc is biology & psychology.

Cross posted. Or even Southampton. If she wants to study at a massive impersonal and appallingly run uni in London with a big global reputation, then go for Psy at UCL.

Who do you imagine UGs network with btw - if she wants a career in those subject areas and plans to do further study then talking to lecturers will be useful. But she isn’t planning on staying in those subject areas career wise.