Biology or psychology which degree would be more lucrative ?

[SunshinDay]

Any ideas ?

Titchy do you have intel on UCL ? Why is it so bad.

Network in terms of doing research etc

@Anotheranonymousname i don't think we've seen that as an option anywhere where odd you do that please

What is/are her other subjects?

English

Research into what? Universities don’t have swathes of people in different careers there to offer advice. They all have careers services though which I think might be what she is after?

Why is UCL so bad?! It’s very very flat management wise so not many decisions get made. It’s also very very large and depts tend to their own thing. Not that much in the way of collaboration, quite siloed. In fact their Stratford campus was developed large to do collaborative work - so that Bloomsbury doesn’t have to 🤣 It does have tons of money though and bucketloads of international students so isn’t remotely feeling the pinch as the rest of us are. I’m exaggerating slightly of course - but it’s such a behemoth it’s takes a certain kind of person to manage there.

When I studied there, I also found UCL quite impersonal. If you have any struggles, they don’t care.

Why not do both - keep options open. Lots of combined degrees out there!

Durham, Newcastle and Lancaster. Plymouth and Keele do psychology with human biology.

@titchy thanks.

If I knew the answers here or the right questions to ask I wouldn't be casting my net here.

DH and I didn't go to uni so this is all new to us.

UCL doesn't sound like her thing at all in terms of being large and impersonal.

That's another thing though getting a uni that won't collapse whilst she's there.

The bonus is we live close enough that she could come home very easily if she wanted too and even commute.

Not sure about lucrative but Psychology will be relevant to broader range of career paths. I think biology will be quite limited unless she intends to go to further study after the first degree.

My degree is in Psychology and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t go into Psychology but I now earn high 6 figures and my degree has been invaluable. I use it in all aspects of business.

ok, so with that skill set (Bio/Psych/Eng) she could be a medical writer one day - it is possible to make decent money if you become a principal writer and above. You can work for agencies, pharma and more. But often the req is a phd after the degree (not always).

A combined course might be fun for her? I will say the two pysch students I have known have struggled to get jobs afterwards, but then I don't know any biology students (apart from medical writers I have worked with) to get a view on that.

Neither of my DC knew what they wanted to do so they chose degrees in their best subject.
In DS2s case that was biology. He really enjoyed his course and got a 1st. However he didn't fancy any further study or any kind of biology based career.
He got a grad scheme in health economics and now works in IT.
I would suggest she looks at the courses module by module and the unis that offer each course as a whole.
So, for example, would she be happier doing Biology at York or psychology at Manchester

DD is doing a Zoology degree abut the first year was a general Biology year and they had a careers talk.She says there was a lot of different things she could go into.
I would say Biology is more lucrative than Psych and has more applications

I mean neither, as others say.

Neither degree leads directly to a high-paying career after all.

Are those the only two options under consideration? And is a high-paying job the only or main motivating factor?

As I understand it there are roles where you can earn lots of money and they tend to be financial, in London. It’s very much not my area tho (underpaid creative here) so I am not the best person to ask. Other options for a well-paid role include engineering and law. But there is a good deal of hard graft in all of these options.

She could find a graduate role with either degree – I agree with PPs she should try and get as much experience as she can to get her foot in the door.

Reading your updates - bio is the only science she is doing for A level? does she also study psych? That's often counted as a science (tho not everywhere it's true). If it's UCL she is fixed on as the top uni (?) then she needs to study what she can study there. But it's quite possible (more than possible) to get a great degree and a good graduate role with a degree from somewhere else.

Where else is on the list? It does sound a bit as tho you (or she - I hope she tbh) have thought "oooh UCL is the best, what shall I do there?" I agree with @titchy that London unis in general can be impersonal places. What kind of person is she?

Honestly tho – she needs to take the subject she will enjoy. Three years at uni is a lot of work and you need to love your subject. DD did a sloppy hums type of degree (so no work at all haha <joking>) and I was somewhat swept away by how much work she had to do and did (she was at home for a lot of it bc Covid which is why I know). Luckily she loved her subject.

I’m a psychologist (educational) and we’re not struggling. I get at least 4 calls and 10 direct emails a week asking me to work for them for up to £650 per day.

If she enjoys, and is doing well in both psychology and Biology, then what about looking at Neuroscience ?

I mean, again, I don't think 'lucrative' comes into it, but, just putting it out there.

@indoorplantqueen The problem is hardly any psychology degree holders become EPs. The vast majority never qualify at anything to do with psychology. Biology isn’t a lucrative science either.

Psychology could be a good conduit to working in HR or the police. However, it is the most popular degree choice for girls and grades to study psychology tend to be higher than for other general humanities/social sciences.

I dint think either one is known for leading to larger salaries.

Do half anf half, I did Biology and Psychology as a joint honours 20+ years ago.

Pick the uni with best chance of marrying a wealthy person.

@SunshinDay You need a big think about whether she wants a big city university or somewhere a bit smaller. It’s quite an important consideration and how much you want to socialise. Coming home every night isn’t the best idea if you want to be included in everything. London is of course a sociable city but has the highest proportion of overseas students. So you have to weigh everything up.

Unfortunately psychology degrees have multiplied and there’s only direct work for around 20% and it’s very competitive to train further. It’s a degree that can lead to many careers but they are not necessarily lucrative. She could convert to law and see how she gets on! Or try for law now.

She has no maths so engineering is out and most of the higher paid sciences. The other alternative is do what you enjoy and explore careers at university. There’s no great need to know right now.

Less flippantly, take some gap years,you get one chance of funding so if unsure wait and pick the degree that best suits the career path/ enjoyment

If you enjoy your job you will never work a day in your life etc, there is a lot to be said in specializing in her passion then go for it, tenacity, resilience and networking.

It is who you know, so making connections us vital in any industry.

🤣🤣🤣