To ask if anyone who has used their Psychology degree..?

[laurzj82]

I am hoping to do a degree in Psychology (although not sure what I want to do with it yet!)

I need to study by distnace learning and have been considering the OU one as it is BPS accredited. Have found a couple of others who also offer a distance learning option. OU is a heck of a lot cheaper but will it be as respected and would I be considered if I went on to do a Masters or further?

Help! Unfortunately I wouldn't be able to study on campus (nearest is Essex) for a few years due to childcare issues. I'm already 35 so would like to get cracking!

Thanks in advance for your help

I did an OU psychology degree too. I loved it. I then went on and did two year PG to train as a social worker as i didn’t want a traditional Psychologist type job.

A nursery nurse at DS nursery has a degree in Psychology

I think that psychology is one of the best degrees to do if you know you want to work in a helping profession but are not decided on which one. I found it furnishes you with a good grounding in a range of skills, especially things like critically appraising research And understanding statistics. I know people with psychology degrees who went in to work as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, mental health nurses etc. as well as people who joined other professions like law or banking.

I work as an educational psychologist so use my degree all the time. I refer back to my undergraduate studies surprisingly often, but some of the key models I work with, such as systemic theory were not even mentioned on my course.

Good luck with your studies. Professional psychology is really competitive but someone has to get on the courses and that person might well be you. Solid work experience, built up all through the course really, really helps. I found that, because I'd done relevant work in my uni holidays ( SEN okay schemes etc.) I was well placed to apply for assistant paychologist roles straight after graduating. Very best of luck with your studies. It's a great subject.

Psychology graduate here. Very difficult to progress in psychology as career.
I ended up going on to do nurse training, as after graduating, I was working as nursing assistant.

@nodramaforthelama yep I'm on de300 too, how are you finding it?

Op as pp have said a psychology degree isn't an end-point it's the beginning. Having a psychology degree can be useful in so many careers outside of psychology.

Most jobs directly related to psychology require masters or PhD level study and are very competitive. If you want one of these jobs I'd strongly recommend that you start looking for volunteering opportunities that don't require qualifications. The more experience you can get the better to get on to further study after the degree. It will also help you see if that's the area you really want to go into before you spend a lot of money.

My degree is in Philosophy and Psychology and I was a careers adviser and now a manager.
I didn't use my degree directly but it has been useful. I do wish I had done something more vocational, like SALT or OT though.

@Tinyterrors

Nightmare! It's changed my classification and I'm currently heading for a breakdown caused by Qualatrics SPSS and the BFI syntax! Can't wait for it to be over! You?

I have never used my psychology degree but I frequently need to instruct psychologists to conduct parenting assessments and prepare reports for court and it's almost impossible to instruct one in the tight time constraints we have to work with. They are always so busy as many are very well instructed as well as having their own busy NHS and private practices. I know it's a hard slog but there is definitely a demand for the stuff I need doing.

nodrama and tinyterrors me too

Not long to go now! I was one of the few who enjoyed 307, and one of the many who are not enjoying 300.

@nodramaforthellama it's an absolute nightmare. I'm got approval with conditions and messaged my tutor over a week ago and haven't heard back.

@fiftynineoheight I loved dd307 too, once I got the hang of the less formal writing style. I had a fab tutor who gave great feedback and was great at giving extensions if they were needed. De300 I'm not enjoying one bit. The huge changes to tutor support / day schools and how the module is run is ridiculous. I hope they sort out all the kinks for future students.

@rubyreins if you don't mind me asking what kind of psychologists do you instruct? Is it clinical psychologists or something else?

A friend of mine is now chartered I believe, obviously after further study, work experience and training beyond her undergrad course. Even straight after the undergrad she found work in a secure psychiatric facility so while not directly using her degree in s therapeutic capacity, it was still related.