If you have a degree in psychology?

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What do you do?
I read a thread the other day where a lot of people were saying its basically worthless. I'm doing one now, and feeling very disheartened as I believed I could make a good career with it.

AIBU to ask what you do and what further training you had to do? I'd love to work for the police as a forensic psychologist, or maybe some sort of sex/relationship therapy

I'm a Clinical Psychologist too and agree with all the others that have posted. It is getting even harder to get a place on the doctorates. I was in my mid twenties when I trained.

There is a lack of career progression too so lots of junior posts but not so many higher grade jobs. As has already been mentioned people are feeling burtout working in the NHS and choosing to leave for private practice.

www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/roles/psychological-wellbeing-practitioner

The trainee Clinical Psychologist I have on placement with me at the moment told me that over half of her cohort have Masters. When I trained only 2 or 3 in my year did.

I’m nearing the end of a psychology degree with the OU. I plan on studying for a masters in mental health science afterwards.
Psychology assistant jobs usually require a degree and some experience, so I am currently doing a voluntary job in addition to my main one, for Circles uk (reducing sexual harm). I’m still not sure what my future plans are, but just studying for the degree has given me valuable skills such as report writing, critical thinking etc in additional to the grounding in psychology topics.

I will be 44 when I graduate...

I know a headteacher whose degree is psychology and someone who works in IT.

Doing a psychology degree to forge a career is a very long shot.

The people I know either did masters in other professions or just used it as a generic degree.

The one out of many who went onto Doctorate in Clin psyche got grade A’s in every undergrad assignment then did poorly paid work for years to get onto the PG.

There are a lot more sure fire ways of getting a comfortable life while your dcs and still kids!

I know a good few psychology grads who feel quite sold down the river with their degrees now they are stuck in call centres/ admin work with no hope of progression.

I'm sure when I'm feeling less depressed I won't feel so stuck.

Fwiw I did my MSc while working full time and it was 100% funded by my employer. I am planning to do my professional doctorate and chartership part time while working and that will also be funded partly by my employer. I already had relevant experience I'd acquired as a graduate though to get the job that funded my MSc.

Work experience is another thing I'm going to struggle with, as the year internships in the 3rd year aren't paid. Because of childcare, I can't work in the evenings to support myself. So I probbaly wont be able to do it, which mean I'll leave uni with no experience.

@CmdrCressidaDuck which branch are you going into?

@pinkflowerfairy honestly if I had my time again I wouldn't become a Clinical Psychologist. I wonder if people being asked if they enjoy it are fresh out of training or (like me and many people I know) 10-20 years qualified. There is a culture of it being this pot of gold at the end of a long and competitive rainbow that people aspire to. I think it is an interesting and rewarding job but it's not amazingly astoundingly awesome and I think the competition makes it seem more that than it is. People move around the country trying to find assistant posts and the like, away from friends and family and put their lives on hold, with a chance they may never get on training. If people are prepared to do that, it must be amazing and something worth doing though right? And so the myth perpetuates. The reality is lack of funding and resources in NHS/mental healthcare, still a predominantly medical approach to putting people in boxes so we can treat them with drugs that we don't fully understand the mechanisms for and often have side effects. Psychologists trying to fit people into the same boxes so that we can research something-purporting to be different but similar in many ways. And treatments (medication and therapy) that actually have pretty mediocre success rates because we know relatively little still about how our minds work. The only reason I carry on is because sometimes it makes a real difference to the people struggling with so much distress that I see every day. I genuinely want to help. But it often feels like it's at the cost of my own emotional well-being and I'm envious of colleagues who have left. Very few people leave for anything other than private practice because it feels sacrilegious to "throw away" all that training (I know you can use the skills elsewhere but I mean not being a psychologist) when it took so long, people are desperate to be in your position and there are so many people who are suffering.

I'm doing a degree in Psychology at the moment and hope to start volunteer work in my last year. The advice on here has been really useful but it still seems a bit of a minefield at the postgrad level. I'm still thinking over further study options as assistant psychologist jobs in my area are like gold dust and I can't relocate. One area I have been looking at as an alternative to my first choice (clinical psychology ) is industrial or corporate psychology but am finding it hard going!

I know how you feel Llamallama. I too have been qualified a long time and keep myself sane with a balance of NHS and private practice. However do not think the cost to my mental health is worth it.

I'm in occupational psychology Lemon.

I'm planning to pursue the chartership/doctorate mostly for my own interest, it isn't necessary. In occupational once you have the MSc it's more what you can do, there are only a few more conservative corners of the field which call for chartership (IME anyway). Self-employment can also be a flexible and lucrative option for experienced occ psychs but again you need to have built very solid work experience and networks.

After my undergrad psych degree I worked for 2 years then returned for a research council funded masters degree and PhD. I then worked on fixed-term research contracts for 5 years until getting a permanent lectureship at a RG uni in 2017. During my PhD I had my 3 children.

If you're interested in clinical then have a look at the general requirements for applications to the doctorate programmes - here might be a good place to start:
www.leeds.ac.uk/chpccp/entry.html

I would recommend having a chat with a careers adviser at your uni and/or your personal tutor to dig deeper into your options and any inherent limitations risks in the different paths you could take. For what it's worth, psychology is a highly employable degree but it does help if you are headed for a 1st (or high 2:1 with masters) for some of the most competitive routes.

Getting work experience by any route possible is a really good idea - I know it's a nightmare to fit around kids but often universities run career development modules and/or volunteer accreditation schemes to help with this. Employability is a huge concern for everyone in higher education and people will be glad to help and support you in any way they can.

• limitations / risks (sorry for typo)

If you consider 30 too old OP then you are going to be horrified to learn that I am about to start a psychology conversion MSc (with a view to eventually getting on the ed psych doctorate) at the grand old age of 40

I understand how tricky it can be balancing parenthood with a career; due to my eldest's SEN and health problems my own career has had to take a back seat completely, for many years. He's now reaching an age where I'm able to have a bit more flexibility so I'm going for it with all I've got!

My age doesn't phase me at all, I genuinely don't think I have ever been in a better place to tackle such a challenging and competitive career path and I can not wait to start my course in September.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't panic if you can't make it work within your ideal timescale. You might think me ancient but there are plenty of people older than me currently on the doctorate; I suspect that their life experience will do nothing to hinder their ability to be excellent psychologists.

greenowls I'm the same age but further behind in terms of study. Thanks for your post - I feel less worried now!

You don't need to worry at all @Minkies11! Age isn't a barrier. I'm not sure about up to date figures but in their current EPFT scheme FAQs the AEP website points out that there were 7 over 40s and 2 over 50s on the DEdPsy in 2014. There is no age limit.

I fully expect it to take me several attempts to get a doctorate place once I'm eligible (if indeed I ever manage to get one!) so looking at mid/late 40s before qualifying at best! It doesn't put me off at all, just more determined to get as much relevant quality experience in as possible in the meantime! It's ridiculously competitive but someone has to be given the places, us oldies have just as much chance as the next person so why not?

Thanks greenowl. I'm a bit concerned about the postgrad route purely because of my age. I don't want to make a mistake picking the wrong study options further down the line in case I waste value years doing something without good job prospects at the end. I'm self funding at the moment but also the family breadwinner as it were so feel extra cautious about getting a good plan for the future together.

I personally know two people in their 50s currently on the EP doctorate; you’re never too old to retrain!

I completely agree with everything @llamallamallamallamachameleon said and I'd add that in my experience, getting a place on training is almost an arbitrary process

I'm 8 years qualified and burnt out too - it nearly cost me my mental health but I've escaped the NHS for now... maybe all us clin psychs could start a support thread?!

I work in user experience for web and app design. My degree is one of the few they look for. The job involves understanding user behaviour through research and analytics whilst also getting to design user friendly solutions to problems. Didn't need a master's for it and it is a very well paid career compared to the healthcare route

@turniptracker

That sounds interesting, how did you get into that?

I had a little cry down the phone to my dad today. He reminded me about my background in sales and maths. Now i'm thinking along the lines of combining psychology with business. My uni offers a masters on International business which I think would be a good combination with psychology.