Is a psychology degree a good choice?

[Parsley65]

Hello.

DD has set her sights on doing a psychology degree and I was just wondering what experiences other MN's and their offspring have had?

I think it's a great choice, btw, and am encouraging her all the way...

I know 4 people who did psychology at Uni.

2 are psychologists and I would agree it's a great career choice from what they say.

The issue is that a degree doesn't get you a job. You need to do a Masters and most probably further training. The other 2 people I know who did psychology at uni did not do further training. One is now a career and the other is a a receptionist in a local gym.

Make sure she is going to do the additional work. Otherwise it is not worth it.

Exactly what pp said.

it’s a good degree but to be a psychologist you need further qualifications

Okay, thank you. Yes, definitely a sandwich course followed by a Masters seem the way to go - so if she's serious we're looking at 5 years (gulp) of training...

The problem is that it’s very competitive to get training after the degree. It’s not just a case of enrolling on a course. You need clinical placements and this is where the NHS comes in.

Of the three young people I know who have done a Psychology degree, none are Pschologists. One is a journalist, one is s Hospital Receptionist despite doing a Social Work Masters and the other works in an advice centre. So varied work. They all enjoyed the degree but I think going to a university which has a year out is a good idea. It’s typically 6 years to get qualified!

Following with interest as DS1 has the same ambition. Wants to do the Masters and eventually become a clinical psychologist. I think he’ll be great, but it’s so competitive.

It's a great degree.

That’s good to hear. DS1 is so enthused by A level!

My advice for Psychology is if you want to do this as a serious well paid career, you need to go the sciency route and not the arty one, ie do a BSc followed by MSc, rather than a BA and MA. It also has to be in a top uni. Only then the opportunities are endless! Superb discipline, extremely interesting and versatile!

The people we know went to Leeds, Surrey and Liverpool. I think Bath might be good, however, and they do a placement I believe. So much to check out. It must be an accredited course too.

It's a great degree to have. Very few people in my year went on to train as clinical psychologists and not just because you need a 2:1 in those days and probably a 1st now. It's a good general degree - good combination of essay writing, statistics and scientific methodology which I found very useful in my managerial career. After all not everyone who does an English degree goes on to be a novelist / poet / playwright.
Certainly agree with other posters - keep to the science-y Psychology degrees, in particular those accredited by the British Psychology Society in case your DD does want to go on to train as a clinical psychologist.
Oh a don't worry about doing a Psychology A level - most of my contemporaries didn't have one and most of my DD contemporaries don't have one either and she's just started at Uni

I think that if she enjoys maths and appreciates that Psychology involves a huge amount of statistics and if she loves the subject then it is a good choice.

If she plans to become a Clinical Psychologist then she will need:

A BSc (3 years)
An MSc (1 year)
A position as an assistant Psychologist (1-5 years)
To apply for 1-5 years (e.g. whilst an 'Assistant Psychologist' or in a similar role) for a place on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (it's incredibly competitive and lots of people apply multiple times!)
A three year Doctorate course (DClinPsy)

So it's more like 8+ years of training if she does want to be a Clinical Psychologist.

An alternative if she is interested in Psychiatry is to apply for a medical degree and then undertake specialist training to become a Psychiatrist.

Thank you again for all your help and advise.

DD is doing her GCSE's this year, so for now we are just giving it lots of thought and thinking about which universities to research/visit next year.
She loves maths and is planning to do that for A level along with physics, psychology and business.

It sounds like she'd be well suited to it then.

If she chooses Biology or Chemistry A level instead of Business Studies then it would mean that she could opt for a Medical degree or Neuroscience degree if she changes her mind before applying for University.

An alternative is to take any undergraduate degree (e.g. BSc Business/Maths/Physics) and then study for a one year MSc Conversion to Psychology, which confers BPS (British Psychological Society) accreditation. That might leave more doors open for other future careers.

DD is planning open days, she has seen Swansea (liked it) and has Cardiff, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield on her list. We visited Nottingham and it didn't really appeal to her. She wants to visit 10! What other places would be good to visit? She would prefer city campuses than out of town ones. Her grades at the moment are good, but probably no A*!

To add, for Psychology!

Lilabet - thank you for your reply. The alternative suggestion about doing an undergraduate degree in maths, physics or business followed by a MSc in psychology is interesting. We hadn't thought about that. So far we have looked at a combined psychology/business degree (offered at Loughborough for example). Maybe this would be a better option..?

Mushroom - good luck with open days. DD wants a campus uni and to do a degree that includes a placement year. Have a look at www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk and look at the graduate prospects, not just the overall score. We're planning to see Bath (though at the top end of the grade requirements), Loughborough, Exeter and Kent so far. Some of the others we were planning to visit don't have placements (Birmingham, Swansea, St Andrews, Durham).

Hi Parsley, we did a Swansea Open day and I think you can do one or do a year abroad as some of the third year students my daughter spoke to had done an intercalated year.
Thanks for the link too, I think Birmingham is going onto our list!

I think the year abroad suits students who don’t necessarily want to be Psychologists. The year placement is better for those that do.

I do wonder if entry requirements also make a difference as to who goes on to be a Psychologist. Do the courses with higher entry qualifications get more students going forward with training? As so many universities offer it, one assumes some are more successful than others regarding further training. If this is the case, it might be an important consideration because of how competitive this career is.

Yes, it’s a shame that they don’t make this a sub-section of the ‘graduate employment’ percentages.

If she’s interested in psychology and business, have a look at the occupational psychology career path. It’s easier to get into than clinical, but still challenging - you need a Masters and it’s another few years of supervised practice to become chartered. Getting the first job can be tricky, but the background is valued for more mainstream HR jobs as well as occ psych roles.

Not sure if I’d agree about the BA versus BSc issue - it might have changed but at my uni both courses were the same, the only difference was the subsidiary subject you did in your first year. So I got a BA and then MSc. No one has ever asked me about it.

If she is interested in occupational psychology, I’d look at the universities that also offer occupational, organisational or business psychology masters. Because they are more likely to offer those kinds of options in second and third year undergrad.

If you take a BSc - the course is more likely to be accredited by the BPS and therefore acceptable for clinical Psychology courses and possibly Educational as well - it gives you more postgrad options

My daughter is doing psychology at Exeter, and really enjoying it. Her other choices were Birmingham (which she loved the look of), Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton .
,

If she thinks she might want to go on to be a psychologist in the future then she must make sure the degree is accredited by the BPS. If it is, this means...

• She can work as an Assistant Psychologist upon gaining the BSc. She is eligible to apply for future professional training, e.g. the doctorate in Educational or Clinical Psychology. (NB the latter is a doctorate, not a masters, @LaBelleSauvage123*)