Advice - Opportunities for a Psychology Graduate
1. What will a Psychology degree give me in terms of core and transferable skills?
Media reports suggest that employer dissatisfaction with the skills of graduate employees is growing. It
seems that, even after 3 years of study, graduates are disappointing their employers with their poor
numeracy, communication, and team work.
As a Psychology graduate, it appears you would be in a better position than much of the competition in the
hunt for employment. For example, the frequent research you will undertake is usually conducted in teams.
Through varying differences of opinion during this process (there can be many) and the necessity to meet
the project deadline, you will become skilled at managing team dynamics (such as ‘encouraging’ the lazier,
more unreliable members of your group by telling them that the deadline is a week earlier than it really is;
they won’t remember!).
With respect to the more academic skills, 3 years of research projects will result in you possessing excellent
numerical ability, as data handling and statistical analysis become second nature to you. Furthermore, with
the requirement for comprehensive essays, concise scientific reports, and presentations you will be in the
position of offering a potential employer versatile communication skills.
Finally, the art of persuasion becomes of paramount importance by your final year. Presuming you have
managed to retain some friends by not analysing them to death (it happens!), you will need to recruit
participants for your final-year research project. Many a friend of a Psychology undergraduate is subjected
to trial after trial of learning lists of nonsense words. Of course these are the most popular projects, where
there is an opportunity sample; lots of research designs by your final year require a more specific sample
such as children under 5 years, single parents, or recovering alcoholics. Securing access to this sort of
sample requires research in itself but also skilled persuasion, trust, and rapport. Therefore a Psychology
degree not only provides you with the requisite academic skills but also the life skills you need to get the
interview, job, promotion, or laptop you want. A Psychology degree increases your preparedness to
impress!
Heffernan (2005) identifies a list of nine skill areas in which a Psychology student can expect to develop:
 Critical and creative thinking
 Problem-solving ability
 Decision-making ability
 Team work
 Organisation and self-discipline
 Oral, visual, and written communication skills
 Numeracy
 Computing skills
 Self-evaluation
Heffernan (2005) further argues that these skills are developed through a combination of formal learning
environments such as seminars and a student’s own study and completion of assignments. This list is in no
way exhaustive and also largely depends on the individual student’s efforts.
2. What opportunities are there for further study?
Having been bitten by the Psychology bug you may like to pursue further study. There are many options
here. Some courses are directly related to an occupation such as clinical psychology (discussed in Section
3), others allow you to specialise in an area of academic psychology and others are more indirectly linked
to previous study such as teaching qualifications.
Graduates embark on postgraduate study for a number of reasons apart from the obvious necessity to
progress along a specified career path. Undergraduates in Psychology often develop a passion for a
particular area of Psychology and pursue further study out of pure interest. Sometimes departments will
encourage you to embark on a research project as a result of your undergraduate research project if it is an
area of particular interest to the department. Not least, graduates will often choose further study to improve
their career prospects; an MSc for example, will often differentiate you from the average graduate in the
eyes of an employer.
Levels of postgraduate study:
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MSc/MA: This is a Master’s degree. This means you have advanced
knowledge in a specific area. These courses tend to be classed as taught or
research based (many are a mixture of the two). Admission requirements
tend to depend on the course and institution; however you are usually
expected to achieve a 2.1 or higher in your undergraduate degree. On
completion of some Master’s courses, if the degree is directly related to a
profession, you are qualified to practise. However, currently some experience
is usually required before an individual is allowed to work in the specific
field unsupervised.
Doctorate or PhD: This is the highest degree awarded by a university. Phillips
and Pugh (2000) describe a PhD as ‘indicating that the recipient has a full,
specialist knowledge of a particular area of the discipline and that this
knowledge of the subject extends right up to the boundaries of current
theory and research’. These sorts of posts within universities often involve
teaching and supervision of undergraduates as well as pursuing your own
research. Different kinds of professions working in the field with a PhD are
discussed in Section 3.
Postgraduate certificates: An example of this is a Post Graduate Certificate in
Education (PGCE). This qualification has different varieties pertaining to
different sectors of education (primary, secondary, post-compulsory). On
completion of this certificate, involving practical work in school placements
as well as teaching and assignment-based assessment, an individual is
qualified to teach in UK schools.
Examples of postgraduate courses to whet your appetite!
 Brain Imaging and Cognitive Neuroscience
 Language and Cognition
 Applied Social Psychology
 Science, Culture, and Communication
 Child Forensic Studies
3. What sort of job opportunities would I have as a Psychology graduate?
Psychology graduates find themselves with diverse opportunities not least because of the diversity of their
skill base. There are literally hundreds of directions into which a Psychology graduate could head. Graduate
careers services such as (AGCAS) can advise you when you are approaching the end of your studies.
However it is worth considering, at an early stage, which direction you might like to go in as this may have
a bearing on your university destination or choice of course.
The goal of most psychologists is to promote well-being and success and alleviate suffering regardless of
the specific area. Below are a range of specialisms involving applying Psychology to everyday life.
 Clinical Psychologist: This involves applying psychological theory to physical
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and mental health. Intervention can be in services such as: Adult Mental
Health, Child and Adolescent services, Learning Disabilities, and Old Age
Psychiatry. Clinical psychologists also find themselves working in quite
specific health areas such as Brain Injury or Eating Disorders. Work ranges
from therapeutic interventions to practical rehabilitation.
Occupational Psychologist: This focuses on improving productivity and wellbeing within a business setting. Intervention can include advising on
recruitment procedures, psychometric testing, stress management, or health
and safety. Work ranges from consultancy to practical training.
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Health Psychologist: This is an application of psychological theory to health
issues. This includes areas such as the psychological effects of illness, for
example cancer diagnosis and treatment or health promotion such as
smoking cessation or healthy eating information and support.
Forensic Psychologist: This is most easily understood as the application of
psychological theory and methods to aspects of crime. Interventions include
working with the police, the courtroom, and prison settings. Work ranges
from advisory roles to hands-on rehabilitation work.
Educational Psychologist: This involves the application of theory to
educational settings. Intervention can be in nursery school-age children
through to colleges. The focus is on solving emotional and academic
problems that are impeding educational achievement through working with
children and the adults around them. Work ranges from an advisory role to
working with children directly; preventing truancy, for example.
Counselling Psychologist: This involves therapeutic counselling, usually at
the less severe end of the mental health spectrum. Clients may include those
with psychological disturbance resulting in depression or anxiety, for
example.
Research Psychologist: Essentially, this is the application of psychological
theory and research methodology to investigating a specific research
question.
Teaching Psychology: This involves the application of psychological theory
and methods in working in the compulsory or post-compulsory
(further/higher) education sector. A variety of qualifications ranging from
GCSE and A level to degree level are taught by Psychology graduates.
The list above reflects the divisions in the British Psychological Society. Individuals working in these areas
can register as a ‘Chartered’ status within the society and call themselves a ‘Psychologist’.
Other areas in which Psychology graduates are often employed include:
 Advertising
 Armed Forces
 Banking and Finance
 Business Management
 Diplomacy
 Human Resources
 Nursing
 Pet Psychology
 Police
 Sales and Marketing
 Social Work
 Sports Psychology
 Psychometric Testing
 Psychotherapy
 Statistical Analysis
The British Psychological Society offers careers information on its website (www.bps.org.uk) and in the
form of various leaflets and posters available to students and schools by post.
References:
Heffernan, T.M. (2005). A Student’s Guide to Studying Psychology. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
Philllips, E., & Pugh, D.S. (2000). How to Get a PhD: A Handbook for Students and Their Supervisors.
Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.