Careers in Psychology
General Advice from the Department
It is never too soon to start thinking of the sort of career you might wish to enter after completing your degree in Psychology.The Psychology departmental office holds copies of booklets prepared by the British Psychological Society on different types of careers in Psychology (these can also be obtained from the BPS website). The departmental office also holds a copy of a Compendium of Postgraduate Studies in Psychology which may be consulted. On the windowsill outside of the departmental office you will find copies of the BPS memorandum, these contain some job opportunities for psychology graduates.
Details of jobs and courses of interest are posted regularly on the Careers notice-board and the departmental careers rep (Katie Slocombe) and supervisors are always willing to give advice, as far as they are able, on job prospects.
An excellent web site is www.prospects.ac.uk. It contains information about jobs, further study, applications and interviews and much more.
Each January the department holds a Careers day for second year undergraduates. This consists of a series of talks given by people from within and outside of the department. In the past there have been talks on clinical psychology, forensic psychology, teaching, management, doing a PhD and post doctoral research.
Every term Psychsoc arranges a lunchtime careers talk open to undergraduates, postgraduates and staff. These are advertised on the notice boards and via email.
General advice from the careers centre
What are you going to do when you graduate? The time to ask yourself this question is not whilst you're recovering from a post-finals binge, but, ideally, 18 months to two years before that date. The beginning of your second year is probably the best moment. You then have a year to start exploring, experimenting, experiencing some of the options, before putting into practice your ideas at the appropriate moment during the final year. Although few job or course applications can actually be made during your second year, many organisations in the public and private sectors offer internships for second year students for which application may have to be made as early as December. You can find out about advertised opportunities via the Careers Service website. Do remember though that many graduate opportunities (and some postgraduate courses) will require action from early in the autumn term of your final year. Some, such as applications for teacher training and the Civil Service Fast Stream, can be submitted in the September before the final year starts.When you apply for jobs or courses, not only are you expected to know what you'd like to do, you're also expected to make a convincing case as to why you're the best candidate for that job or course. This is not just about "selling yourself" effectively, it's also about being sure in your own mind that this is really the right option for you - after all, if you're offered the chance to do it, you want to know you'll be competent and happy at it. The University Careers Service is available to help you through the process of choosing and getting the job or postgraduate course you want to do. Nothing and no-one can tell you what to do with your life, so the onus is on you to invest some time and effort in using the facilities and people in the Service, (as well as your friends, family and teachers), to discover all you can about the options open to you and how your particular set of interests, abilities and personal qualities equips you for particular jobs, training or further study. If you haven't been already, call at the Careers Service and collect a copy of the leaflet called, "Planning your Future", which summarises what's available there and gives you an "action plan" for embarking on the process of career choice. You could also use programs such as Career Management Skills (CMS), http://www.york.ac.uk/careers/CMS, Prospects Planner, http://www.prospects.ac.uk/, and the Virtual Career Coach, http://www.graduatesyorkshire.info/stud-vcc.html to help you to carry out self-assessment and generate career ideas.
Psychology graduates are in the fortunate position of having a very wide range of career options open to them, some very directly related to the subject, such as Clinical or Prison Psychology, others which don't use the content of the course but rely heavily on the skills acquired in studying it, such as Systems Analysis or Market Research. In addition, the jobs for generalists, such as industrial management, broadcasting or the police force, where personal qualities and interests are the most significant, are just as possible for Psychology graduates as for those in any other subject. Full details of the range of jobs and courses chosen by Psychology graduates in the past are available from the Careers Service, plus a very helpful summary of the range of skills which typical Psychology graduates will have acquired during their degree course. You can also read personal reports from Psychology graduates either in the Information Room or via YorkLink online at: http://www.york.ac.uk/services/careers/cfm/yorklink/welcome.cfm Obvious traps which Psychology graduates can fall into are thinking too narrowly about where a degree in Psychology can lead, (for example, "What else is there apart from clinical or educational psychology?"), and failing to recognise just how skilful, ("I thought everyone would have communication/analytical/ computer skills so I didn't mention them"!) and experienced, ("I got a vacation job because I needed the money, I didn't think it was relevant"!), you are. An open-minded examination of the material available at the Careers Service will help you to avoid these traps and participation in self-assessment exercises, work experience programmes, vacation courses, practice interviews, etc., will give you confidence in presenting your abilities and achievements in the most positive way.
Don't put off the moment when you start thinking about what to do when you graduate. It may seem intimidating, you may be confused because you've no idea what to go for, but most graduates survive the transition and go on to have a lot of fun in their working lives. The more organised and prepared you are, the more likely it is that you will be happy and successful, however you measure that, in what you do. If time isn't on your side, or you have constraints on your choice, such as family commitments or restricted mobility then it's even more important that you start investigating the options and planning early.
Do make use of the help offered by the Careers Service and the Psychology Department. If you can't find information or the answer to what seems to be a trivial or a major question, ASK - if we don't have the answer, we'll find someone who does. Above all, don't leave it too late - the props start to fall away once you've graduated and left the university, so use us now!
The careers service (http://www.york.ac.uk/services/careers/) is situated near market square behind the student services building facing campus central car park. For up to date opening times consult the careers centre web page. The psychology careers adviser is Janice Simpson who can be contacted on (01904) 432681 or via email js39@york.ac.uk.
Psychology graduate skills
Listed below are some of the skills which a typical psychology graduate will have acquired during his/her degree course.Literacy:
The ability to write both succinct reports and more lengthy analyses. Psychology graduates are accustomed to writing essays, which allows them to explore issues in detail, but they also become familiar with the techniques of concise writing within a pre-set format, as they write up their practical reports. The ability to produce a concise report is often cited by managers as a skill they would like their management trainees to have.Numeracy:
The ability to handle and interpret statistical information. Psychology graduates are good at drawing the implications out of data summaries and probability statements.Computer literacy:
The ability to use a computer package, whether word processing or statistics, and the ability to learn to use new ones. The ability to programme is rarely required and most organisations accept that their own systems are likely to be new. Most psychology graduates are familiar with the basic use of computer packages by the time they graduate.Interpersonal awareness:
Knowledge of the mechanisms of social communication and the potential sources of interpersonal conflict. This may make a difference in understanding and dealing with interpersonal problems when they arise in the workplace. Most psychology graduates are familiar with this type of knowledge.Environmental awareness:
Knowing how environments, organisations, etc., can directly influence people's understanding and behaviour. Psychology graduates are taught to be aware of the impact of environmental factors.Problem-solving skills:
The ability to identify different strategies and approaches to solving problems. This may be on a macro-level, in applying totally different perspectives or levels of analysis to the problem, or at a more basic level in terms of choosing appropriate methods to deal with it. It is a valuable skill in the organisational world, and one which psychology graduates are strikingly good at.Information-finding skills:
Knowing how to go about looking for information on a particular topic or general area. This type of resourcefulness is potentially valuable in many types of job.Critical evaluation:
The ability to appraise information and situations realistically, and to anticipate problems or difficulties. An essential skill for a manager or management trainee, and useful in many others. Psychology graduates are directly trained to analyse and evaluate critically.Research skills:
Knowing how to go about gathering systematic information about human experience or behaviour. Psychology students are trained in a number of different methods - at the least, observational, experimental and case study techniques. Such awareness of methodology is useful to any number of different professions, some obvious ones being marketing and health education.Measurement skills:
Knowing how to go about designing questionnaires and developing other measurement tools. Psychology graduates acquire these skills early in their degree and use them repeatedly in practical assignments and their final year research project.Perspectives:
The ability to look at issues from several different points of view. Psychology graduates are directly trained to do this and it is seen as a valuable skill by employers.Higher-order analysis:
The ability to extract general principles from immediate or concrete situations. Psychology graduates tend to be better than most people at spotting recurrent patterns or similarities between situations, and at looking at issues in terms of their underlying principles rather than becoming bogged down with the details of the immediate situation.Pragmatism:
The ability to make the best of a non-ideal situation, and to get on with working within pre-set constraints. It does not take much exposure to psychological methodology for psychology students to realise that the perfect experiment is going to be elusive and they will simply have to get on with doing it as well as possible anyway! As graduates, this tends to give them a strongly practical element which is valuable in many forms of career.Career ideas within psychology
BPS
After graduating some of you will want to take jobs for which graduate membership of the BPS is important. The psychology course at York leads to a degree recognised as a qualification for graduate membership of the BPS. Details of BPS student membership may be found on the notice-board outside the departmental office, and application forms are held in the Departmental Office.However, it is important to realise that many jobs (and courses) will require substantial work experience prior to entry (particularly clinical, educational and counselling psychology). You may therefore need to spend some time, both during and after your degree, building up work experience in roles which may or may not require a degree
The BPS has produced a Careers Pack which contains books, leaflets and posters about careers in Psychology.
Jobs are advertised in the monthly BPS appointments memorandum; these can be found in a file next to the Departmental office window.
Contact:
The British Psychological Society St. Andrews House 48 Princess Road East LEICESTER 7DR Tel: No. 01533 549593 BPS WebSite: http://www.bps.org.uk/ and Careers Section.
Jobs.ac.uk
An excellent web site which can be used to search for science, research, academic and related jobs in the UK and abroad. You can subscribe to Jobs by Email for vacancies in universities, FE colleges, research institutions, commercial and public sector bodies, schools and charities. http://www.jobs.ac.uk/Careers ideas outside of psychology
Sample of jobs for which psychology graduates have suitable skills:
| community work | police work | advice work | teaching |
| advertising | marketing | personnel | industrial training |
| vocational guidance | general management | counselling | careers service |
| television research | health service management | nurse training | retail management |
| press liaison | radio journalism | health education | charity organisation |
| public relations | marketing research | administration | science writing |
Teaching
Advice on applying for a PGCEStudents wishing to apply for teacher training programmes should plan their application carefully and ensure that they obtain relevant work experience. It is not as difficult as it used to be for psychology graduates to obtain places on PGCE programmes and in recent years about 10% of graduates each year have entered teacher training. The majority enter primary teaching. It can be more difficult to obtain places on secondary PGCE courses because psychology teaching in schools is limited, but graduates have obtained places on biology/science and social science PGCE courses.
Students applying for PGCE courses should be aware of the DfES 2002 Qualifying to Teachı guidelines which state that:
Those awarded QTS (qualified teacher status) must demonstrate they have a secure knowledge and understanding of the subjects they are trained to teach. For those qualifying to teach secondary pupils this knowledge and understanding should be at a standard equivalent to degree level.² (Standard 2.1)
PGCE admissions tutors need to satisfy themselves that applicants are suitably qualified to teach their chosen subjects. They have the final decision regarding entry to courses and if you are in any doubt as to the suitability of your degree you should contact them directly for advice. As a rough guide, for a secondary PGCE, your degree should include about 50% of the subject you intend to teach. However, booster and subject enhancement courses (taken prior to commencing a PGCE and funded) are available in some 'shortage subjects'.
For application to primary PGCE courses you need to demonstrate that you are qualified to teach across the national curriculum so you should make the following points in your application:
- The honours degree in psychology at York takes a very scientific approach. All of the programme can be classified as science, maths, information technology or English and you should demonstrate this on your application.
- The programme includes topics of direct relevance to the primary school teacherıs work, such as developmental psychology, learning disorders and psychometric testing.
When you are called for interview make sure you can relate modules to 'teaching subject areas' and be ready to express views on how you might go about teaching particular subjects in the curriculum.
The Careers Service can provide assistance for students completing PGCE applications. They also run two sessions each year in the summer term for students considering teacher training, one focusing on the teacher training process and the other focusing on completing the application form. See the careers events programme, or the website, for details.
The Teacher Training Agencyıs website contains a wealth of information about teaching and teacher training, http://www.canteach.gov.uk/.
Further study
A good psychology degree from York is an ideal platform from which to take further study. If you are considering further study you would be as well to talk to your project supervisor or member of staff involved in the area of research that you which to pursue as they will have valuable contacts and advice.Opportunities in the Department
The department currently offers five masters programmes these are:
- MSc Applied Forensic Psychology
- MSc Cognitive Neuroscience
- MSc Forensic Psychology Studies
- MSc Reading, Language and Cognition
- Masters by research (MRes in Psychology)
Information about these courses can be found in the Graduate Study Pages.
Opportunities in the UK
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/ is the UK's official graduate careers website.
Opportunities overseas
http://www.allpsychologyschools.com/ lists all of the US psychology research 'schools'.
Other useful websites: http://www.findaphd.com/ and http://www.findamasters.com/
The Careers Service also has extensive information on further study.
Enhancing your career opportunities
Voluntary work opportunitiesVolunteer projects can be extremely enjoyable. They offer you a chance to develop skills that are useful for psychology and future employment opportunities. Projects are very flexible in terms of the amount of time you are expect to commit and cover a wide range of interests from working with children and the elderly to conservation projects and fundraising.
In the Department
Faculty members and researchers in the department are often looking for volunteers to help with research. If there is a particular research group you would be interested in assisting then you are encouraged to contact them directly to ask if there are any current opportunities.Please see the Undergraduates Research Experience Scheme (URES) pages
In the University
Students in Schools (YSIS)
Many psychology students choose to take part in this scheme. Students become tutors or mentors in local schools assisting with specific curriculum activities and supporting pupils learning. http://www.york.ac.uk/student/ysis/programmes/Active York
Active York encourages staff and students to contribute actively to the University's communities, supporting not-for-profit organisations in York and North Yorkshire.activeyork@york.ac.ukYork Student Community Action
STUDENT ACTION projects range from taking kids on activity holidays to Whitby, to running drama workshops in a local prison, coaching sport in schools and building web sites for local charities. You can join an existing project, or set up your own. http://www.yusu.org/ysca/In York
York Millennium Volunteers
York MV promotes volunteering to young people aged 16-24 across the City of York. Students can choose to take part in placements (regular commitment), one-offs (e.g. charity collection, fun days etc.) and projects (including July summer projects based in the community). http://www.milvol.york.ac.uk/CVS
York CVS is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee, whose main aim is to offer advice, training, information and support to local voluntary organisations and community groups in order to help them work more effectively. Part of their role is to help local organisations recruit volunteers. http://www.yorkcvs.org.uk/Web links
For National Volunteering opportunities try the following web pages:Paid employment
Many students choose to take on a part-time job whilst studying. Current opportunities can be found through local papers, fish4jobs and the university UniJobs/The department also offers paid work to students in vacations. These posts are generally for 4-6 weeks and are advertised on notice boards and via email.
See also the University current vacancies http://www.york.ac.uk/services/careers/current/jobvacancies.htm