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Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and how it dictates and influences our behaviour, from communication and memory to through and emotion (British Psychological Society). Over 750,000 people in the UK currently work in an area which involves psychology as part of their role. The route to become a fully qualified psychologist involves significant work experience and postgraduate training after your Psychology degree. Find out more below, including how to find work experience relevant to the different fields of psychology.
The main source of information about career paths in Psychology is the BPS, British Psychological Society. See their information about the different fields of psychology and your career options.
You can also find information about the different roles in psychology, including training and some case studies, on the NHS Health Careers website.
See the sections below for more details about the different areas of psychology, and how to find work experience before your postgraduate training.
As well as specific qualifications you are likely to need:
See more in the individual sections below.
Gaining relevant work experience can be crucial for success in obtaining an Assistant Psychologist or Research Assistant post, the traditional routes for gaining entry to clinical psychology training. This experience will also be useful for application to other jobs in mental health, including Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) who work within Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services.
Try to find a variety of experiences – think about the work that clinical psychologists are involved in, the types of problems they treat and the settings in which they work. Your aim should be to gain experience which will help you to develop your communication and care skills with different client groups, gain exposure to different mental health problems and understand how psychological theory can be applied to care and treatment. This should also help you to develop an understanding of the role of clinical psychologists and other professionals who work in mental health settings and help you decide if clinical psychology is really for you. It is not enough to simply complete placements – you need to reflect on what you have gained from them and the insights into Clinical Psychology they have provided you.
Maturity is highly valued in this profession; being self-aware and showing a strong understanding of the profession will help you to evidence your maturity. Try to gain experience early on, but please make sure to balance carefully any volunteering with academic and social lives (you are unlikely to gain entry into a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology without good grades).
It’s important to try to gain some experience in a clinical environment, which could be in an NHS or private setting, hospital, residential or community based. You can find contact details for Trusts and Services, which you could use to request work or volunteering experience. Please be aware that confidentiality issues may make it more challenging to gain work experience within NHS mental health services. Do not be disheartened if you do not manage to gain an NHS placement. There are plenty of ideas for alternative experience in the ‘Care Work’ and ‘Other Opportunities’ sections below. However, students have found placements within clinical settings in the past, so with a tailored, sensitive application, you may be considered.
You can find out about private mental health providers on websites such as Private Healthcare UK. Services are also provided by the not-for-profit sector, including:
Care work or support work is valuable experience and can be gained through working in residential care homes and day centres. Local authority Social Services departments will usually run some residential facilities and day centres for people with mental health problems and/or learning disabilities so they are a good place to start.
Look for your local council and then search for jobs pages or for information about Social Services or Community Care departments, which may list facilities and contacts.
Some centres are run by private and not-for-profit organisations - local and national. Try approaching care homes and centres directly for work experience or check for vacancies through Careers and Placements, Jobcentre Plus or recruitment agencies.
Some agencies recruit staff to work on a part-time basis. United Response provides support workers to people with mental health and learning disabilities and Keyfort provides communication support workers for students in further and higher education (local vacancies sometimes advertised in Handshake).
Don’t underestimate the importance of being able to drive – it is a requirement for many Assistant Psychologist posts as they can involve travel to sites not always served by public transport.
Working as a Research Assistant can also be useful work experience. Academic staff in your department recruit students to assist with their research during vacations – look out for information - but you could also volunteer to help out. Also, think about whether your final year literature review and/or project can be tailored to your interests, perhaps by carrying out your research in conjunction with an outside organisation.
Assistant Psychologist vacancies and other related posts are advertised in the following:
Counselling is often a second career for people and will certainly require prior experience of working in supportive roles with lots of people contact. Many of the ideas mentioned in the clinical psychology section above will also be relevant for counselling, such as the clinical, care work and volunteering opportunities.
It is very important to test your suitability and interest in counselling by seeking out opportunities for voluntary counselling/listening services such as
Experience gained in clinical or care settings can also be valuable experience for counselling psychology, see those listed in the Clinical psychology section above.
After graduation, and with some experience, you could also look at the volunteer counselling programmes with organisations such as Relate, Cruse, and Victim Support. These organisations offer training, but expect long-term commitment in return. CharityJob advertises jobs and volunteering opportunities related to mental health, education, social welfare and other issues.
Counselling Psychology doctorate courses generally expect you to have already gained some experience of counselling (paid or voluntary) and may also look for pre-entry introductory level counselling qualifications (eg Certificate in Counselling Skills). The British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) has a searchable database of accredited training courses, many of which are available on a part-time basis (you need to be a member of the BACP to access this page; their student membership will give you access to resources and support).
Counselling psychologists also need to be very reflective and self-aware. Try working through self-assessment activities and resources in Careers and Placements’ Explore ideas section. Take time to reflect on your skills and experiences - it could be useful to apply for the York Award.
To be considered for the doctorate qualification, you will need an accredited Psychology degree together with significant experience (at least a year full-time equivalent) working with children and young people in an education, health or social care setting.
Before applying to train as an educational psychologist you need to gain lots of relevant work experience with children and young people (the 3-25 age range), in an educational setting. Volunteering is good, but you will also need evidence of relevant paid employment. Teaching is an obvious way to get this experience. A good option is to enrol on a University-based PGCE, School Direct or Teach First Postgraduate course (see the Education job sector web pages). If you have a maths or science A-Level, you could train to teach this subject following a short funded course to bring your subject knowledge up to scratch. Teachers of STEM subjects are in demand currently and are eligible to receive a bursary of up to £30,000. Please see Get into teaching for more details. You could also get school experience as a classroom assistant, learning support assistant or mentor.
To get into these types of jobs you will need to demonstrate prior experience of working with children, and both classroom and non-classroom based experience is relevant. For educational psychology it is really helpful if you can also gain work experience with children who have special educational needs (physical disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional/behavioural problems).
The best way to gain work experience in schools is through York Students in Schools where you can work in a local school for ½ day a week for eight weeks. Arranging a placement can take a little time as the scheme operates on a termly basis and you need to obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, so the earlier you start the better!
You can also approach schools in your home area for the possibility of some work experience during University vacations or after graduation. Your local education authority will have contact details for local schools, but remember that many schools are no longer under local authority control so search also for academies, free schools and private schools.
Students also gain experience of working with children in other ways. Some of these opportunities are offered through the university, some you will need to arrange for yourself:
It you need to gain classroom based experience after graduating then you should ask about volunteering opportunities or look out for jobs as a Classroom Assistant, Learning Support Assistant or Learning Mentor. These are usually advertised in local press and on local authority vacancy listings, under Education, or you could try TES Jobs. or recruitment agencies listed in our Teaching sector page.
If you already have school based work experience, why not consider training as a teacher, through a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or employment based route such as Teach First or Schools Direct? This would give you substantial experience in school settings and also develop skills and knowledge appropriate to educational psychology. See our Teaching sector page for more information.
Some residential special schools, such as Treloar's, offer 1 year posts for graduates who are planning a career in education or social care related roles, to assist with learning support and residential activities. Sometimes these are advertised in newspapers such as the Guardian. You can also search for special schools for speculative applications and job vacancies.
If you intend to apply to Forensic Psychology postgraduate courses or Psychological Assistant posts it will help your application if you are able to demonstrate some relevant experience. It is acknowledged that gaining work experience in forensic settings is very difficult (though not impossible) for reasons such as security and confidentiality, so you will need to consider alternative ways of demonstrating interest and experience.
Working with offenders can be difficult, emotionally and mentally, so any experience that shows you have experience of working with ‘difficult’ people in challenging situations and are able to cope with an element of personal risk will be helpful. This could involve experiences as diverse as working in a bar, security or customer services/complaints handling.
However, you will need to demonstrate an understanding of the needs of offenders and approaches to working with them, plus knowledge of the role of the Psychologist in the criminal justice system, so some relevant work experience would be helpful. The following sections provide some suggestions for finding directly relevant work experience:
If you are interested in a career in occupational psychology, you will need work experience. Although you may be able to obtain a place on a Masters programme after graduation, you may find it more difficult to obtain subsequent employment if you can’t offer any relevant work experience. However, there isn’t necessarily one type of employment experience which is favoured, what is most important is that you develop commercial awareness and gain an understanding of different work environments. Many aspects of the work are similar to Human Resources (HR) work so you could consider graduate training programmes in this area, or in other management or consultancy roles in which you might work with varied clients.
Occupational psychologists work across different economic sectors, with a large number employed in the Civil Service, so work experience in different sectors can be helpful (eg retail, manufacturing, public sector). They work in three main areas: organisational consultancy; recruitment, assessment and training; ergonomics/health and safety. Within the Civil Service some occupational psychologists work to support socially excluded or otherwise disadvantaged adults, including those with disabilities or long term health conditions to access and stay in employment.
Whatever type of work experience you do, pay attention to the recruitment and selection procedures of the organisation, their management policies and practices, and the working environment. Consider what the challenges are within particular organisations or sectors, eg staff motivation, high staff turnover, mergers, introduction of new technology.
Take advantage of as many opportunities as you can to undertake research or gain work experience in any of these areas, for example:
Work experience or shadowing is essential for securing a place on a postgraduate course. As with the other fields in psychology, work experience can be paid or voluntary, and you should aim to gain a range of experience in both care and academic settings. Please see the section on Clinical psychology above for suggestions that will also be helpful for Health psychology.
As a sport and exercise psychologist you could be working at a sports club, fitness centre or health centre, in a prison, or for the local council. You should look for work experience that offers you the chance to experience different groups and settings, to develop listening and counselling skills, and to work with people who need support for example to increase their confidence, or to manage anger and cope with setbacks.
Relevant work experience can be paid or voluntary and could include:
Working as a Research Assistant can also be useful work experience. Academic staff in your department recruit students to assist with their research during vacations – look out for information - but you could also volunteer to help out. Also, think about whether your final year literature review and/or project can be tailored to your interests, perhaps by carrying out your research in conjunction with an outside organisation.
Assistant Psychologist vacancies and other related posts are advertised in the following:
A degree is not essential for this route but many Psychology graduates choose this career option and take a postgraduate certificate accredited by the BPS.
Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners are trained to assess and support people experiencing common mental health problems – principally anxiety disorders and depression – in the self-management of their recovery, via a range of low-intensity, evidence-based interventions, informed by underlying cognitive/behavioural principles (BPS). The kind of work experience valuable for this role is similar to that listed in the Clinical psychology section above.
Prospects: Psychotherapist
NHS Health Careers: Adult Psychotherapist
Training is accredited by the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), the Association of Child Psychotherapists, or the British Psychoanalytic Council. The NHS offers a limited number of four year training posts.
Relevant experience and life experience is essential; this role is often a second career. As with the other careers in this section, work experience should include working with likely client groups, see Clinical psychology above for suggestions.
The following may be useful for jobs after graduation:
If you want to enter one of the psychology professional pathways, you should use your time at York to get some relevant experience which will help you when applying for future postgraduate training.
You can apply to volunteer with one of the Careers and Placements projects or YUSU:
Other volunteering in York - look for opportunities with York CVS, Do-it, York Hospital.
See the Look for work page and use the following for vacancies
Formal, structured work placements or internships are rarely advertised in the way that they are for some other areas of work, so you will need to be proactive and creative in your search for opportunities. This means using a variety of resources to find opportunities, being prepared to make speculative approaches to organisations and to undertake voluntary or unpaid work. You will need to be persistent and patient when it comes to seeking work experience. If you are making speculative approaches you won’t always receive a reply, but don’t be put off! Your application may be held on file and considered when a suitable opportunity becomes available. Reflecting on and learning from your experience is crucial. You need to be able to consider challenges and how to overcome them, cope with distress and build your self-awareness.
Driving licence: don’t underestimate the importance of being able to drive – it is a requirement for many Assistant Psychologist posts as they can involve travel to sites not always served by public transport. If you have time, and can afford it, consider having driving lessons and taking your driving test.
Read about York graduates and their experiences of training and working in Psychology, and connect with them via York Profiles & Mentors to find out more:
Find the full list of graduate profiles on York Profiles & Mentors.