What they don’t tell you about psychology careers…

Imagine this: you are almost 18 and starting to apply to universities. You choose Psychology as you wish to be able to help other people with their mental health. You move countries all alone to do this, as your home country does not take mental health seriously.

You do three long and stressful years of an undergraduate degree in Psychology, graduating with a First. You do another year completing a Master's in Psychology. And then you end up with a psychology job, right? No. This was my journey, and nobody told me how difficult it would be.

Maybe it's a cultural difference, maybe I was naïve, but I really thought a Psychology degree would help me get a psychology-related job. Add a Master's, and I was still not even offered an interview for an Assistant Psychologist job, or any other related job. I was able to get a support worker job. Important, but not what I expected or wanted for my career.

I have seen people get a psychology-related job after a degree, but only by spending every single waking moment volunteering or working, on top of the degree. I did not have the strength or mental resilience to do all of that at once. Why is an aspiring psychologist pushed through such mental hardships, in a field where mental health should be uppermost in our minds?

I don't blame the people doing the hiring. This is a systemic failure. Universities push hundreds of students through Psychology each year, knowing there are few graduate jobs out there, and the courses don't include enough of the applied practice we would need to get those jobs. Instead, we learn a bunch of theories that are probably as old as this malfunctioning system.

So, many Psychology graduates go into a mentally and physically draining job they didn't want in the first place. Maybe they're putting considerable time and energy into applying for those elusive roles. Perhaps they eventually get a job, say, in the NHS… not psychology-related either, but something to build on, an entry into the 'tight-knit' family of the NHS.

More systemic failures. People working in the NHS are passionate, and want to make a difference, but I really don't know how every single worker in the NHS is not burnt out. I work in a team who want to help others, to make a change. It doesn't mean much if there's never enough money to go round, if the big funding bosses seem to fight and blame at every turn.

So, are there opportunities to progress into psychology-related jobs? I haven't seen them anywhere. Unless you have one of the 'special' degrees that make a 'registered' practitioner, well, good luck. So what do you have to do next to progress in your career? Another degree, of course! All your sweat and tears are not enough, you have to do a postgraduate diploma, or a conversion course. All while trying to get by on a low pay band during a cost of living crisis.

So where do we go from here? I wish I knew. I just think undergraduate degrees need to be revamped, to include clinical practice, and lead to actual jobs in psychology. I've read there is a shortage of psychologists: I wonder why? It's not a shortage of people, it's a shortage of opportunities.

Ana Iosifescu

So we asked on Twitter…

If you studied Psychology at university, did you give much thought to what comes after when you made that choice: e.g. the need for professional postgraduate training, the availability of jobs, the competitiveness? Could courses do more to reflect the realities / prepare graduates?

Dr Josie Perry @Josephineperry
Oh I could give a 1,000 word rant on this one in sport psychology. No acknowledgement of the realities. Lots of disillusioned grads coming out discovering there are very few jobs and no placements for training.

Prof Andy Lane @AndyLane27
Agree Josie – my view is that we should also be emphasising how sport psych can be useful – it should be incredibly useful on a personal basis & useful to many jobs but the transfer is seemingly not natural

Szymon Olejarnik @SOlejarnik
Went in completely blind, kind of knew that I wanted to become a psychologist. Once I realised how difficult it is to become a forensic/clinical psychologist, I began loving research and never looked back.

Kaitlyn Huizar @huizar_kaitlyn
I did as much as I could being 16. I even reached out to graduate schools. Upon entering college, I realized, however, then my interests changed just enough to go down a different part of the field, from counseling -> behavioral research.

Edward King @EdwardKing18
I didn't think of that at all – I was always taught to study what I enjoy. There was little to no focus on careers in Psych when I was studying or making my decision. It's something I try to show my students now. 

Lexie Thorpe @Lexie_Thorpe
The general narrative that 'it's competitive, don't do it' without any clear explanation of routes to DClin just means that those with connections have huge advantages, & doesn't guarantee the best candidates get there

HollyEllerton @EllertonHolly
I think courses/career advisors/ psychology absolutely could do more to prepare people. I did put thought into it but was still unprepared for how hard it would be, on such low pay with so much instability and risk and with actually quite limited options without more training.

Vera Maynard @VeraEMaynard
Studied BSc for personal interest not career. Later had the opportunity to pursue psych role & completed a master's, clear on limits of work roles after MSc qual. Info on career paths has improved, but needs wider dissemination even before undergrad level study.

Charlotte Emma Rose @_ChaarRose
my undergrad uni had a fast track dclin but had no idea what this actually meant so didn't apply. def didn't know the psych career path at undergrad & not the only one of my friends told "if money is going to be a problem for you, you should probably look at a different career"

Karen Wild CCAB @WildPaw
I aimed for clinical psychology, but wasn't aware of the sheer cliff face of difficulty including self funding for a very long period. I chose a more accessible path (even with my young kids) and became a certificated clinical animal behaviourist.

PixAmes @PixAmes
A key point for me is to emphasise that your job does not have to have psychologist in the title!! Plenty of roles benefit from psychology experience :) #psychology

Briar @BriarACurley
I certainly had lecturers tell us it was 'immensely competitive', pretty sure had us raise hands.. and say something like maybe 10 of us would get there Personally, a lot of my growth came from my own exploration of roles/fields.

Health Psychologies @HealthPsych2020
Where to begin? No real jobs or opportunities to progress unless of course you're on the highly privileged clinical psychologist funded training programme. Poor understanding of what applied psychological practise entails and poor opportunities to develop skills in the field.

Emma Woolf @Emma_Woolf
Not particularly. Lack of discussion during my undergrad. More preparation needed around length of time to become a qualified psych, the costs associated with different routes, and the pay of Assistant Psychologist roles not reflecting that this requires a degree.

Dr. Mitch Abrams @MitchAbramsPsyD
Unfortunately, and I know this is an overgeneralization, but I have found programs have become more like businesses which claim poverty while charging heavy tuition, without much regard for how to make a very marketable psychologist. Psych testing, supervision, leadership...

Paula Garlick @paulagarlick
courses have a huge intake, students told that there are lots of opportunities in business (which is true) but it would be better if it was a select small intake who understood that true psychologists need multiple qualifications before entering the workforce

Dr Danielle McLymont @DaniBritt
I knew it was competitive to go into clinical psychology but still did.

Helen @Helen93451317
Yes I knew the type of work I wanted to be doing - and had lots of ideas but through undertaking the undergrad and engaging with my uni, the different pathways became clearer and became stepping stones to a career

Kirsty Matthews @KirstyJM_Psych
I studied psychology at undergrad, and was set on a career in clinical psychology- but I wasn't prepared for just how tough it is! I think having people at various stages of the journey visit to talk about their experiences and the realities would have been helpful.

Jaime Weems @jaimeweems
Have a masters in psych. My intentions then and what I do now is totally different.

Lauren @Lauren_987
I knew what postgrad training was required to become a clinical or forensic psychologist, but I didn't know about other jobs that a psychology degree could be useful for. As it happened, I realised psychology wasn't for me, changed undergrad course then did post grad social work

Steve Jones @jones1302
Nope, not a clue. Thought I'd end up in pharmaceuticals so picked a neuroscience MSc after. Only after a year of that (2 year MSc) did I realise "this isn't for me" and took a 180 to get an AP post and see what Clin Psych was all about. All I'll say is "thank fluff for that"

Dr. Marie Kershaw @mkershaw_uk
Started undergrad wanting to work in adult forensic. Loved MH teaching but got told clinical wouldn't be for me (too hard). Had an amazing applied placement yr with fantastic mentor, told me of course clinical could be for me. Got in on 2nd application. Mentorship is everything.

Rachel Shaw @DrRachelShaw
I did Psychology by happy accident-wt linguistics&French. I luxuriated in Uni for the sake of it before fees & employability became "things". BUT times change. We need to prep psych students for the world & open their eyes to a wealth of opportunities beyond being a psychologist!

Charlotte Pashley-Foy @CharleyYpres
My university gave no support on how to achieve my dream career. I graduated and then never studied further because you needed specific work experience to get on the course. Those jobs also needed you to have experience to consider you, so it just felt impossible.

Adam Jowett @DrAdamJowett
I had planned to become an Occupational Psychologist and was aware of the need for postgraduate training but whilst studying I realised my passion was social psychological research. So whilst making students aware of different routes, I always advise students to keep an open mind

Dr Jon Reid @JonReidOBU
I always knew I wanted 2 b a teacher My Psychology degree prepared me well Lots of useful influences & preparation 2 critique aspects of policy & practice through a variety of lenses Continues 2 influence my considerations & teaching today #CompassionEdRevolution

Dr Marianne Trent Clinical Psychologist @DrMarianneTrent
I studied psychology and in a packed lecture theatre at the end of year 3 we were told 'it is so difficult to get into clinical psychology - you probably shouldn't bother!' It was like a red rag to a bull for me!

Zottie (she/her) @ZoeVx
I knew I wanted to do clinical from first year. Had zero support from my course about what that journey looked like and researched it all myself. Proud of how far I've come but more can definitely be done. It was a lonely journey for a long time

Mike Lloyd @DrMikeLloyd
No thought whatsoever. I went to the university's career office and they suggested I train to be a psychiatrist. I had no concept of a clinical psychologist until years afterwards. Thanks to the paediatric nurse in my office for evermore for suggesting it to me!!

Dr Khushi (Khushbu) Haria @HariaKhushi
Not really. I bumped into Counselling Psychology by chance. Up until that point only route highlighted was clinical psychology! More information of variety of practitioner psychologists, their contributions to psychology and what these courses entail!

Mitchell Mazzone @gm_mazz
Tbh, like much of my life, I didn't realize any of this until *right before* (as in, I didn't really take into account competitiveness/actually realities of the job market until I was almost "in it"). I wonder if my trajectory would be dif if I considered the ~academia reality

Dr Christopher Madan @cMadan
There are lots of possible paths, but we need to talk more with students about them. I've been working a lot to make these discussions more approachable. Academia and the World Beyond

Lucy Who? @lucylia75
I completed my ucas form (back in the day of paper forms) for psychology and I have no idea why but went and got it back from the school office before it was sent- I'd realised I was unlikely to get to my goal from a psychology degree. So I did MH nursing. And I'm so glad

Amelia @ameliajaysmithx
I didn't realise the extent of postgraduate training that is required to have a viable career related to psychology. Lecturers dropped the bombshell at the end of second year and the only "career" talks we had were in our final year. I think courses could definitely do more!

Shelly Higgins @RM_ShellyJ
Did a psychology degree 24 years ago, could have been more to prepare graduates, on reflection I had no idea, wanted to do occupational psychology, couldn't afford further training, took 2 years out and then did midwifery training & psychology has certainly been a benefit

Nannyogg134 @nannyogg134
I loved my degree, but id naively not thought ahead at all. It was a bit of a shock when I realised I was qualified for nothing at the end of 3 years. I'd love to go back and tell my 18 year old self to choose a vocational degree instead.

Liz Schofield @lizschofieldmay
I personally find it maddening how much post grad training is required particular when you consider how poor starting salaries are - it excludes self-funding students & those with other financial responsibilities and is a real barrier for diversifying the field.

Rebecca Slane @RebeccaKSlane
Yes 100%, universities normally bring job related conversations up near the end of the course and then you are hit with the hard reality after doing all the work to find out it is unlikely you are going to get the job you worked so hard for.

@ItsDrDunni
Yes but 98% of my knowledge and preparedness came from doing extensive research & scouring psychology forums. I think Psych courses can definitely do more to share information/prepare undergrads for tough it is & how hard you still have to work after graduating.

Tristan T. Herring @tristantherring
Professor at UNM gave us a blunt talk about careers in psych and what it took to get into a PhD program. That was the best talk I could get as a fresh psych major. It guided my decision to seek research labs, which then gave me the mentorship for the rest of the process.

Hritik Gupta @Hritik__Gupta
Can't emphasize this enough. Psych grads are almost always so clueless due to no practical training given to us to find jobs, good PhD programs, etc.

Uchebuaku @vvnsings
I remember a lecturer at Brunel gave a presentation in our first year with stats of psych graduates versus spaces on the DClin. Then he broke down alternative career paths. His delivery was cynical and demotivating but it was a good reality check for sure

Lauren @_laurenshx
Gave some thought to what came next but wasn't really prepared for it by my course. Told people I wanted to do clinical and was just told it was "difficult" "competitive" etc. No real signposting to different routes, pathways into psych careers.

Doyin Atewologun @DrDoyinA
Grateful 4 access 2 resources & role models in the lead up 2 choosing my psych degree - that helped me identify I wanted 2b a #businesspsychologist which influenced the jobs I took during my summer breaks. Very aware not everyone has those privileges, so v imp 4 unis to step in.