If you studied or are studying a psychology degree at university, you are probably wondering: what can I do with my psychology degree? If so, this post is for you. We will share some ideas and expert advice to turn your psychology degree into a career.
1: Become a Chartered Psychologist
Are you hoping to specialise in a career in psychology after your undergraduate degree? If you are, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, 750 000 people in the UK currently work in an area that involves psychology.
If you took an accredited psychology degree you will be eligible for graduate membership to The British Psychological Society. This is required to gain access to various postgraduate courses and training programmes needed to become a fully Chartered Psychologist.
If you did not take an accredited psychology degree you can take a one year conversion course before gaining graduate membership to The British Psychological Society.
Postgraduate study and training are required to become a Chartered Psychologist and to register as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC). This will usually mean completing a MSc or MPhil in a subject related to the area of psychology that you wish to go into.
You will also need to gain relevant work experience to demonstrate a genuine passion for the field. If for example, you are looking to go into occupational psychology, work experience in a HR department could be beneficial.
Depending on the area of psychology you wish to specialise in, you could complete a Doctorate or PhD. Be sure to conduct in-depth research, to work out the best route for you and your interests. The BPS also offers postgraduate qualifications that are assessed against doctoral-level standards.
Areas of Psychology that you can specialise in
- Sport and Exercise Psychology – Sport and exercise psychologists work with athletes, sports teams and sports coaches to improve their motivation and performance.
- Counselling Psychology – Counselling psychologists deal with a wide range of mental health problems that may occur such as common mental health problems such as depression, eating disorders, bereavement and more.
- Forensic Psychology – Forensic psychologists apply psychological theory to criminal investigations, to understand psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour.
- Occupational Psychology – Occupational psychologists improve the job satisfaction of individuals in the workplace.
- Educational Psychology – Educational psychologists use theory, research and techniques to help children, young people and their families. They help to tackle challenges such as learning difficulties, emotional problems and complex developmental disorders.
- Clinical Psychology – Clinical psychologists help with a range of mental and physical health problems.
Further resources for using your psychology degree to become a Chartered Psychologist
- PsychAssist Blog offers both career and academic advice for budding Psychologists
- Psychological professions – Health careers NHS
- Career options in psychology – BPS
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2: Go into Digital Marketing
You could use the skills and insights gained in your psychology degree to become a digital marketer.
A digital marketer with a background in psychology will be able to understand how people work and know what makes them convert into customers. Furthermore, you will be able to use insights from your psychology degree to understand things such as cognitive biases that influence people’s decision-making behaviour.
The research and analytical skills that you gained from your psychology degree will also be useful for a career in digital marketing.
For this reason, psychology graduates are highly sought after in Digital Marketing.
Even digital marketers without psychology backgrounds are studying courses in digital psychology and persuasion to learn the psychological frameworks that will help them to understand user behaviour and influence purchasing patterns.
Using your psychology degree to become a digital marketer
Many graduates start their digital marketing careers in a digital marketing agency. A benefit to working at an agency is the broad range of clients you will gain exposure to early on in your career.
Alternatively, graduates might start off their career in digital marketing in a company’s in-house marketing department.
Some graduates go on to start up their own digital marketing agencies or become self-employed digital consultants.
Here at Graduate Coach, we help graduates to get their first full time digital marketing job with our digital academy.
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3: Become a Human Resources (HR) Professional
Many companies hire graduates with psychology degrees to work in human resources. This is because psychology graduates have a good understanding of human behaviour and can help companies to create policies and procedures that promote a positive and productive work environment.
Furthermore, your psychology degree will have taught you why people think and act as they do. This is an important quality for HR professionals.
A career in HR (and related roles in the people profession such as Learning & Development) is all about creating successful organisations by ensuring that companies take on the right people who have the right skills for the role.
One of the most common career outcomes for psychology graduates in Human Resources. Many university students study for a joint honours degree in Human Resources and Psychology.
If you are considering using your psychology degree to get a graduate role in HR, a number of large employers offer university graduate programmes in HR. Many of these programmes will support you in getting your Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) qualifications.
Useful resources for starting your career in HR
- 11 HR Graduate Schemes – A list of companies offering HR graduate schemes that students/graduates from any degree discipline can apply to.
- How to get a job in HR
- Aoibheann’s experience as a HR Graduate at Network Rail
4: Become a UX Researcher
UX Research is a fast-evolving and exciting field to go into. Those with a psychology background will have gained the research and analytical skills required to thrive in a career in UX Research.
As a UX researcher, you will discover the best experience for the users of digital interfaces such as apps, websites. wearable technology and more. You will strive to improve the user experience (UX) and usability of digital technology.
You will achieve this by conducting usability tests and assessing user behaviours, to acquire key metrics. These qualitative and quantitative insights are then used by UX designers and product managers to develop or improve digital technologies.
How your psychology degree can help you to get into UX Research
- The theories that you learnt about perception, biases, emotions and cognitive science will all be useful for a career in UX Research. Your psychological knowledge will help you to understand how people behave and feel when they are interacting with a website or another digital technology.
- You will have an understanding of people’s motivations. This is important for working out how to design technology in a way that compels people to take desired actions.
- Understanding research methods – the research skills that you acquired during your psychology degree can be applied to UX Research. Your findings will be used to prevent UX Designers from designing based on assumptions.
In the video below, Kevin Liang from Zero to UX shares his journey of how he got into UX Research. He shares how he fell in love with learning how people think, feel, and behave from his first psychology course. He went on to work at Google as a user experience researcher in wear OS, as well as at Volkswagen, Unity Technologies, Uber Freight, Upwork and more.
Resources for becoming a UX Researcher
- What Does A UX Researcher Actually Do? The Ultimate Career Guide
- UX Research Careers: A Guide to Getting Started
- User Experience (UX) Design and Research
5: Go into Teaching
Teaching is another job you can do with your psychology degree.
If you enjoyed your psychology degree, and want to inspire the next generation, you may be considering becoming an A-level Psychology teacher. Alternatively, you could become an early years teacher or a Psychology lecturer.
There are several routes you can take to pursue postgraduate teacher training to become a qualified teacher. in England. For example, a popular route is to do a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). It involves combining academic study with a minimum of 24 weeks on school placements, as you work towards your Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
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Resources for becoming a teacher in England
- TeachFirst – Teacher training programme
- Graduate Teaching Apprenticeship Programme
- Get into teaching – Ways to train
- How to Become a qualified teacher
6: Become a Social Worker
A psychology degree can be a good foundation for a career in social work because it provides graduates with a deep understanding of human behaviour, mental health, and social dynamics.
Social work is a profession that focuses on helping individuals, families, and communities address social, emotional, and economic challenges.
Social workers work in a variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, mental health clinics, and government agencies.
Perhaps a career in social work is right for you. Social workers work with people to find solutions to their problems. This could involve helping to protect vulnerable people from harm and supporting people to live independently.
To practise as a social worker in England, you must be registered with Social Work England. In order to register, you will need to successfully complete an approved degree or complete a postgraduate programme in social work.
Social work graduate training programmes
Think Ahead programme
You could use your psychology degree to apply for the Think Ahead programme.
The Think Ahead programme is a new route into social work, for graduates who are passionate about making a real difference to people with mental health problems.
During the programme, you’ll be paid to work in an expert team with clinical professionals. You will also work towards completing a Master’s degree in Social Work.
Frontline
Frontline focuses on social work for families and children. Their goal is to ensure that children’s life chances are not limited by their family or social circumstances. They offer a two-year programme for graduates.
7: Become a Lawyer
You can become a lawyer with your psychology degree. It is a common misconception that you need to have studied an LLB in Law to become a lawyer.
A psychology degree can be beneficial for a career in law because it provides graduates with a deep understanding of human behaviour, mental health, and social dynamics. Law is a profession that involves working with clients, negotiating with opposing counsel and making persuasive arguments in front of judges and juries. A strong understanding of human behaviour can be useful in these contexts.
The Solicitor Route
You may decide to qualify as a solicitor. Law firms value and appreciate the skills and insights those from non-law backgrounds bring to the profession.
To qualify as a solicitor, candidates will need to:
- Have a degree or equivalent qualification or experience
- Have the legal knowledge needed to pass the SQE – this will be gained through studying law or a law conversion course
- Pass stages 1 and 2 of SQE
- Complete two years of qualifying legal work experience
To get a better idea if a career as a solicitor is right for you, consider applying for a vacation scheme.
The Barrister Route
Alternatively, you may wish to become a Barrister. Pupillage panels seek out candidates with intellectual ability, confidence and other transferable skills and characteristics that will make for a good future Barrister.
To get a better idea if a career as a Barrister is right for you, consider applying for mini-pupillages.
Read more: 16 Legal Work Experience Ideas
8: Join the Police
Policing is a profession that involves working with diverse communities and dealing with a wide range of individuals, including victims, witnesses, and suspects. A strong understanding of human behaviour can be useful in these contexts.
A career in policing can be really rewarding as you’ll be making a positive contribution to society on a daily basis. You may find that your psychology degree proves beneficial in this field as you may be able to better understand the minds of members of society.
As a degree holder, you can do a two-year, work-based training programme that is supported by off-the-job learning.
On the programme, you’ll focus on a specialist area of study from either Investigation, Intelligence, Community, Roads or Response policing.
Upon successful completion of your probation, you’ll gain a Level 6 – Post-Graduate diploma in Professional Policing Practice.
Alternatively, Police Now offers two-year national leadership development programmes, which is designed for graduates.
Read more: Police Graduate Schemes and Routes into Policing
9: Go into Sales
Have you ever thought of becoming a sales professional? If you have strong communication skills, confidence, enthusiasm and business acumen, a graduate job in sales might be right for you.
A psychology degree can be beneficial for a career in sales because it provides graduates with a deep understanding of human behaviour, including motivation, decision-making, and interpersonal dynamics. Sales is a profession that involves persuading potential customers to purchase products or services, and a strong understanding of human behaviour can be useful in these contexts.
Psychology is used in sales to market to buyers’ current needs and wants. There are 6 principles of sales psychology:
- Reciprocity
- Commitment and consistency
- Social proof
- Liking
- Authority
- Scarcity
As a psychology graduate, you may be well-placed to understand and apply sales psychology to your role to meet and exceed your targets.
To get into sales, you might like to consider doing a graduate scheme in sales.
What else can I do with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology?
Most graduate jobs and schemes do not require candidates to have studied a particular subject. Therefore, you will have lots of career options available to you with your Psychology degree. Here are some more career ideas that you could pursue with your Psychology degree. Be sure to conduct research into the various opportunities available to you.
- Consulting
- Banking
- Accounting
- Market Research
- Public sector
If you are struggling to identify which career path is right for you upon graduating, get in touch with us here at Graduate Coach – we can help you. We offer one-to-one career coaching, online courses, books, workshops and more!
Job application advice for psychology graduates
- Emphasise the transferable skills that you gained from your Psychology degree. If you studied a BSc in Psychology, you’ll have developed and refined your numeric skills for example.
- More generally, ensure that you create an achievement-based CV, identify the career path that is right for you and send tailored applications and improve your interview technique.
Other useful resources and tips to help you to decide what to do with a psychology degree
GetPsyched is a psychology-focused YouTube channel created by a UK-based psychologist, Fraser Smith. In this video, he shares some ideas tips and his own experiences to help Psychology students and graduates.
Summary: what to do with a psychology degree
FAQs
What can I do with a Forensic Psychology degree (UK)?
If you completed your undergraduate degree in forensic psychology, you may be considering becoming a Forensic psychologist. To become a forensic psychologist, you will first need to ensure that your psychology degree is accredited by The British Psychological Society. You will then need to achieve a postgraduate Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology.
Institutions that offer an MSc in Forensic Psychology include (but are not limited to):
- Goldsmith’s University of London – MSc Forensic Psychology
- Royal Holloway University – MSc Forensic Psychology
- Queen Mary University of London – Forensic Psychology and Mental Health
- Manchester University – Forensic Psychology and Mental Health
Once you have completed your Master’s in Forensic Psychology, you’ll need to complete 2 years’ supervised practice on Stage 2 of the BPS Qualification in Forensic Psychology. Some universities offer a doctorate in forensic psychology, equivalent to both an accredited master’s and supervised practice.
Doctorates in Forensic Psychology:
- Forensic Psychology Practice Doctorate (ForenPsyD) – University of Birmingham
- DForenPsy Doctorate in Forensic Psychology – Manchester University
- Forensic Psychology DForenPsy/MSc (by Research) – Nottingham University
If you studied a Forensic Psychology degree but do not want to become a Forensic Psychologist, you might want to consider working in a complementary sector just as the police force or law.
What can I do with a 2.2 psychology degree?
Some graduate schemes have minimum entry requirements of a 2:2, so do careful research.
If you did not achieve a 2:1 or higher due to mitigating circumstances, inform the graduate recruitment team at the companies that you are applying for. They will take this into consideration when assessing your application.
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