Psychology
What will I gain from my subject?
Psychology students are good all-rounders, tending to be inquisitive, analytical and happy with both ‘big picture’ issues and fine detail. Studying Psychology gives you a broad range of skills that span both science and arts and opens up opportunities with a wide variety of employers.
Here are some skills you will gain during your course that employers value:
- Communication Skills (written and oral)
- Research skills
- Analytical, data collection and problem-solving skills
- Ethical awareness
- Teamwork and awareness of group processes
- Leadership
- Report writing
- Interpreting and evaluating events, information and ideas
- Time management and organisational skills
- Open-mindedness
What can I do with my subject?
Psychology graduates excel in jobs that require them to engage with a range of complex issues and develop a strong understanding of areas that may be new to them in a relatively short space of time. Possible areas include:
- Advertising/marketing
- Banking and insurance
- Business management
- Charity work
- Education
- Health-related fields
- Local and national government
- Market research
- Media
- Administration (e.g. as a Personal Assistant)
- Politics
- Retail and sales
- Survey writing
- Teaching
- Therapy
- Tourism
Job Options (Chartered professions – requiring Postgraduate study):
- Clinical psychologist
- Counselling psychologist
- Educational psychologist
- Forensic psychologist
- Further education teacher
- Health psychologist
- Occupational psychologist
- Primary care graduate mental health worker
- Sport and exercise psychologist
Job Options (relevant to your degree):
- Advertising account planner
- Advice worker
- Careers adviser
- Counsellor
- Human resources officer
- Market researcher
- Psychotherapist
Most employers accept applications from graduates with any degree subject, so don’t restrict your thinking to the jobs listed here. Think about your strengths and look at the job profiles to see whether these roles are suited to you and how you could develop the skills and/or knowledge they are asking for.
Work Experience
It’s a good idea to build up your work experience as soon as you can. Working on a voluntary basis first can help you to get experience but it is also worth applying for internships, summer work placement opportunities and work shadowing while you’re at university. For those interested in Chartered roles then it is important to gain relevant work experience. Below are useful resources for finding work experience related to psychology.
Further Study
Postgraduate training and study is a requirement to become a chartered psychologist. Due to course entry requirements, many psychology graduates spend a year or more getting work experience before embarking on PG study. Psychology graduates may also choose to do a PG qualification in other career areas, e.g. teaching, advertising, marketing or HR. For more information on further study and to find a course that interests you, see Masters degrees and search postgraduate courses.
Useful resources
UK
- NHS Careers
- NACRO
- Citizens Advice Bureaux
- Relate
- Charity Job
- Charity People
- British Medical Journal Careers
- BMJ Mental Health Careers
Find out more
Professional bodies and associations
These organisations promote the interests of people working in particular professions. Some have listings of employers who are members of the association and may advertise jobs while others may be a useful source of information when researching employers for applications or considering a speculative application.
- Association of Educational Psychologists
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
- British Psychological Society
What do Aber graduates do?
Two thirds of Aber psychology graduates are in employment or undertaking further study within six months of graduating, above the UK average, they go into various fields and have wide-ranging careers. Take a look below at what Aberystwyth psychology graduates and postgraduates go on to do.
- Account Executive Business Developer
- Activities Co-ordinator
- Administrator
- Appropriate Adult
- Assistant Clinical Psychologist
- Assistant Manager
- Client Manager
- Commercial Trainee
- Corporate Communications Officer
- Customer Service Consultant
- Customer Service Executive
- Development Officer
- Graduate Trainee
- Graduate Trainee Conference Manager
- Immigration Liaison Analyst
- Knowledge Transfer Partner
- Marketing Assistant
- Research Assistant
- Researcher
- Residential Education Worker
- Special Needs Teaching Assistant
- Sport Psychologist (Level 1 placement)
- Student Support Worker
- Support Worker
- Therapeutic Care Worker
- Trainee ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) Tutor
Examples of employers that Aberystwyth psychology graduates and postgraduates have gone to work for:
- Age Cymru
- Alliance Boots
- Baschruch Care
- Care UK
- Cartrefi Cymru
- Chester Therapy Centre
- Debenhams
- Home Office
- IMAP Centre
- National Health Service
- Next
- Premier Healthcare Solutions
- Sainsburys
- West Mercia Police
- Various Schools, Colleges and Universities
- Young Epilepsy