Psychology jobs can incorporate a whole rosta of different positions and responsibilities. In this article, we will look at the variety of jobs associated with psychology. If you are considering psychology as a subject at university, or even A level, then this article will hopefully show an alternative career path, and some important features of working in psychology.
The most obvious place a psychology degree can take you is becoming a psychologist, but this in itself has many subcategories to explore: with any thing from an educational psychologist all the way to a sports psychologist. Usually, when you are at university studying psychology you will get your own feel of what area of psychology suits your talents. It might also be the case you’re doing a dual honours of some kind, which can help create foundations for one of these specific areas of psychology to specialise in.
Yet, with a degree in psychology, you can’t expect to then be a fully fledged psychologist straight away. On top of this, being a psychologist however might not always be the best fit for someone who has studied psychology. One potential alternative is to work as a recovery worker. This role would involve you being part of a small team that works specifically with those who have drug or alcohol issues. The main goals in this role is working out what approach to take for each individual, when it comes to them reducing or stopping their drug intake. The great thing about this role is that it is a nice stepping stone, from perhaps a more academic background, such as completing your MSc, to a career where you take on more responsibility. Being part of a team, usually led by someone with a large amount of experience, means you have a chance to have more autonomy when it comes to patient interaction, but still have a very strong safety net to fall back on.
It shouldn’t matter what role you end up in throughout the psychology sector, you will always have very firm support. Yet as you reach more senior levels, such as a consulting psychologists or supervisor for recovery workers, then you will need to have had enough experience that you can then offer the ample support needed. This needs to be equal if not better to the support you received. No matter where you end up within the psychology sector, never underestimate the value of support from peers and those above you. It is a rewarding yet challenging sector to pursue, with many potential career paths.
