10.1 Introduction
There are many things that go along with psychology, one of which is the job prospects. This module will conclude the course by providing insight into various aspects of employment within the field of psychology. To demonstrate this, the module will be split into three sections, with each one taking on a specific component.
The first will delve into the basic types of psychologists, which will introduce several not included within this course. The second section will look more specifically at the roles of the psychologists associated with the five psychologies covered in this course. Thirdly, a look at some of the related jobs that can be achieved with a basic psychology background, but that are not found in traditional settings.
Types of Psychologists
The role of a psychologist depends on the type of psychology they practice. As there are many branches of psychology, the possibilities are seemingly endless. This section will focus on ten types of psychologists. These ten include: biopsychology, clinical, cognitive, community, developmental, educational, environmental, forensic, personality and social. Of course, there are many others aside from the ones included within this section and these are nothing more than a sample of what is included in the broader field of psychology.
Fact
There are almost 20,000 Chartered Psychologists registered as members of the British Psychological Society
Source: The British Psychological Society 2017
Biopsychologists
The first type of psychologist is a biopsychologist, or a biology psychologist. This is the type of psychologist that would work in a career of biological psychology. The aim of a biopsychologist is to look at the links between brain activity and behaviour. Part of this is being able to understand how an individual, or group of individuals, think, feel, and act in terms of their biological makeup and how this impacts their individual behaviours.
Another area of study for a biopsychologist is the correlation between behaviour and brain disease and/or injury. This provides a platform to understand how an individual might be affected by these types of situations, which can lead to better policies around prevention and courses of treatment.
Clinical psychologists
Clinical psychologists will find themselves in a hospital, mental health clinic, or a private practice. Their goal is to be able to access, diagnose, and then provide the correct form of treatment to their patients. These patients typically suffer from psychological distress and/or mental issues. Clinical psychologists are especially good at developing treatment plans for a variety of psychological disorders.
Cognitive psychologists
Those who work as a cognitive psychologist tend to split their time by both conducting research and taking on patients. This type of psychology investigates how people think and would therefore be focused on helping patients in these areas. A few possible areas they might help a patient with would be decision- making or problem-solving. Cognitive psychologists work in any number of settings, such as hospitals, private practices, rehabilitation centres, research facilities and/or universities, and even government agencies.
Community psychologists
Someone who practices as a community psychologist would be concentrated on helping a specific community on health-related issues. Their work would focus on research, which would eventually lead to the development of educational and preventative programmes for the community. Community psychologists work at universities, within government agencies or community organisations, as well as consultants for private businesses.
A community psychologist is not the same as a health psychologist, even though they are focused on health issues within a community. A health psychologist is a mixture of community and biopsychology.
Activity 1: Interview with a Psychologist
Estimated time: 45 minutes
The best way to understand something is to ask questions. This activity requires you to ask an expert about their field to gain an understanding of the daily tasks and motivations behind a career as a psychologist. Set up an interview with a psychologist and ask the following questions. When you have completed the interview, reflect on the responses and see if you can relate them to what has been covered within this course.
Interview questions:
What type of psychology do you practise?
Why did you select this pathway?
What experiences and education did you need to achieve your role?
What does your typical day look like?
What are some of the challenges you face within your daily work life?
How does your branch of psychology differ from others?
What are the most important contributions to your field of psychology?
What are some current hot topics within your field?
What do you think the future of your psychology will discover?
What advice would you give to someone interested in the field?
Note: The interview can be conducted over the phone or face-to-face, but must be a real conversation (i.e. not via email or other form of like-correspondence). If a psychologist is not able to meet for the interview, a psychology student may be used in their place.
Developmental psychologists
A developmental psychologist would spend their days researching human development over the course of a lifespan. This, of course, would be impossible to achieve as one researcher, and as a result developmental psychologists typically centre their focus on one or two parts of a timeline, such as infancy, adolescence, or one of the three stages of adulthood. Whatever the section of a lifespan they are researching would depend on the individual duties that the psychologist would perform.
For example:
If childhood were the area of focus, the individual might spend their career trying to understand various developmental delays or how to better aid children with language acquisition.
Educational psychologists
An educational psychologist would seek to understand the factors that influence one's ability to learn, such as developing new strategies, or working with a group of individuals with a certain learning disability. An educational psychologist is not restricted to working strictly with children, either, as this branch of psychology also covers the adult learning process.
A related field is that of school psychology. This career path would focus specifically on children and understanding their ability to cope with several challenges, such as emotional, social, academic and even behavioural.
Environmental psychologists
The next type of psychologist is that of the environmental variety. These psychologists seek to understand the relationships that exist between the human and natural worlds, or how a person interacts with the environment around them. Environmental researchers generally work in the research setting, although others have been known to work in government agencies, as a means of developing environmental policies.
Forensic psychologists
A forensic psychologist is an individual that studies the relationship between psychology and the legal system. This opens up numerous career possibilities, from a role as a consultant, to performing psychological evaluations, to working with juvenile and adult offenders. This is an interesting form of psychology as it is possible to work in many different roles within one career - meaning it is an ever-changing field.
Personality psychologists
A psychologist that is interested in understanding the many aspects of personality is known as a personality psychologist. This role involves researching how certain traits can impact the life and behaviour of an individual. Much life forensic psychologists, those who take on careers in personality psychology can work on a range of topics and research areas, which can then be applied to understanding how these traits function on a practical level, not just in theory.
Social psychologists
Moving on to the final type of psychologist to be discussed within this section is that of social psychology. Social psychologists are interested in understanding the behaviour of individuals and groups in terms of social settings, and the influence groups have on an individual. Social psychologists can work in a number of settings, such as in universities and/or research facilities, or as consultations for businesses and government agencies. However, most of the capacities that social psychologists would be hired for would be for research-type work, although other possibilities are available.
10.2 Typical Roles of Psychologists
Looking more specifically at the five psychologies that were covered in this course, this section will explore more of the details surrounding these types of jobs.To accomplish this, a more detailed description of what social, cognitive, educational, biological, and developmental psychologists do will be provided, along with salary expectations.
Fact
Careers in psychology are expected to grow 19% by 2024
Source: US Bureau of Labour Statistics 2014
Social psychology
Social psychology was described in Module 2 as the explanation of human behaviour in relation to society, or how they think, act and feel in social settings. In the previous section, it was noted that many social psychologists work in either the university and/or research setting, or as consultations for government agencies and private businesses. But there are other job prospects for someone who has completed their full education in this field of study.
Aside from social psychologists, those coming from this sort of background can find meaningful employment in areas related to researching human behaviour more broadly; helping governments, businesses and/or other organisations with employee recruitment, and training; evaluating various programmes in relation to intervention strategies to determine if they were successful; finding way to encourage better behaviour related to current topics, such as climate change and LGBT rights; and acting as a mediator in conflict resolution amongst others. They may also find themselves transitioning to another similar field, such as personality, occupational, and/or environmental psychology, or even sociology. On average, a social psychologist will earn approximately £56,629 per year.
Cognitive psychology
A career in cognitive psychology was brieβly mentioned above. However, in Module 3, it was described as the study of how one processes information. They may find themselves in any one of the many settings that were noted in the previous section.
Some of the more specific occupations that a cognitive psychologist could find work in are:
-The study of moral development, memory and forgetfulness, perception, information processing, or child development
-Aiding with the preparation of eyewitness testimony
-They may add to the field of language acquisition or learning styles and programme development
-They may work in the field of cognitive behavioural therapy, which is a more specialised form of cognitive psychology
-They may even end up teaching
The average annual salary for a cognitive psychologist is £65,100.
Educational psychology
The career path for an educational psychologist is fairly typical given what this branch of psychology is aimed at achieving. Defined as the study of how the learning processes of people of all ages in Module 4, an educational psychologist is typically destined for a career in teaching or counselling. However, others may find themselves on the research side of the field.This can include looking into the best learning processes for specific learning disabilities, understanding the differences in childhood and adult education, or any other topic related to this area of study. It is also possible to find an educational psychologist within the government agencies that help to develop new curriculum and learning outcomes, as well as education policy.
The average salary of an educational psychologist depends on the position held. For example, someone considered to be a trainee would make an average of £22,503 per year, while someone who is fully qualified (having fulfilled all possible degree requirements) would earn £35,027. More senior educational psychologists (those who are considered fully qualiβied with extensive experience) would earn a yearly salary of approximately £43,914.
Biological psychology
Module 5 covered biological psychology, which was defined as the application of biology to the field of psychology. Earlier within this module it was determined that most biopsychologists work in research, or within the university setting. Some may end up contributing to medical sciences, and even sports medicine, since many of the studies within this branch focus on brain injuries. Hospitals, clinics and nursing facilities are other places where a biopsychologist might be employed. For those who do find themselves in the research area of biological psychology, there may be opportunities to contribute to one of several biopsychology journals and other academic publications. A biological psychologist makes an average yearly income of £58,189.
Developmental psychology
Lastly, the potential career path for a developmental psychologist. Understood as the study of behavioural change over a lifetime in Module 6, a developmental psychologist has a number of opportunities in terms of their careers. While predominantly research-based, a psychologist in this field can find meaningful work elsewhere, such as consulting with government agencies or advocacy groups towards the development of newer policies and laws as they pertain to development, healthcare, and human services, more generally.
Related to healthcare, a developmental psychologist can be quite useful in clinics and care facilities that evaluate and treat those with various developmental challenges, or those that work with elderly patients. Mental health facilities, including those who provide assistance to homeless people, are also frequent employers of developmental psychologists. For a career in developmental psychology, the average annual salary is estimated as £71,204.
10.3 Alternative Careers to Apply a Psychology Degree
There is nothing new about transferable skills when it comes to applying learning outcomes from a previous job or educational experience to something new. One of the greatest benefits of a background in psychology - even if only at the academic level - is that the skills and knowledge learned from this field can easily be applied to other areas, occupations, and everyday scenarios.
This section will look at several alternative jobs that psychological concepts and knowledge can be applied to. These include advertising and marketing, career counselling, child care, genetic counselling, human resources, probation and/or parole officers, psychiatric technicians, sales associates, real estate agents, and writers.
Advertising and market research
Successfully working in advertising and marketing requires a great deal of know-how about consumer behaviour. To be able to do this, one must be knowledgeable in the behavioural traits that are triggered by certain forms of media and advertisement. It is for this reason that having a psychology background, even at a very basic level, can help to transition into a career in marketing and advertising.
Aside from consumer behaviour, and depending on the type of psychology one has studied, it is also possible to apply concepts from educational and social psychology, as they can also relate to how an individual or group may perceive and/or learn from a certain campaign. Developmental and biological psychology can also be beneficial, as they help to explain some of the more scientific components of the target market in terms of catering to their specific needs.
Career counsellors
Career counsellors help people who are struggling to determine how they would like to spend their work life. This works by having the counsellor using a series of tests, such as personality-based and even intelligence and interest-related tests to determine their patient's dominant behaviours, needs, and interest. With that information available, it is possible to recommend a career that would best suit the individual.
Psychology can be applied to this field because it relies heavily on behaviour analysis and understanding how an individual thinks, feels and acts in specific situations. These are only some of the related skills found in basic psychology that can easily be transferred to career counselling.
Child care workers
Child care workers are another career choice that works well with a psychology background. Child care workers are responsible for taking care of children in many forms. They can be employees of a day-care facility or work with social services dealing with child protection and welfare agencies.
Anyone with a background in developmental and/or educational psychology would be able to apply many of the skills acquired from these fields to that of child care. This is because these psychologies explain the behaviours of children of all ages, as well as the learning patterns that are most helpful in retaining information.
Genetic counselling
A genetic counsellor is a professional that relays important information about a specific disease or other genetic disorder (usually inherited) to the individual and their family members. This career path would be complemented by someone with a biopsychology degree, as it would help to introduce the various concepts to patients, while also having a sound background in the biology used within this field. Since bio psych relies on genetics to explain traits, this would be an easy transition and one that could make explaining the nature and consequences of a disorder much easier to one's patients.
Human resources
The role of someone in human resources is to handle any number of tasks, but mainly around the conduct of the employees of an organisation. A human resources employee may need to counsel an employee if they are experiencing an uncomfortable situation or are struggling to fit in. While these are not the only roles that a human resources employee would be responsible for, it is easy to see how psychology can be applied. Social psychologists, in particular, could be transferred to this field as they would have a better grasp of understanding an individual's reaction to a social setting.
Probation/parole officers
The purpose of probation and parole ofβicers is to supervise offenders in all aspects of their lives to make sure they follow through with the conditions of their sentence or release. Home, work, and when applicable, school life are all tracked, as are the offender's behaviours. In doing so, it makes it possible to provide the courts with updates and recommendations surrounding the rehabilitation of offender.
A degree in psychology could be applied to the role of a probation or parole ofβicer, because someone in this role would need to understand patterns of behaviour, and how they are indicative of future behaviours. It would also help in understanding the offender, as the experience in psychology would give a baseline knowledge of how someone might think, act or feel in a situation, creating an air of empathy.
Psychiatric techs
A psychiatric technician is someone who works under a clinical psychologist or social worker. They would carry out duties that would help the psychologist or social worker by assisting with their patients in any number of capacities. Some of these might include teaching new skills, holding therapy sessions, helping to meet the basic needs of the patients on a daily basis, and helping with the administrative tasks, when needed.
Having an entry-level understanding of psychology would be good for the role of psychiatric technician, as it is a form of psychology that requires less experience than others. This is, essentially, a starting position for someone interested in a career in applied psychology, rather than someone who is more focused on the research or teaching side of the discipline.
Sales associates
Sales associates make their money by selling things. What those things are, exactly, can vary from material possessions like clothes, cars, or houses to intangible items like insurance, travel, or banking needs. All of these potential sales positions can only be successful if the person holding the position has a fundamental understanding of consumer needs and buying trends, both of which can be understood using a psychological approach. Someone with a developmental background could further add to these positions by knowing the various life stages that an individual might find one of the mentioned products or services most appealing, or useful. This knowledge, in and of itself, is ofgreat benefit to someone in a sales position.
Activity 2: Call for Applicants
Estimated time: 10 minutes
It has already been established that psychology involves many transferable skills. This exercise asks you to look at these skills, while getting a little creative. Using one of the listed alternative jobs, create a job posting. Within the description and skill sets you list, be sure to focus on those that relate to psychology. This means you will need to think critically about the job and the psychology-based skills and traits that a successful candidate requires to gain employment. Upon completion reflect on the activity and relate it to your own work experience. Can you make any connections?
Real estate agents
A real estate agent, much like sales associates or marketing and advertising representatives, requires a decent knowledge of human behaviour, their needs, and even buying habits. Without this knowledge, or the ability to read a person's behaviour, it would be nearly impossible to have a successful career in this field. It is for this reason that it would be particularly beneficial to have a basic knowledge of psychological principles, that focus on personality traits and the influences of certain behaviours. With this knowledge, it would become easier to read a client in order to determine how to go about closing the sale.
Writer
A career as a writer, particularly an academic writer, would be another career path from someone with a psychology degree. Psychology demands a lot of report writing, and papers more generally. This is especially true in the earlier stages of a psychology education. This heavy reliance on writing can help a budding writer hone their skills, but this is also one that can easily be transferred to countless areas of employment of this kind.
Journals and other academic publications are not the only writing jobs for psychology experts. Writing skills can also be applied to careers in journalism, which also rely on an understanding of human behaviour and why some people do certain things. Therefore, it is easy to see how this could be a career path for someone with writing and psychology interests.
MODULE SUMMARY
The final module of this course was focused on psychology in practice, in terms of psychologists and what can be achieved with a basic knowledge of psychology. It began by outlining some of the many types of psychologists that exist. These included biopsychologists, clinical, cognitive, and community psychologists, developmental, educational, and environmental psychologists, and personality, and social psychologists.
Following these brief descriptions was a more in-depth look at the types of psychologists that related to the five branches of psychology covered in this course. Aside from gaining more insight into a typical job for a psychologist in the social, cognitive, educational, biological, or developmental psychologies, typical salaries were also provided.
This gave way to the final section on alternative careers for people with psychology degrees. These potential careers were quite varied, such as advertising and marketing researchers, career counsellors, child care workers, genetic counsellors, human resources personnel, probation and/or parole ofβicers, psychiatric technicians, sales associates, real estate agents and writers. This demonstrated the transferability of skills learned from even a basic understanding of psychological concepts. Completion of this module should provide a foundational level of understanding on the wide range of job possibilities following a degree in psychology.
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