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Psychology

Psychology graduates tend to fall broadly into two groups – those who ultimately wish to progress into the chartered Psychologist careers or health and social care professions and those who use their degree as a route into another non-related psychology career. Psychology degrees develop many of the transferable skills which all graduate employers require and, with around 60% of positions open to all disciplines, Psychology graduates enter many other careers in both the commercial, community and not-for-profit sectors.    

In 2010/11, six months after graduating:

73.6% of graduates with a first degree were in employment

8.3% were in full-time further study

5.0% were combining work and study

For those who wish to enter psychology related careers the first step is usually to achieve relevant graduate experience. Entry to many professional postgraduate professional courses straight after graduating is difficult with course providers looking for significant experience of hands-on, client/patient focused work. Of those who entered employment, more than half progressed into jobs classified as ‘associate professional and technical occupations’ which broadly reflects the nature of the experience required. The majority of these positions were in the NHS, schools, universities/research institutes, local government and community projects.

A number of Psychology graduates also entered jobs such as Teaching Assistant, Learning Support Assistant, Learning Mentor and Education Project Worker – the first recognised step towards training to become an Educational Psychologist which remains a popular career choice for many Brunel Psychology graduates. From here others choose to progress into teaching at primary and secondary level or into special educational needs.

In 2010/11 Psychology graduates were employed in the following positions:

• Assistant Clinical Psychologist
• Community Support Worker
• Graduate Mental Health Worker
• Healthcare Assistant
• Pharmaceutical Market Analyst
• Project Consultant
• Recovery Worker
• Research Psychologist
• Therapeutic Care Worker
• Library Assistant
• Supply Chain Assistant
• Dance Instructor

In 2010/11 Psychology graduates entered further study courses such as:

• MA Cognition and Culture
• MSc Cognitive Psychology
• MSc Developmental Psychology
• MSc Health Psychology
• MSc Mental Health Studies
• PhD Psychology
• MA Video Game Design
• PGCE Primary Education

The positive impact of a sandwich placement on graduate employment outcomes across Brunel is considerable. Those who have done placements are also much more likely to be in employment for which their degree was a formal requirement or where they believe their degree gave them a competitive advantage in recruitment.

Around 40% of Psychology students include sandwich placements as part of their degree which are predominantly carried out in a range of public sector and research environments.

Placement leavers from Psychology experienced the following outcomes:

• 88.7% progressed into employment or further study
• 63.8% were engaged in a graduate-level activity (employment or further study)
• 60.0% of employed leavers were working in the top three categories of graduate level employment
• The average starting salary was £17,481.

Many sandwich placement leavers are interested in the health and social care professions. The first step into these careers is to gain relevant work experience before continuing into vocational training. While some of these jobs are classified at graduate level others are not so while the number of leavers progressing into a graduate-level activity does not appear to be as high as in other subjects the roles achieved broadly reflect the nature of the experience required and represent a successful starting point in a graduate career. The opportunity that placement brings in terms of networking has undoubtedly benefited many graduates from this subject.

The graduate labour market remains competitive and relevant experience is increasingly required for graduate level jobs. For those without related experience job search strategy is often about getting a ‘foot in the door’ in order to compete for graduate positions later. In the social care professions a first step is often to work voluntarily in community settings. This is often combined with a part-time paid job.

A growing national trend is for many students to delay their job applications until completing their studies, preferring to focus on achieving the highest grade possible. This can result in some graduates initially continuing with their part-time job while they explore their options after graduating. As a result some graduates were working in non-graduate level positions including sales, customer service and administrative occupations.

The DLHE survey provides a snapshot of a very short amount of time (six months) after graduating and while many have progressed into relevant graduate jobs others are taking time out, travelling, waiting to start a course or continuing with their part-time job while they explore their options after graduating. Many graduates have moved on in their careers since completing the questionnaire.