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Taking a degree in Psychology equips graduates with key generic skills as well as psychological skills that make them highly employable, and those skills become more useful as an individual’s career progresses. 

That is the finding of research published by the British Psychological Society (BPS).

The BPS Careers Destinations (Phase 3) Survey looked at the career progression of four cohorts of Psychology graduates from 42 university departments. The cohorts are made up of individuals who graduated in Psychology in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

It found that student experience shows that the skills acquired through taking a Psychology degree are highly applicable to careers both within and beyond psychology, with the result that Psychology graduates are readily recruited to a wide range of jobs as well as to postgraduate study.

The survey found that it typically takes three to five years for a psychology graduate to establish themselves in a job that is part of their long-term career plan.  This fits with the training that is needed in order to follow a career in psychology. Becoming a fully qualified psychologist (whether in research, teaching or practice) takes at least three years’ postgraduate training.

The survey also found that Psychology graduates would welcome more practical careers experience and advice as part of their degree course.

The Society will be completing the final year of this seven-year longitudinal study in 2018.

If you are interested in studying Experimental Psychology at either undergraduate or postgraduate level, please visit our 'Study with Us' pages. We are proud to be one one of the leading psychology departments worldwide and were ranked 1st in the Complete University Guide Top 10 UK University for Psychology 2018!