Career crossroad/s - Psych Major

[ambivalent]

Hi all,

Created this thread hoping members can shed some light regarding career options for psych majors. Constructive comments will be greatly appreciated.

Profile:
20+
Psych degree from UK uni
Have exposure in roles such as:
student mentoring/secretarial/education/volunteer work with VWOs
Weak and little interest in numbers/math/engineering

Areas of interest & passionate in:
Online blog-shop management (Ever tried my hands at selling apparel online - similar to what those blog-shops are doing)
Writing (guest writer for a psych blog - voluntary. I'd welcome any opportunities to write, be it ad-hoc or paid).
Outreach Work (pertaining to children & communities like PA/the likes)
*had enough of student centre settings/teaching*
Child counseling / Psychology / Peer Mentoring
Outreach work - Career counseling, volunteer management

*Willing to switch fields to pursue a more secured career pathway with good prospects. (say, approximately 3k and more in the next 5 years).

*I've considered pursuing a masters, but the fear of unemployment after graduating is holding me back*


Note:
Becoming increasingly unmotivated to apply for psych-related jobs. Reason being: repetitive & similar job ads. Limited job positions, overrated industry.

Considering the above areas of interest, which option below would you suggest is wisest? I'm seeking to value-add to my cert by adopting one of the following :

1. Switch to another industry (but which??? I'm kinda interested in casework mgmt & social work, but I would like a field that offers stable employment with reasonable pay - 3k+ in 5 years time)

2. Pursue a part-time degree @ Murdoch (still searching for a course that is of interest - in your opinion, what is a useful cert that a Psych degree can leverage on, aside from HR / Business / Marketing (Which seems kinda general/broad)?

3. Attend short courses at SSI (Social service institute) - I've set sights on some courses (To value-add by acquiring new skills & for personal upgrading)

Originally Posted by ambivalent

*I've considered pursuing a masters, but the fear of unemployment after graduating is holding me back*


Note:
Becoming increasingly unmotivated to apply for psych-related jobs. Reason being: repetitive & similar job ads. Limited job positions, overrated industry.

Hi, sorry I'm not experienced or worldly enough to help you but was hoping you could enlighten me instead about why you made these comments about a psychology career, especially about why you think it's 'overrated'.

[ambivalent]

Why I think Psychology is overrated is because jobs in the industry are very limited, with stiff competition between local and foreign graduates vying for the same position/s.

[ambivalent]

* Bump for more replies *

i think the murdoch part time degree will be wasting your time and money.

if you want a stable kind of job you can probably try getting into HR? your psychology degree is quite relevant to that. but if your uk degree isn't from one of the top tier unis might be difficult to enter public sector. otherwise, if you have writing exp, try PR/corp comms? though in my opinion that's a very gross industry.

[ambivalent]

Thanks for the reply.

Well, I don't have any writing experience aside from being a guest writer at a blog.

and no, I can't see myself in the PR/Comms industry.

[ambivalent]

EDIT:

I don't possess prior experience in HR / Writing / PR, Comms.

And... Though HR jobs are everywhere, there are way too much applications for those jobs. I have a general psych deg only. What're some useful positions (aside from recruitment consultants) that I can try applying to?

*not keen in sales as well.

Psy major usually end up in HR more often than not. You could well put your knowledge to use in recruitment and interviews. I've known some who specialises in the creation of psychology tests for interviews. There are quite a few well known companies that specialises in those.

You could also sell yourself towards brand marketing. Understanding how people think, behavioural incentives etc, could be how you want to market a product or brand. Blatant further studies (e.g. Masters) without going into any job to get experience is a waste of time and money. More often than not, people work first, to get a sense of what direction they wish to pursue in depth, before embarking on further studies. Having prior working experiences help you better understand and appreciate the coursework as well.

Last but not least, many people here do not work in the field of their studies. Have an open mind to try new things.

[ambivalent]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Psy major usually end up in HR more often than not. You could well put your knowledge to use in recruitment and interviews. I've known some who specialises in the creation of psychology tests for interviews. There are quite a few well known companies that specialises in those.

You could also sell yourself towards brand marketing. Understanding how people think, behavioural incentives etc, could be how you want to market a product or brand. Blatant further studies (e.g. Masters) without going into any job to get experience is a waste of time and money. More often than not, people work first, to get a sense of what direction they wish to pursue in depth, before embarking on further studies. Having prior working experiences help you better understand and appreciate the coursework as well.

Last but not least, many people here do not work in the field of their studies. Have an open mind to try new things.

I fully understand that people in this industry are also in HR positions, but aside from HR roles as mentioned in the above post, what other fields can psychology graduates consider? (Aside from marketing & business too).

*The module closest to HR was organizational Psychology, and given the fact I do not possess any HR experience, other than recruitment consultants, what other roles are suitable for my consideration?

Also, I'm keen in crafting behavioral interviews & anything pertaining to Psychology and writing, possible to link me up with those whom you know that are in this field (so I can acquire more information & gain a better understanding on what they do)?

Originally Posted by ambivalent

Why I think Psychology is overrated is because jobs in the industry are very limited, with stiff competition between local and foreign graduates vying for the same position/s.

When has Psychology degree ever been overrated in the first place? Some will say MBA or a Finance related degree is overrated, but Psychology!? It's pretty well known in the market place that Psy degree have limited value in the market besides civil service.

Inadvertently you will find a lot of psy students in areas like comms, marketing, HR admin, events management, sales etc. And it isn't because studying psy actually helps in these jobs, but more like these jobs are so generic and need no special skills that most psy grads no choice