Psychology career guide

This career guide is designed to help University of Portsmouth students and recent graduates explore job options, key employers, and entry routes into the psychology sector.

In this guide:

Finding a Graduate Job

Psychology is a broad discipline and can prepare you for careers in mental health, business, education and research.

This guide provides you with all the information you need to build your career in psychology.

Potential Job Roles

Non-psychology roles

Studying psychology gives you a broad range of skills that opens up opportunities with a variety of employers. For job options not directly related to your degree in Psychology, have a look at the Prospects website.

Examples of other job roles include:

Areas of Psychology

Jobs directly related to your Psychology degree include:

Professional Qualifications

Completing an accredited degree course is one of the best ways to take your psychological education to a new level. When you’re considering a career in Psychology, you need to understand the various options available to you as well as the qualifications you will need.

To become a Chartered Psychologist, you will need to:

gain GBC (Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership) by studying a BPS (British Psychological Society) accredited degree
complete a further three years of BPS-accredited postgraduate training in a specific area of psychology

To research the various qualification routes for Chartered Psychology visit The British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Prospects website.

If your degree is not BPS accredited then you need to undertake a BPS accredited conversion course. For a full list of qualifying courses see the BPS Accredited Psychology Courses.

Due to the entry requirements for postgraduate training courses, many psychology graduates spend a year or more gaining work experience before embarking on further study.

Gaining Experience

It is essential to have work experience before applying to postgraduate psychology programs. You should start building your experience as early as possible, as you'll likely need to work voluntarily before you have enough experience to apply for a paid job.

The connections and skills you gain through your work experience will support you in your next steps.

Clinical, Counselling and Health

Roles which can give you relevant experience:

Care assistant in a care home, hospice or hospital
Mental health or healthcare support worker
Teaching assistant in a special school or learning disability service
Helpline volunteer or befriender for a mental health or counselling charity
Youth mentor or wellbeing support volunteer

Resources for finding work opportunities:

Forensic and Criminal Justice

Roles which can give you relevant experience:

Volunteering with a Youth Offending Service
Working or volunteering in substance misuse or rehabilitation services
Becoming a prison visitor or befriender
Volunteering for a support helpline
Working as a youth or community support worker

Resources for finding work opportunities:

Educational and Child Psychology

Roles which can give you relevant experience:

Volunteer with a children’s or young people’s organisation
Holiday club, play or early-years worker
Classroom helper or teaching assistant, including in special education
Learning mentor, befriender or youth support worker
Care or residential support worker for children and young people

Resources for finding work opportunities:

Occupational and Business Psychology

Roles which can give you relevant experience:

Temping in an administrative role
Working within an HR or personnel department
Providing administrative support in a recruitment agency
Working as an office assistant or receptionist
Volunteering in an administrative role for a charity or community organisation

Resources for finding work opportunities:

Types of opportunities

Placements

Placements will give you a long-term look at an organisation, and help you to build contacts and experience.

On some degrees, work placements are part of the programme, whilst on others you can choose to complete a placement as one of your modules. Should you choose to undertake either your first point of contact is your placement team.

Learn more about taking a placement

Volunteering

It is worth considering the voluntary sector for work experience. Voluntary work with community art initiatives can be valuable. Seize any opportunity to get involved in local community projects to help you develop your work experience. Our Volunteering Bank provides local opportunities to undertake alongside your studies.

You can also get involved in relevant university projects through the different groups and societies via the Student Union. This is a good way of demonstrating your motivation and interest in this area of work.

Learn more about our Volunteering Team

Getting the most out of work experience

Whether you already have a career path in mind or are still exploring your options, our work experience pages guide you to finding opportunities that match your interests and goals. You'll find advice on choosing an industry, broadening your search, and standing out while building valuable skills and experience.

Visit our work experience pages

Speculative applications

Speculative applications involve sending a CV and cover letter to an employer to ask if they have any vacancies, even if the company is not currently advertising for a role. They're a great way to access "hidden jobs" that go unadvertised.

Submitting a speculative application shows your interest in a specific company and your willingness to go above and beyond to develop your skills and understanding of the industry.

Learn how to send a speculative application

Finding a job

Psychology roles are often found through online job boards and speculative applications. Depending on your area of interest, you may find more targeted resources to help you with your job search.

NHS Jobs

Jobs in Psychology

BPS Jobs

BMJ Health Careers

Employers who recruit in the psychology sector

The NHS and other provides of healthcare
Careers and counselling services
HR departments
Legal firms and other organisations offering advice

Specific area resources

Find out specific resources for popular areas of Psychology:

Clinical, Counselling and Health Psychology

BACP Jobs and Placements
Counselling jobs and student placements.
BABCP Careers and Jobs
CBT careers, training and vacancies.
Mind Jobs
Mental health and wellbeing roles.
BMJ Health Careers
Psychology jobs in healthcare.
jobs.ac.uk Psychology
Research, university and PhD opportunities.

Forensic Psychology and Criminal Justice

HMPPS Psychologist Careers
Trainee and qualified psychologist routes.
Prison and Probation Jobs
Psychology, rehabilitation and probation roles.
Civil Service Jobs
Psychology and behavioural science vacancies.
Ministry of Justice Careers
Careers across prisons, probation and justice.
Victim Support Jobs
Roles supporting victims of crime.

Educational and Child Psychology

AEP Careers
Training and career guidance for educational psychologists.
Assistant Educational Psychologists
Information on graduate assistant roles.
Educational Psychology Funded Training
Funded doctorate applications and eligibility.
Local Government Jobs
Educational psychology and children’s services jobs.
Tes Jobs
School, SEND and pupil-support vacancies.

Occupational and Business Psychology

ABP Careers
Career guidance for business psychology.
ABP Opportunities
Jobs, placements and volunteer opportunities.
People Management Jobs
HR, talent and organisational development jobs.
Government Occupational Psychology
Occupational psychology careers in government.
LinkedIn Jobs
Search occupational and related workplace roles.

Are you looking for a role in Hampshire? Our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy can help!

If you're in the final year of your degree, you can register for support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy. They work with over 3,000 employers in the local area to place our students into fantastic graduate careers.

Learn more about the Graduate Recruitment Consultancy

Speculative applications

Submitting a speculative application shows your interest in a specific company and your willingness to go above and beyond to develop your skills and understanding of the industry.

Learn how to send a speculative application

Working for yourself

Got an idea you'd like to turn into something bigger?

Whether you're planning a business, side hustle or freelance career, our Student StartUp team can help you build your confidence and develop your plans. Access expert guidance, funding opportunities, workshops and workspace designed to help you move your idea forward.

Explore Student StartUp Support