What are the career prospects if I do a degree in Psychology?
An undergraduate degree in psychology equips students with
- an understanding of human behaviour based on scientific research
- critical thinking and reasoning skills
- knowledge in information gathering, analysis, and problem solving
- effective communication skills
- a conviction in personal growth, development, and human adjustment
One of the most important lessons that psychology students learn from their training is an objective and scientific attitude towards the self, others, and the events around them. This objective attitude, together with the problem solving skills acquired through the empirical research exercises in the training, prepares psychology graduates for success in any profession.
Graduates with a bachelor degree in psychology are well prepared for (1) postgraduate training in psychology, (2) postgraduate training in related fields such as law, medicine, and management, and (3) entering the workforce to take on positions that involve human behaviour. As most jobs involve human behaviour, a psychology graduate has a wide range of options in terms of careers.
To become a professional psychologist, students would need to pursue a postgraduate degree in psychology. The career path of professional psychology is divided into the scientist path and the practitioner path. Psychologists following the scientist path lead an academic career in teaching and research at tertiary institutions or research laboratories. Psychologists following the practitioner path focus on the application of psychology in settings such as business consulting firms and mental health institutions.
For students who are more interested in pursuing careers in other professions, there are a lot of opportunities both in Singapore and overseas. Past research conducted in North America has found psychology graduates in professions such as advertising, mass communication, public affairs, education, management, marketing, law, medicine, and the biological sciences.
In Singapore, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health, and the Police are among the government agencies interested in hiring psychology graduates. In the private sector, career opportunities are similar to that in North America. Although we do not have accurate statistics about psychology graduates in Singapore, many of them are employed in similar areas as psychology graduates in North America.
It should be noted that while psychology and psychiatry are closely related disciplines, psychiatry is a medical specialization. In countries such as the United States where medicine is a postgraduate training, undergraduate training in psychology provides one of the best preparations for medical training in psychiatry. However, in countries such as Singapore where students enter medical school directly without a bachelor’s degree, those who aspire to become psychiatrists should enter medical school.
What is the difference between applied fields in Psychology and non-applied fields in Psychology?
- Applied subdisciplines in Psychology = those that apply/translate psychological theory and research to a particular population or setting. For example: Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, School Psychology, and I/O Psychology.
- Non-applied (basic science) subdisciplines in Psychology include: Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, Personality Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Biological Psychology.
- Applied subdisciplines in Psychology require a psychology license/certification/registration before the individual can practice in a particular state or country. (I am not familiar with I/O Psych and whether a license is needed.)
- (Note that different terminologies are used to refer to the psychology license. In the US, the term “licensed psychologist” or “certified psychologist” is used, while the UK uses the term “chartered psychologist”. In Singapore, the term used is “registered psychologist”. I believe Australia also uses the term “registered psychologist”.)
What is the difference between Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and School Psychology?
- These subdisciplines are differentiated primarily by the population/clientele served and the degree of severity of psychopathology exhibited/presented.
- Clinical psychologists work with individuals who could be considered as the most severely disordered (e.g., Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Psychosis etc). Clinical psychologists, depending on their specific training, could either work with children/adolescents or adults, or both. They do mostly tertiary prevention work. Those clinical psychologists who work primarily with children/adolescents call themselves “Clinical Child psychologists”. Job scope includes both psychological assessment/testing/evaluation and psychotherapy (ie, intervention). Typical work settings = mental/state hospitals, psychiatric facilities etc.
- School psychologists as the name implies, work with children/adolescents in the typical school-going age range (6-18). They typically do primary prevention or early intervention work in a population that is less severely disordered compared to the clients typically seen by Clinical psychologists. While School psychologists have training in both learning and behavioral/emotional conditions, School Psychology programs differ widely in emphasis – some emphasize more on learning issues (eg, dyslexia) while others emphasize more on behavioral/emotional issues (eg, aggression, anxiety). Job scope includes both psychological assessment/testing/evaluation and psychotherapy (ie, intervention). Typical settings = schools, community clinics, sometimes hospitals.
(Note: “School psychologist”/School psychology is the terminology used in the US, while “Educational psychologist”/Educational psychology is the term used in UK. Singapore tends to follow the UK system. Those from Singapore trained in the US will still retain the term “School psychologist”.)
- While Clinical and School psychologists do both psychological assessment/testing/evaluation and psychotherapy, Counseling psychologists do mostly psychotherapy. Thus, they have intensive training in various modalities of psychotherapy. Counseling psychologists typically see mostly adults, but there are training programs that equip Counseling psychologists to work with children/adolescents. Counseling psychologists would also typically be equipped with training in family therapy, couples therapy, amongst others. Counseling psychologists do not always work with clients with disorders – although this is not common, clients sometimes come for counseling for personal growth/enhancement of mental well-being. Typical work settings – counseling centers, sometimes hospitals.
What type of training/preparation is needed to become a clinical psychologist or a counsellor?
- Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, and School Psychology are all graduate degree programs – ie, you first need a Bachelor’s degree (preferably a degree in Psychology).
- For those going to the US for graduate studies: Need to enter an APA-approved program (scientist-practitioner model) and subsequently an APA-accredited internship program/site. For those interested in going to countries other than the US, do make sure that the Master’s degree or PhD degree (and relevant license/certification/registration) is recognized by the professional body in that country/jurisdiction. Eg, if one is going to an Australian university, make sure that the degree (and license) is fully recognized by Australian Psychological Society.
- Typical duration/length of study = 5 years (4 years + 1 year internship) [range = between 4 to 7 years]. Internship cannot be shortened – it’s a full 12-month program.