Two of the primary abilities required by a career minded psychologist are lots of patience / endurance as you might have to cope up with irregular working hours and repeat sessions in many cases. Secondly, psychology graduates also tend to be highly numerate as courses accredited by The British Psychological Society (BPS) contain statistic elements as well as research methodology and scientific methods. Because of these areas of study, psychology students are able to understand and manipulate both quantitative and qualitative data, use computers and problem solve effectively. Consequently, psychology graduates are well placed to move into research or numeracy-based careers such as market research, academia and accounting. Psychology students also develop many of the skills of humanities graduates, such as critical thinking and essay writing.
Other skill sets required for psychology are typically those of other scientific modalities
- Highly developed writing skills
- Highly numerate with good problem-solving abilities
- Managerial and organisational to collate information and data properly
- Excellent inter personal skills to bring out of the patient those issues that are truly bothering them.
CAREER ENTRY
All psychology disciplines within the NHS are post-graduate training posts that require a starting point of a good honours degree. And before undertaking any of the accredited masters-level post graduate training, a key basic requirement in each of the disciplines, is to have completed the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC, previously known as GBR)
The length of time under training differs slightly depending which discipline of psychology you wish to go into. Ultimately, however, all end up with subsequent registration with the Health Professionals Council or HPC
Interestingly, the number of students wishing to study psychology has risen dramatically in the last few years and this has resulted in a fairly high A-level or higher grades being required. A- or A/S-level psychology is never required for entry onto degree courses but many students find that study at this level gives a useful insight into the subject and helps them decide if they will be suited to study psychology at degree level.
As an indication, the entrance requirements for the top 20 universities for psychology as listed in The Times Good University Guide reveals that many require at least one science A Level (or evidence of the applicants’ scientific ability at GCSE level if no science A Levels have been undertaken) and a recent survey by the Society’s Psychology Education Board confirm that 25% of accredited courses now require or prefer a science A Level. We recommend that you contact individual institutions or check their prospectuses to find out about specific entry requirements.
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