Psychology careers
The occupations listed below are a selection of those which may interest students and graduates from the School of Psychology.
Clinical Psychologist
Clinical psychologists assess and treat people with a range of psychological difficulties.
Job profile for a clinical psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a clinical psychologist from the Health Careers website
Job profile for an assistant clinical psychologist from the Health Careers website
Counselling Psychologist
Counselling psychologists use a counselling therapy approach to support people with mental health difficulties or those who are experiencing difficulties in their lives.
Job profile for a counselling psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a counselling psychologist from the Health Careers website
Educational Psychologist
Educational psychologists assess and support children and young people facing barriers to achieving in education.
Job profile for an educational psychologist from the Prospects website
Forensic/Criminal Psychologist
Forensic psychologists assess and treat prisoners and offenders. They also get involved with profiling, research and giving evidence in court.
Job profile for a forensic psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a forensic psychologist from the Health Careers website
Health Psychologist
Health psychologists help patients to cope with illness and/or to improve their health through psychological means e.g. supporting people to change their diets or give up smoking.
Job profile for a health psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a health psychologist from the Health Careers website
Occupational Psychologist
Occupational psychologists support employers to boost workplace performance and staff wellbeing. They may also work with individuals who are facing difficulties at work.
Job profile for an occupational psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile for an occupational therapist from the National Careers Service website
Sport and Exercise Psychologist
Sport psychologists work with athletes to help them improve their performance and exercise psychologists help people to increase their physical activity in order to improve their health.
Job profile for a sport and exercise psychologist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a sport and exercise psychologist from the National Careers Service website
Primary Care Graduate Mental Health Worker
Primary care graduate mental health workers provide treatment and advice to people with a range of low-level mental health difficulties.
Job profile for a primary care graduate mental health worker from the Prospects website
Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner
Psychological wellbeing practitioners treat people with a range of low-level to moderate mental health difficulties. They may also refer people for more intensive support.
Job profile for a psychological wellbeing practitioner from the Prospects website
Job profile for a psychological wellbeing practitioner from the Health Careers website
High Intensity Therapist
High intensity therapists provide high-intensity support over longer sessions than psychological wellbeing practitioners. They support people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties.
Job profile for a high intensity therapists from the Prospects website Job profile for a high intensity therapist from the Health Careers NHS website
Cognitive Behaviour Therapist
Cognitive behaviour therapists help people to change their behaviour and thinking patterns in order to improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Job profile for a cognitive behaviour therapist from the National Careers Service website
Psychotherapist
Psychotherapists help people with a range of emotional/mental health difficulties.
Job profile for a psychotherapist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a psychotherapist from the Health Careers website
Counsellor
Providing talking therapy to enable people to talk about their issues in a confidential and supportive environment.
Job profile for a counsellor from the Prospects website
Job profile for a counsellor from the Health Careers website
Mental Health Nurse
Mental health nurses look after patients with mental health difficulties.
Job profile for a mental health nurse from the Prospects website
Job profile for a mental health nurse from the Health Careers website
Play Therapist
Play therapists use play to help children cope with illness, injury or other difficulties they may be experiencing in their lives.
Job profile for a play therapist from the Prospects website
Job profile for health play staff from the Health Careers website
Teacher/Lecturer/Education Roles
There are a variety of opportunities within education from primary schools to universities.
Graduate jobs in teaching and education from the Prospects website
Get Into Teaching website from the Department for Education - explains the various routes into teaching
Speech and Language Therapist
Speech and language therapists provide treatment for people with speech and language difficulties and/or difficulties with eating/drinking/swallowing.
Job profile for a speech and language therapist from the Prospects website
Job profile for a speech and language therapist from the Health Careers website
Please note that some of these careers may require further study.
For further information on these careers, see also:
- I Want To Work In
- Information on types of jobs from Prospects
- Information on career sectors from TargetJobs
People in some psychology roles may be self-employed.
Thank you to Prospects for the content on these pages.
Other careers
A Psychology degree may be useful in the following career areas:
Substance Misuse Worker
Supporting clients to overcome their problems with drug, alcohol or solvent misuse.
Job profile of a Drug and Alcohol Worker from the National Careers Service website
Job profile of a Substance Misuse Outreach Worker from the National Careers Service website
Family Support Worker
Working with families facing a variety of difficulties and helping them to solve problems and move forward.
Job profile of a Family Support Worker from the National Careers Service website
Mediator
Working with people to help them solve conflicts and disagreements.
Job profile of a Family Mediator from the National Careers Service website
Youth Worker
Working with young people to provide support, raise aspirations and break down barriers to achieving. This is done in a variety of ways including through recreational activities, organising projects, mentoring and liaising with other agencies.
Job profile of a Youth Worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Youth Worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Youth and Community Worker from the National Careers Service website
Advice Worker
Advice workers provide information, advice and guidance on a range of topics depending on the role. These topics may include housing, employment, welfare, education, finance and law.
Job profile of an advice worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of an advice worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of an adult guidance worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a debt/finance adviser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a welfare rights adviser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a careers adviser from the Prospects website
Job profile of a higher education careers adviser from the Prospects website
Job profile of a homeless worker from the TARGET Jobs website
Human Resources Manager/Officer
Human resources management (HRM) involves the management of people within organisations. It may include organisation and planning, recruitment and selection, training and development, employee relations, job evaluation, performance and reward and much more. Also known as personnel management.
Job profile of a human resources officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a personnel officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Information on HR careers from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Recruitment Consultant
Recruitment consultants work on behalf of employers to shortlist and interview candidates to fill permanent and temporary vacancies. Recruitment consultant roles are target-driven.
Job profile for a recruitment consultant from the Prospects website.
Job profile for a recruitment consultant from the National Careers Service website
Training and Development Officer
Training and development officers manage employee training in the workplace.
Job profile for a trainer and development officer from the Prospects website
Market researcher
Plans, co-ordinates and manages market research projects, collecting and analysing quantitative and qualitative information and communicating it to clients.
Job profile of a market researcher from the Prospects website
Job profile of a market researcher from the TARGET Jobs website
The Market Research Society
Marketing executive
Marketing executives promote a company or an individual product or brand. This role may include planning campaigns, commissioning market research and communicating with people in all areas of the business, from production to finance, as well as externally.
Job profile of a marketing executive from the Prospects website
Job profile of a marketing executive from the TARGET Jobs website
I Want to Work In: Marketing
Advertising Account Executive
Advertising account executives act as a link between advertising agencies and their clients. They are responsible for the coordination of advertising campaigns and liaising with all involved, within and outside the agency. They manage administrative and campaign work and ensure that advertising projects are completed on time and on budget. May also be known as account manager, account handler or client services executive.
Job profile of an advertising account executive from the Prospects website
Job profile of an advertising account executive from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of an advertising account manager from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising
Sales executive
Sales executives generate sales of products and services by building and maintaining relationships with customers, providing them with information and negotiating prices and specifications.
Job profile of a sales executive from the Prospects website
Job profile of a sales executive from the TARGET Jobs website
I Want to Work In: Sales
Social Worker
Social workers support vulnerable people in the community with the aim of improving their lives and helping them to overcome barriers.
Job profile of a social worker from the Prospects website
Job profile of a social worker from the Think Care Careers website
Job profile of a social worker in the NHS from the NHS Health Careers website
Social work careers information from the British Association of Social Workers website
Your graduate career options in social work from the TARGETjobs website
Deciding which social work employer offers you the right graduate career from the TARGETjobs website
Public Relations Officer
PR officers use a variety of media and communication channels to put over messages on behalf of their clients that will build a positive reputation for that client in the eyes of consumers, investors, the media and other stakeholders.
Job profile of a public relations officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a public relations officer from the TARGET Jobs website
Charity Officer
There are a variety of different roles within charities including project management, volunteer co-ordination and fundraising.
Job profile of a Charity Officer from the Prospects website
Job profile of a Charity Fundraiser from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Charities Administrator from the TARGET Jobs website
Job profile of a Charities Fundraiser from the TARGET Jobs website
You may be interested in graduate roles outside of Psychology. There are many employers who are looking for graduates with good degrees but that don’t have a preference for the subject studied. To explore different career options see:
Skills gained
As well as subject-specific knowledge and skills, a graduate in Psychology will typically have gained:
- Research and critical thinking skills by working with multiple perspectives through an extensive and varied range of methods, theories, evidence and applications, which also depend on strong decision-making skills
- Problem solving and analytical skills in identifying and evaluating behavioural patterns, building hypotheses, formulating research questions and studying empirical data
- Organisational skills gained by managing research projects
- Verbal and written communication skills in presenting an effective argument that is backed up by pertinent evidence, while sensitively using persuasion, influence and negotiating skills whenever catering to an audience’s expectations and requirements
- IT/numeracy skills in the processing and presentation of complex sets of data
- Team-working skills gained through group project work.
This is not an exhaustive list of skills - you will develop many skills from your course, extra-curricular activities and work experience. You can find out more about the skills employers look for and how you can develop them here.
Find a job
The Careers and Employability Service provides information and advice on job searching to University of Kent students and recent graduates. This includes a vacancy database advertising a range of graduate jobs, sandwich placements and vacation work/internships and online resources. The websites listed below may also be useful when searching for a job and when looking for further information on this sector.
- Visit our "I want to work in ... Psychology" page
- American Psychological Association
- Association of Educational Psychologists
- British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)
- British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Jobs in Psychology provided by the BPS
- Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)
- Clinical Psychology Postgraduate Courses Clearing House
- Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) - Postgraduate Funding
- HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) keep a register of health and care professionals
- Health Careers website by the NHS providing information on the range of careers in the NHS
- Vacancies in the NHS
- Royal College of Psychiatrists
- CEB psychometric testing
- United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
- Live it Well identifies organisations that support people with mental health difficulties across Kent and Medway.
- Mind provide advice for people with mental health problems
- Rethink Mental Illness provide support for people with mental health issues
- Addaction Drug, alcohol and mental health services
- Kent and Medway NHS Social Care Partnership Trust includes a directory for mental health services across the region.
- Turning Point is a national health and social care provider
- Young Minds aim to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people
- Alzheimer’s and Dementia Support Services
- Kent Autistic Trust
- Mental Health Foundation - mainly research and policy focused
- Samaritans is a national telephone helpline for people who need support
- Sane is a national mental health helpline
- Do-It Volunteering website – searchable for mental health opportunities
- Mental Health Jobs advertises paid positions including research assistant roles
- Community Care Jobs advertises paid positions including support worker roles
- UK Charity Jobs advertises paid positions – searchable for mental health jobs
- Local government jobs
More websites offering graduate jobs, internships and placement years
You may also find useful reviews and application/interview tips for specific organisations on the following websites:
Further study
Prospects advise that further study is required to be a chartered psychologist or register with the Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC) as a practitioner, but key areas of study include clinical, counselling, educational, occupational, sport, exercise and forensic psychology or alternatively there is advertising, marketing, teaching or human resources (source). 16.2% go into further study (source). There are a range of further study courses available that include: PGCE Teaching, Human Resources Management, Neuropsychology, Developmental Psychology, Cognitive Psychology/Neuropsychology, Market Research and Consumer Behaviour, Clinical Mental Health, Group Processes and Inter Group Relations, Migration, Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism, Legal Practice Course, Journalism and more.