Careers with a degree in psychology 

Welcome to the UNSW Psychology Alumni Gateway. First up, well done for starting to think about what you might like to do after you finish your degree. It is never too early to explore possibilities. Lots of students come into the UNSW Psychology program wanting to be a clinical psychologist.

Of course, now that you are part way into your degree, you know that psychology is MUCH broader than that. But it is hard to think about the breadth of what you might do after you graduate, when most psychology relevant jobs don’t have the word “psychologist” in the title.

Our graduates end up in all kinds of professions. Some go on to do honours and then professional masters programs in clinical or forensic psychology and end up working in clinical settings. Others do honours and then a PhD and work in research settings. But the vast majority of our graduates end up applying what they have learned about experimental design, data analysis and communication to careers in business, consulting, program evaluation, behavioural analysis and more.

Psychology graduates (yes, you!) are highly valued by employers for their ability to take a wicked problem, break it down, look at the data, draw solid inferences and communicate conclusions to a wide range of people.

So I encourage you to think broadly. What skills do you have under your belt now that you didn’t have when you started at uni? What areas of psychology do you like the best? Put those two things together and look for a career that allows you to apply your skills in a context that you find interesting.

We are super proud of what our Alumni achieve and hope that exploring their stories might be a good way to start thinking about what you might like to do with your degree. If you have feedback or suggestions for career stories we could add to this resource, definitely get in touch.

A/Prof Jenny Richmond
Director of Academic Programs
School of Psychology
University of New South Wales