Psychology

Have a look at Prospects, The Psychological Professions Network, and BPS to find out what roles in this sector involve and how to get into them. These are some of the job profiles available:

• Clinical psychologist
• Counselling psychologist
• Educational psychologist
• Forensic psychologist
• Health psychologist
• Neuropsychologist
• Occupational psychologist
• Sports and exercise psychologist

The following are psychological practitioner roles that are not currently regulated by law. These are part of the Wider Psychological Workforce.

• Psychological wellbeing practitioner (PWP)
• Children’s Wellbeing Practitioners (CWP)
• Clinical Associates in Psychology (CAP)
• Clinical Associates in Applied Psychology (CAAP) Scotland
• Education mental health practitioner

The skills required to work as a psychologist can vary, depending on the area of specialism.

There are some skills that are common across most specialisms:

• excellent communication
• interpersonal skills
• self-confidence
• the ability to establish effective working relationships with clients and other professionals
• adaptability, flexibility, and creative problem-solving skills
• resilience and the ability to work under pressure
• sensitivity and diplomacy
• negotiation, teamwork, and leadership skills

Starting salaries for graduate jobs in this sector can vary depending on the position.

To get an idea of typical starting salaries use the following resources:

• our Discover your Earning Potential Pathway offers access to The Pay Index. This shows you how salaries vary across different roles, industries and locations
• job profiles, such as those listed on Prospects or targetjobs
• vacancy sites such as Glassdoor and LinkedIn

• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed
• use LinkedIn’s Alumni tool to find out what Newcastle graduates are doing now. You could ask to connect with them, to gain advice and insights into their career. See Newcastle Alumni on LinkedIn to help you get started or watch our quick tutorial on Getting inspiration from others [3:13]
• contact psychologists to ask how they gained work experience. Use the BPS Directory of Chartered Psychologists.
• attend alumni events, such as Newcastle Develop, to hear directly from our graduates
• sign up for mentoring support with Graduate Mentor and The 1 Hour Project. These aim to match students with industry professionals who can provide invaluable insights. Register to be connected for a one-hour meeting
• attend events such as recruitment events and employer and sector insights. Hear about graduate jobs, placement schemes, build your network and ask questions

Searching for reviews online can be a useful way to get an idea of what to expect from certain roles or employers. Reviews are written by employees with different opinions about what makes a good employer.

Use the following review sites for inspiration and insight into the recruitment process:

• RateMyPlacement placement year reviews written by students.
• The Job Crowd – graduate job reviews
• Glassdoor – company reviews from employees

Read career guides for this sector, such as:

• BPS - Find your career in Psychology. Overview of potential psychology careers, and study options.
• NHS: Psychological professions
• Prospects: Healthcare and social care
• National Careers Service – Psychologist
• Psychological Professions Network - Network Career map for the Psychological Professions - career options with a psychology degree

Use online magazines and journals to follow news from the psychology field. Reading about developments is important for applications and interviews.

Examples include:

• The Psychologist
• The Psychologist app | BPS
• BACP Journals

Attend events to hear directly from professionals in the industry.

• The School of Psychology hold events on campus
• The BPS have online and in person events. (There is sometimes a cost to attend). Events aimed at students tend to be a lower cost.
• INSIGHTS Newcastle University public lectures – often have speakers from a Psychology background

As well as giving insight into options available, use these events to do some networking:

• be proactive and enthusiastic
• ask speakers for advice on how they gained relevant experience
• check if they are happy to connect on LinkedIn
• they may even be willing to offer you some shadowing or research project work

See also our events, including recruitment events and employer & sector insights.

Join psychology-specific student societies

Newcastle University Psychology Society (NUPS) - offers social and professional opportunities and networking experiences. This society is for students taking the BSc Psychology or other psychology studies.

Use social media to find psychology related insights

Join sector-specific groups on LinkedIn to keep up to date. Posts often include news, events and opportunities. You can also find useful insights on careers on X and TikTok. Treat these with caution, as not all content may be accurate.

The BPS have a Facebook page, a Research Digest Facebook page and Twitter feed.

The School of Psychology has a Facebook page. Find out about research projects, information, and opportunities inside and outside the University.

Visit the School of Psychology X feed for CV enhancing opportunities.

Find out more about how to use social media for your career.

Consider joining a relevant professional body/industry network

Professional bodies often:

• run networking events
• have specialist groups you could join
• post vacancies on behalf of their members
• have member directories, useful for speculative applications

Key organisations include:

• The British Psychological Society (BPS)
• BPS Divisions. There are 10 member divisions, including clinical educational, forensic and sport and exercise psychology

Finding professional bodies worldwide

GoinGlobal’s country guides include details of professional bodies. Find them under ‘Professional and Personal Networking’ on each individual country guide.

The BPS state that you usually need voluntary experience before you apply for paid work.

Places to find relevant voluntary experience include:

• NUSU: Volunteering – volunteering with internal and external, local and national organisations. (Register and login to see full details of all opportunities).
• Mental Health North East - opportunities across the region
• Do-it - long term, short term, event and task based volunteering locally and from home
• TimeBank - volunteering by area
• V-inspired - community volunteering
• National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO)
• Careers Service: Volunteering Career Development Module. Gain academic credit for volunteering (see below for more details)
• Place2Be - placements for people training to be child counsellors
• Counselling helplines such as NUSU Nightline, Relate and Samaritans recruit volunteers. See the NHS directory for specialist helplines

See Volunteering for more options.

Part-time work can help you develop relevant skills. Care assistant roles, for example, can be useful experience for getting into psychology. To search, see Finding a part-time job.

• MyCareer - advertises paid, part-time personal carer, care assistant and support worker vacancies
• NHS Jobs – find part-time healthcare assistant or related jobs
• Universal Jobmatch - advertises part-time care assistant and similar roles
• Community Care Jobs
• jobsgopublic- includes part-time vacancies in social care
• UK Home Care Association - search for local care associations with vacancies

University psychology departments advertise paid and voluntary vacancies. Check emails from your School.

Most paid opportunities sent to our School of Psychology are also advertised on MyCareer.

Advertised placements and summer internships are usually aimed at undergraduate students in and above their second or penultimate year of study. Some organisations will also consider first and final year students.

Use our resources to get started with your search:

• MyCareer - search for internships and placements in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Internships, placements and shadowing - links to vacancy sites

If you’re looking for inspiration, try searching our NU Work Experience Directory. You can see where our students have had internships and placements in the last five years. To see all results in a search category, keep the search field blank.

The Careers Service runs flexible term-time and summer internships with local employers and on campus. NCL internships are aimed at all students, from any stage. They often include research opportunities and internships with organisations who work with vulnerable people.

• Search for these under Vacancies on MyCareer. Type in ‘NCL internship’ into the text search box.
• You can find these advertised throughout the academic year. Full-time summer opportunities are advertised from around March.

Professional psychology placements

Newcastle University School of Psychology offers year-long professional psychology placements.

Students from all single honours and joint honours programmes can apply. You will your knowledge and skills in a practical context. You can also gain an advantage in a competitive job market.

Students take placements in a variety of settings. Previous placements include at the NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria Police. Others have been at Newcastle University Institute of Neuroscience, and mental health charities.

The School has a dedicated placement team who secure a set of placements. Students can also source their own placement.

Placement year module

Newcastle Careers Service also offers a placement year module for undergraduate students. This takes place in your penultimate year. This is an option if you are unable or don't want to take the professional psychology placement year. See above for vacancy sites.

Some psychology students gain work experience overseas. An online search will list many organisations that offer opportunities overseas. These usually involve a financial cost. These can be beneficial, but feedback is variable, as the articles below highlight.

• BPS Psychologist article - A Cautionary tale. In this article, a CBT therapist reflects on her overseas experience
• University of Westminster - Westminster abroad blog. Feedback on overseas experience from a psychology student

Do your research before using an organisation to arrange overseas experience. Read reviews, check their social media pages. Assess what you’re paying for, and whether you should be paying at all. Be clear about the ethical and safety considerations.

If you have questions about overseas experience or finding opportunities, book an appointment to talk to us. You could also speak to your personal tutor.

You can additionally access GoinGlobal for internships in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• more vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world.

Newcastle University's School of Psychology offers vacation projects to their students. To work on a project, you need to approach the appropriate supervisor as soon as possible.

You can develop your own project ideas with a potential supervisor. With their help, you submit an application. Project applications are assessed on their scientific and academic merit.

Clinical psychology is very competitive. Usually, to get onto a clinical psychology doctorate, you'll need to have at least six months' paid work experience. Many Universities look for at least 12 months clinical related experience.

Assistant psychologist or research assistant posts are usually the best route into the doctorate. Jobs are advertised on the NHS website and in the local press, but you can also make a speculative approach. See the British Psychological Society (BPS) for a directory of chartered psychologists.

However, experience is as an assistant psychologist is not the only option. Paid work as a nursing assistant, in social care or as a care assistant is also valuable.

Other related settings include:

• hospitals
• health centres,
• community mental health teams.
• child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)
• social care services

Anything that gives you clinical experience with a client can be useful.

Relevant roles involve direct work with people who have psychological needs.

It's helpful if your role has links with psychologists. This will help in showing that you understand the role of a clinical psychologist.

For more on experience that can help when applying for a clinical psychology doctorate see:

• The BPS
• Clearing House for Postgraduate Courses in Clinical Psychology handbook

14 ways to get clinical psychology work experience

Forensic psychologists work on the assessment and treatment of criminal behaviour. Sources of experience relevant to this area include:

• working in the Probation Service
• experience in Secure Units/hospitals including secure children’s homes. These can reflect the nature of prisons. This can let you see if you could cope with working in a high security environment
• work with with mental health charities like MIND. You could take an advisory or ‘appropriate adult’ role
• Samaritans volunteering
• Victim Support – have a range of specialist services
• Circles of Support and Accountability (Circles). Volunteers work with sex offenders to try to minimise alienation. They support reintegration and prevent sexual reoffending
• Forensic Psychiatric Units
• Observing in Court can offer useful insight
• shadowing in the field would also be very helpful, though is difficult to get

You will find that some of these opportunities aren't advertised. You’d need to make a speculative approach. Send a tailored CV and covering letter to enquire about opportunities like work experience or shadowing.

Other useful resources

Because of the type of experience useful for forensic psychology, our armed forces and law enforcement page is also relevant.

Gaining experience in a prison environment can help you decide if this is a field you’d feel comfortable working in.

There are also many opportunities to volunteer in this sector, including:

• Official Prison Visitors
• NACRO – volunteering opportunities for people wanting to gain experience working with young offenders
• Prison Reform Trust
• Independent Monitoring Board (IMB)

Contact local prisons to arrange a visit and enquire about voluntary work.

Search for volunteering opportunities with offenders and ex-offenders on the Do-it website.

For more related opportunities see also:

• social work
• community, advice and guidance

Apply for advertised opportunities as early as possible.

UK applications for graduate schemes typically open early in the academic year from September or October. Some close as early as November-December. Many employers close applications as soon as their places are filled.

Graduate jobs tend to be immediate start positions which can be available all year round. You are more likely to apply for these towards the end of your studies. These are much more common than graduate schemes for psychology roles.

The resources in this section advertise both graduate jobs and graduate schemes. See our graduate jobs page to understand the difference between them.

Use our resources to get started:

• MyCareer - search for graduate schemes and graduate jobs in the North East, UK and overseas. Register/log in to access vacancies and sign up for personalised email alerts
• Graduate Jobs – lists graduate vacancy sites

These vacancies are more likely to be immediate start graduate jobs, rather than graduate schemes.

• NHS Jobs
• BPS: jobs
• Community Care Jobs
• Jobs in Psychology
• Pulse
• Indeed
• Mental Health Jobs.co.uk
• Healthjobs.co.uk
• The Guardian
• Jobs.ac.uk
• LGjobs.com
• Ministry of Justice
• Jobs Go Public – for educational psychology
• BASES – for sports psychology
• UK Sport – for sports psychology
• HMPPS – forensic psychology
• Northern Ireland Prison Service - forensic psychology
• Scottish Prison Service (SPS) - forensic psychology

See International jobs for details of overseas vacancy sites.

Access GoinGlobal for job adverts in over 120 global locations, updated daily. Search for opportunities in the local language, as well as in English. You can also use their country guides to find:

• additional vacancy websites
• CV, application and interview advice
• advice on living and working in different countries and cities around the world

Start by identifying organisations you are interested in. Our guide to finding organisations below can help. Then use the following steps to approach them speculatively about possible opportunities:

1. Identify a contact name to address your cover letter to. Call or email to find out who handles recruitment within the organisation. Or, find a key contact in the department you want to work in.

2. Send them a tailored CV and cover letter. Express your enthusiasm for the sector. Show that you have researched the company.

3. Follow up your speculative application with a phone call, or email, around a week later. This shows you are serious and motivated.

4. If your application was unsuccessful, ask for feedback or advice, and keep trying!

You can use this approach at any point in the year. We recommend that you:

• start your research as early as possible to gather relevant contacts
• contact organisations around three months before you want the opportunity to begin

• find organisations on MyCareer. Select ‘search' then 'organisations’
• use the business directories and databases on our Researching employers page
• search for companies on LinkedIn. The Find Alumni tool shows you where Newcastle graduates are currently working
• browse our Work Experience and Graduate Employment directories. See where our students and graduates have had work experience, or been employed

At Newcastle University, beyond the School of Psychology, research takes place in academic units or groupings. This includes other faculties, the NHS and other organisations in Newcastle.

UK organisations

• targetjobs - search employers by sector
• The British Psychological Society (BPS)
• BPS Divisions. There are 10 member divisions, including clinical educational, forensic and sport and exercise psychology
• BASES has a directory of consultants, which includes sports and exercise psychologists.

Search GoinGlobal's employer directory for company information in 196 countries. Their country guides list professional bodies around the world.

Use contacts to ask about work shadowing. Shadowing relevant practitioners can develop your knowledge of a role and organisation. It can also help demonstrate your commitment in applications. Find organisations or individuals with roles that that interest you and get in touch. We recommend finding a named contact.

Be specific about why you are writing to them and what you’re looking for. Show your enthusiasm for the sector and highlight any relevant skills.

Don’t give up if you don’t get a reply. Follow up with a phone call or email to show that you’re keen.

Use the BPS Directory of Chartered Psychologists to contact psychologists. You could ask about work shadowing or an information interview.

Other places you could approach include:

• Hospitals
• Schools
• Nursing homes
• Sports teams
• Community Mental Health Teams
• Social care services
• Local authorities
• Prison service
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• Probation service

See Researching Employers for more information on finding organisations for shadowing experience.

See BPS article on shadowing a clinical psychologist.

Gain related experience by taking part in a psychological project as a participant. Newcastle University staff and students conduct research in various areas of psychology. Newcastle University students can engage with this research through the Research Participation Scheme.

This experience will give you awareness of how a research project is run. You will be supporting scientific research and contributing to new insights about behaviour. Express your interest and network with researchers. It’s possible you may be able to assist with future projects.

Complete a free virtual internship. For example, with Forage, you can filter by career interest to find virtual internships in healthcare, for example occupational rehabilitation.

Sign up for free online courses to develop knowledge in areas like mental health.