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Psychologist
Hours
40 per week
Starting salary
£15,000 + per year
If you are interested in how people behave and in helping them to deal with challenges, this career could be perfect for you.
Psychologists study people's behaviour, motivations, thoughts and feelings and help them overcome or control their problems.
You will need to complete a degree in psychology and then approved training. If you already have a degree in another subject, you may be able to do an approved conversion course.
Psychology requires openness and honesty. You also need good communication and listening skills.
WorkDesc
The work
Psychologists usually specialise in one of the following areas. They may be referred to by their specialism or as a chartered or practitioner psychologist.
- educational psychology – helping children and young people to overcome difficulties and further their educational and psychological development
- occupational psychology (also known as organisational psychology) – helping businesses improve their performance and increase employees' job satisfaction
- health psychology – promoting healthy attitudes and behaviour, and helping patients and their families to cope with illness
- counselling psychology – helping people resolve their problems and make decisions, particularly at stressful times in their lives
- neuropsychology – helping patients with brain injuries and neuropsychological diseases to recover or improve their quality of life
- forensic or criminological psychology – using psychological theory to help investigate crimes, rehabilitate offenders and support prison staff
- clinical psychology
- sports psychology.
Please see the forensic psychologist, clinical psychologist and sport and exercise psychologist job profiles for more information.
Some areas of psychology have no direct training route. For example, to become a child psychologist you might first train as a clinical or counselling psychologist and then specialise in working with children. Or you could train in educational psychology and work with children in education.
HoursDesc
Hours
Your working hours would vary depending on what you specialise in, but would typically be 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday. Part-time hours and job sharing opportunities may also be available.
You could be based in a hospital, school, prison or exercise facility. You would usually have an office base, but may also use consultation rooms or visit clients in their own home.
IncomeDesc
Income
Assistant psychologists can earn around £15,000 to £23,000 a year. With experience, this can rise to between £30,000 and £40,000 a year.
Managers and consultants can earn up to around £80,000.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
To work as a chartered or practitioner psychologist, you need to complete training in psychology approved by the Health Professions Council (HPC).
Your training would begin with a British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited degree in psychology leading to the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC). To undertake a degree course you will usually need five GCSEs (A-C), plus three A levels. Check with course providers for exact entry requirements.
If you already have a degree in a subject other than psychology, you may be able to achieve GBC by completing a BPS-approved conversion course.
See the BPS course search facility for a list of all accredited programmes.
Once you have completed your BPS-accredited course/exam and are eligible for registration with the HPC, you will need to achieve the following depending on your specialism:
- educational psychology - a Doctorate in Educational Psychology (in England, Northern Ireland and Wales)
- occupational psychology - the BPS Qualification in Occupational Psychology, which usually consists of an accredited MSc in Occupational Psychology plus two years' supervised practice
- health psychology - an MSc in Health Psychology and two years’ supervised experience
- counselling psychology - the BPS Qualification in Counselling Psychology or a BPS accredited Doctorate in Counselling Psychology
- neuropsychology - training in either clinical or educational psychology, plus two years' supervised practice and an accredited course in neuropsychology
- forensic psychology - an MSc in Forensic Psychology plus two years’ supervised practical experience.
- clinical psychology - a three-year, full time, NHS funded Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
- sport and exercise psychology - an accredited MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology plus two years' supervised work experience.
Please see the forensic psychologist, clinical psychologist and sport and exercise psychologist job profiles for more information.
Competition for postgraduate training is strong. Entry requirements will often include a first or upper second class honours degree, evidence of your research skills, plus relevant work experience.
Whichever specialist area you want to go in to, it is important to check that your postgraduate programme is approved by the HPC. See the Register of Approved Programmes page on the HPC website.
State Registration
Statutory regulation for psychologists was introduced in July 2009. Find out about state registration on the HPC website.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
Once you are qualified, you may have the opportunity to specialise further within your branch of psychology or pursue a research project leading to a PhD qualification. This would be helpful if you wanted to go into teaching or research as a career.
Throughout your career you will be expected to take part in continuing professional development (CPD) activities in order to keep your knowledge and skills up to date. See the British Psychological Society (BPS) website for details.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
To become a psychologist you will need to have:
- resilience
- honesty and integrity
- the ability to build effective working relationships
- good team working skills
- excellent communication and listening skills
- good problem-solving and decision-making skills
- the ability to organise a complex workload to meet deadlines
- an accurate, logical and methodical approach
- IT skills.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
NHS Careers 
PO Box 2311
Bristol
BS2 2ZX
Tel: 0345 60 60 655
www.nhscareers.nhs.uk
Health Professions Council
Park House 184 Kennington Park Road
London
SE11 4BU
Tel: 020 7582 0866
www.hpc-uk.org
British Psychological Society
St Andrew's House
48 Princess Road East
Leicester
LE1 7DR
Tel: 0116 254 9568
www.bps.org.uk
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
You will find most opportunities with local authority education or social services departments, and in the NHS. You could also work for the Prison Service, some government departments or in the private sector.
Alternatively, you could specialise in teaching and research work in colleges and universities. You may find the following useful for vacancies and further reading (links open in new window):
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
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Related industry information
Industry summary
The health sector is represented by Skills for Health Sector Skills Council, which comprises three sub‐sectors:
- National Health Service (NHS)
- Independent Healthcare Sector (such as private and charitable healthcare providers)
- Third Sector (healthcare) (such as small local community and voluntary groups, registered charities, foundations, trusts, social enterprises and co‐operatives)
The health sector is made up of hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, dental practices, the ambulance service, nursing homes, residential care homes, complementary medicine and a huge range of other health related activities, from sight tests in opticians to research in medical laboratories. Most people in the health sector work in the publicly funded National Health Service (NHS), which includes:
- primary care (organisations which the public goes to first) – Doctors/General Practitioners (GPs), NHS Walk in Centres, NHS Direct, Out of Hours Emergency Care
- secondary care (organisations which the public are referred onto) – Ambulance Trusts, NHS Trusts/hospitals, NHS Foundation Trusts/hospitals, Mental Health Trusts, Care Trusts (provide joint health and social care activities)
NHS policy in England is directed from the centre by the Department of Health. Local organisations, known as Primary Care Trusts (PCTs), are in charge of providing and commissioning services, controlling the majority of the budget. PCTs are overseen by 10 regional organisations called Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs).
The independent sector includes companies and charities that offer hospital and specialist services usually after referral from a doctor. Operations and other work are carried out in private hospitals, independent treatment centres, mental health units and hospices.
Key facts:
- The health sector is the largest employer in the UK, representing 5.5% of the working age population of the UK and 7.3% of the working age population that are currently in employment.
- It is estimated that the sector employs over 2 million people, including:
- over 1.5 million people in the NHS (72%)
- over 0.5 million people in the Independent Healthcare sector (26%)
- almost 40,000 in the voluntary sector (2%)
- 56% of the workforce has a higher education qualification (or equivalent).
- The age profile for the sector shows an older than average workforce, which is due in part to the fact that it takes some professions a long time to train and can mean that people enter the sector later.
There is a varied list of jobs in the sector ranging from a diverse number of clinical roles, to support and infrastructure staff, for instance: Allied Health Professionals (AHPs); Ambulance Staff; Dental Staff; Doctors/Medical staff; Nursing staff; Midwifery Staff; Healthcare Scientists; Health Informatics Staff; Management; Wider Healthcare Team; Complementary Therapists.
National and regional data
High proportions of the health sector workforce are located in:
- London
- South East
- North West
East Midlands - The health sector employs 131,515 people, which accounts for 7% of all employment in the region.
- The East Midlands employs 8% of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 29% of all employment across the sector or 41,200 employees.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 133,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
East of England - The health sector employs 164,720 people, which accounts for 7% of all employment in the region.
- The East of England employs 9.8 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 30% of all employment across the sector or 52,300 employees.
- Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 14% of all industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 103,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
London - The health sector employs over 249,524 people, which accounts for 6% of all the employment in the region.
- London employs 15% of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 33% of all employment across the sector or 78,500 employees.
- Vacancies in health and social work account for 12% of all industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 146,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
North East - The health sector employs 89,201 people, which accounts for 8.7% of all employment in the region.
- The North East employs 5.3 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 25% of all employment across the sector or 23,800 employees.
- Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be almost 46,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
North West - The health sector employs 251,960 people, which accounts for 8% of all employment in the region.
- The North West employs 15% of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 23.5% of all employment across the sector or 59,200 employees.
- Vacancies in the health and social work account for 11% of all industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 133,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
South East - The health sector employs 264,071 people, which accounts for 7.1% of all employment in the region.
- The South East employs 15.7% of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 23.5% of all employment across the sector or 59,200 employees.
- Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all Industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 164,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
South West - The health sector employs 182,187 people, which accounts for 8.2% of all employment in the region.
- The South West employs 10.8 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 30% of all employment across the sector or 60,700 employees.
- Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 12% of all Industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 105,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
West Midlands - The health sector employs 168,746 people, which accounts for 7.2% of all employment in the region.
- The West Midlands employs 10% of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 25% of all employment across the sector or 43,000 employees.
- Vacancies in the health and social work sector account for 9% of all industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 108,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
Yorkshire and the Humber - The health sector employs 182,848 people, which accounts for 8.2% of all employment in the region.
- Yorkshire and the Humber employ 10.9 % of the total health sector workforce for England.
- The private sector accounts for 24% of the total health care workforce or 42,000 employees.
- Vacancies in health and social work account for 11% of all industry vacancies.
- Between 2007 and 2017, the total requirement for workforce will be approximately 97,000 people. This is the total of the predicted expansion plus replacement demand.
Northern Ireland - The health sector employs 61,300 people.
- Northern Ireland employs 3% of the total health sector workforce.
- 81% of the workforce is female.
- 26% of the workforce is aged 35‐44 years.
- 96% of the workforce is white.
- 10% of the workforce reports a disability.
- 48% of the workforce is in Associate Professional and Technical occupations.
- 23% of organisations in the health and social work sector report vacancies.
Scotland - The health sector employs 201,500 people.
- Scotland employs 10% of the total health sector workforce.
- 78% of the workforce is female.
- 30% of the workforce is aged 45‐54 years.
- 95% of the workforce is white.
- 14% of the workforce reports a disability.
- 39% of the workforce is in Associate Professional and Technical occupations.
- 23% of organisations in the health and social work sector report vacancies.
Wales - The health sector employs 114,900 people.
- Wales employs 6% of the total health sector workforce.
- 74% of the workforce is female.
- 34% of the workforce is aged 45‐54 years.
- 94% of the workforce is white.
- 18% of the workforce reports a disability.
- 40% of the workforce is in Associate Professional and Technical occupations.
- 27% of organisations in the health and social work sector report vacancies.
[N.B. Data derived from Labour Force Survey, 2008‐2009, Annual Business Inquiry, 2007, and Northern Ireland Census of Employment, 2007]
Career paths
Further sources
NHS Careers has sections on:
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