• Question: Do you have any recommendations for getting work experience within psychology?

    Asked by anon-353163 on 7 Mar 2023.
    • Photo: Stephen Jackson

      Stephen Jackson answered on 7 Mar 2023:

      Decide which areas of psychology most interest you and find out who might be working in that area of psychology. I would then write/email them expressing interest in their work and asking about possible work experience. When writing I recommend starting out with a formal letter, i.e., “Dear Professor X, …..” rather than “hi, ….”

    • Photo: Joanne Cummings

      Joanne Cummings answered on 7 Mar 2023:

      My advice would be work out which area of psychology it is that you’re interested in, and then try and obtain some work experience related to that. For example, my friend before she became a forensic psychologist gained work experience in supporting individuals who had been detained in prison. I originally wanted to become an educational psychologist, so I got some experience working in a primary school (and realised that area was not for me). I would also advise that you contact the careers service within your institution for support, and also have a look at the British Psychological Society website, as it has information on work experience.

    • Photo: Hannah Fawcett

      Hannah Fawcett answered on 7 Mar 2023:

      Work experience doesn’t have to involve working with a psychologist. I would encourage you to think about what psychologists do and what skills these need. For example, forensic psychology involves working with vulnerable groups, so think about experiences related to these – victims, witnesses, young people at risk of offending, policing etc. Also think about the skills of empathy, professionalism and ethics, organisation etc. Based on these you could volunteer in youth groups, with the homeless, ex-offenders etc. Some of these are hard to access whilst at college, but universities offer lots of support in gaining relevant work experience.

    • Photo: Emily McDougal

      Emily McDougal answered on 10 Mar 2023:

      Psychology is a great area to get work experience in, because it is so broad which gives more opportunities for gaining experience. My advice would be to start by thinking about your own skills and which areas you would like to improve. For example, if you feel like you need to build confidence in working with different types of people, then roles within charities such as a befriender might be a good choice.

    • Photo: Jo Van Herwegen

      Jo Van Herwegen answered on 14 Mar 2023:

      If you know what kind of psychology you are interested in reach out to relevant charities or practising psychologists to see if you can shadow them or volunteer with them. The British Psychology Society has a list of all registered psychologists you can search by location. Best of luck!

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