• Question: do you have any tips for someone that wants to become a scientist (psychologist)

    Asked by Elaine Parkingsmith to Kylie, Matt, Bex, RobB, Sam on 12 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Sam Briggs

      Sam Briggs answered on 12 Jun 2016:

      Hi Elaine,

      That’s a really great question! Of course there are are great variety of routes into the sciences and you mention that you are interested in psychology! My particular course has taken me on a very typical academic route – in effect, I have done A-levels then a first degree and now I’m doing a PhD, I then hope to do a post doc position and work into academia that way.

      What I tried to show there is it depends on where you want to go? Do you want to work in Academia, I.e. Doing research and formulating new theories, or do you want to work in ‘Industry’?

      First things first, look at the sorts of jobs you might like to do in your field in the future, and then look at the degrees in your field, look at the content, the weighting of the exams and coursework and their content, does it interest you? Could you do it for four years?

      Read around your subject, read biopics of people that you admire and that inspired you to be in this field in the first place, what was their journey like?

      Remember, you are never bound to a particular course, keep your options open! Read all the things, do all the fun stuff! We grow and our interests change dramatically, more so at Uni, but if you have a goal – a truly definitive, final sort of goal, then aim for that. Read the papers in that area, subscribe to the magazines, e-mail the academics. COnversations and networking are the most important things, gap to Uni days and talk to the students on your prospective course, and ask the professors what routes they took. They’ll probably give you an answer like mine!

      I guess my main message is – if you love it, what feels easy and interesting is more than likely the right sort of thing to be doing!

      Hope that helps?

    • Photo: Matt Dunn

      Matt Dunn answered on 13 Jun 2016:

      Hi Elaine,

      Psychology is a great field with a great future!

      The best thing for you right now would be to expand your base, I studied physics, chemistry, biology and maths and it gave me a huge amount of choice for where I wanted to study and what I wanted to do.

      You’ll need to go to a good University and get a good degree to get noticed in science, preferably one in the same field (so a BSc in Psychology), and if you want to go further into academic you may also need a Masters degree (MSc) and a PhD, if you want to work in a University.

      While you’re studying you’ll know for sure if you’re on the right track or not by your enjoyment of the work, but to be honest a University education is vital, and it gives you 3 years to consider your options and speak to Doctors and Professors and find out what you want to do with life!

    • Photo: Kylie Belchamber

      Kylie Belchamber answered on 21 Jun 2016:

      Like the others said, a good education is most important!

      Study hard and get some good GCSE’s, then do some broad A levels that will be good at university. For psychology this would probably be psychology (so that you can get an idea if you really like it), English so that you can learn how to write essays properly, biology so that you an learn a bit about how the brain works (which is important for psychology) and probably another one that you enjoy! Another science is always good, or maybe sociology?
      Then go to a university that has a good reputation for psychology specifically. This will make getting a job later on easier, if you go to a good uni. Then while at uni, learn everything and take advantage of your lecturers! They will have contacts, and know how to get into certain jobs, and will write you good references if you are a good student. So just get stuck in! Work out which area of psychology you like, and find out how to get a job in it, and do it!

      Also, if you can get work experience on the side, that always helps. Anything from working with a psychologist, to working in an old peoples home, or with people with mental illness, or even in a research lab would be great, as it can give you insights into how people work, and how research works, which is important for psychology. I once had my brain scanned in an MRI machine while answering questions or a psychology experiment – it was fun!

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