At our recent Career Changers event, we heard from a panel of speakers about their experience in the field of psychology and how studying an MSc helped in shaping their careers.
By Elena Carruthers. Published 22 February 2023.
Assistant Educational Psychologist, Samantha Griffiths, and Rowena Leary, who is currently completing a PhD in Educational Psychology both Samantha and Rowena switched to studying psychology after starting out their careers in the legal profession.
Speaking on her motivation for making the transition from Defence Litigator to Assistant Educational Psychologist, Samantha referred to her desire to better understand people. Similarly, Rowena explained how her professional background in law and her life-long interest in psychology motivated her to study a psychology conversion course and now a PhD, whilst also teaching part-time with us.
Choosing an MSc Conversion in psychology allows you to explore your areas of interest within psychology as well as gaining a broader insight into the field itself. When considering a conversion course, it’s important to research the course itself and ensure that it aligns with your interests and career goals.
Our psychology conversion course has a focus on building transferable skills as well as the required knowledge to conduct empirical research. Additionally, the course has a strong employability focus; employability is embedded into the core competencies taught by the course, and students are also provided with ongoing support from our Employability Team.
Our speakers reflected on the broad skillset obtained through studying an MSc in psychology and how these transferable skills enhanced their career options both in and outside the field, such as by instilling strong organisation and critical thinking skills. Additionally, the ability to communicate effectively and build a rapport with people was highlighted as a core skill obtained, as well as being essential for a successful career in the field.
Speaking on her current role as an Assistant Educational Psychologist and the opportunities that studying an MSc opened up for her, Samantha said: “No two days are the same, and I love it. It stretches all of the skills that I had as a solicitor and augments the skills that I learned on the MSc.”
“Every opportunity to interact with people is an opportunity to critically reflect. And so, even if you’re not in the role you want to be in, if you can be practising those skills, they are never wasted.”
Our speakers concluded by addressing the common concern of those who have been out of education for a while: how difficult is it returning to study? Rowena advised prospective career changers to ‘jump in with both feet and just believe that you can do it.’
Making the plunge to studying psychology after starting out in a different field is no small step. However, the rewards of being able to make real-life impact with the research you carry out is what inspires many people to take this leap. With the employment support and carefully tailored range of modules on our Psychology MSc, there has never been a better time to study a conversion course in psychology.
Interested in pursuing a career in psychology? Learn more about our MSc Psychology conversion course.
