I have recently been having a bit of a rethink about what I wish to do for a living. The plan for a long time was to finish my psychology degree and then aim to do postgraduate study in clinical psychology. However, the numbers for those courses do not make pretty reading. According to the British Psychology Society website, the average acceptance rate is 30 percent and in Leeds the situation is worse – only one in eighty.
Upon discovery of this, I started polishing up my Plan B, which was to do post-graduate Sports Psychology. I have thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate studies and as most people will tell you I have a healthy interest in most sports! Furthermore, as my earlier post ‘Mind over Matter’ revealed, I have relished the challenges of my ‘Applied Sports Psychology’ module.
However, I have enjoyed nothing quite as much as my dissertation. The fervour that that piece of work is causing feels very similar to when I was writing the draft of my book a few summers ago. Then, I simply couldn’t wait to see what the book looked like after each and every stage of production; causing me to work on the writing of it for long hours with unbridled enthusiasm.
Upon discovery of this, I started polishing up my Plan B, which was to do post-graduate Sports Psychology. I have thoroughly enjoyed my undergraduate studies and as most people will tell you I have a healthy interest in most sports! Furthermore, as my earlier post ‘Mind over Matter’ revealed, I have relished the challenges of my ‘Applied Sports Psychology’ module.
However, I have enjoyed nothing quite as much as my dissertation. The fervour that that piece of work is causing feels very similar to when I was writing the draft of my book a few summers ago. Then, I simply couldn’t wait to see what the book looked like after each and every stage of production; causing me to work on the writing of it for long hours with unbridled enthusiasm.
Most people tend to be of the view that most psychology students have picked the course in part because they wish to learn something about themselves. In my experience of being around another 120 undergraduates, that view does seem to hold true!
With regards to myself; that experience came true in Cognitive Psychology last year, when I was learning about memory and perception. With those topics in mind, came the initial idea for my dissertation and since then that same unbridled enthusiasm has come back and I have never found studying a particular academic area so much fun.
Given that a lot of people consider their ‘dream job’ to be one where they can combine their hobbies and interests with work, it now seems slightly silly not to consider doing a postgraduate course in Cognitive Psychology. The reason behind wishing to do clinical was the desire to help people, but with ‘Cog’, I would still be able to do that AND be able to enjoy researching areas that relate to my other interests.
I now need to go and speak to ‘Careers’ again to find out when the deadline for Cognitive applications are.
With regards to myself; that experience came true in Cognitive Psychology last year, when I was learning about memory and perception. With those topics in mind, came the initial idea for my dissertation and since then that same unbridled enthusiasm has come back and I have never found studying a particular academic area so much fun.
Given that a lot of people consider their ‘dream job’ to be one where they can combine their hobbies and interests with work, it now seems slightly silly not to consider doing a postgraduate course in Cognitive Psychology. The reason behind wishing to do clinical was the desire to help people, but with ‘Cog’, I would still be able to do that AND be able to enjoy researching areas that relate to my other interests.
I now need to go and speak to ‘Careers’ again to find out when the deadline for Cognitive applications are.
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