Elinor Moore interviewed Amy Loveridge to find out why she wants to study psychology.

Amy Loveridge is busy studying media, psychology and biology at A-level and is hoping to go on to study for a degree in psychology at university. “It’s the study of behaviour and our identity – what makes us who we are – that I find so interesting about the subject.” Amy told me. “Plus, it offers loads of career opportunities to work with interesting people and it is a valued science subject.”

Many universities offer psychology degrees but Amy is wants to opt for a four year sandwich course with a placement in the third year. She would like to experience a broad range of placements including working in hospitals, prisons, rehabilitation centres and business, in order to narrow down her choices before she decides which area she would like to specialise in.

Many young people worry about making the wrong career choice but a psychology degree can lead to a broad range of jobs. “I feel that doing a psychology degree will allow me the flexibility I need at this stage in my life because even if I decide I don’t want to pursue a career in the psychology sector, a degree in the subject still leaves me with other job options.” said Amy.

“Depending on which psychology degree you choose, you could work as an educational, clinical or criminal psychologist. Working in education gives you the opportunity to work as a counsellor in schools, helping those with learning difficulties and supporting students with emotional problems. A psychology degree helps you to understand a person’s emotional well-being, due to the in-depth study of developmental psychology you’ll do on a psychology degree course, linking a child’s behaviour and mind set to their upbringing. This is the sector I am most interested in.”

The study of psychology is really broad – you can choose to study forensic psychology, criminology, cognitive neuroscience and psychology, sports psychology – there are so many different pathways you can choose, although you need to make sure that your A-levels match entry requirements by checking university websites. Some unis require two hard sciences at A-level, like biology and maths or chemistry.

Whether you decide to work directly in a psychology career or not, a degree in the subject is looked upon very favourably by employers. It’s a great foundation subject if you’re interested in going into management, human resources, customer services, sales and marketing and the retail sector. This is because an understanding of psychology helps you to understand how peoples’ minds function, which is an invaluable tool for businesses when it comes to their advertising strategies and selling their products and services. The skills learned by studying psychology can be used to analyse how a consumer’s brain works and the way they make associations between adverts and the brands they’re promoting. Just think about the McDonald’s™ jingle…Do you fancy a burger now?!!