Okay hi everyone, so my friend’s just finished her A Levels. She got straight As in ICT, Psychology and Religious Studies…however for her GCSE she got mainly Bs…all A-C passes but a B in R.E and two As in ICT. Anyways, so she doesn’t know what to do now, and I told her to do something in computing perhaps? And maybe get a degree in Psychology…but she wonders whether it’s worth it and whether these jobs are going to be worth her while esp. in the UK
So any people here who have any experience in these two departments…or just have any overall information for her? Yes she’s tried UCAS, but to no avail.
Apart from specialist degrees such as medicine, engineering, IT and so forth, aslong as you do well in your degree and get a good classification you are at disposal to do whatever you wish.
Psychology is a vast field. It branches off into many specialisms, which one will need to undertake postgraduate qualifications to achieve.
Whilst applying for jobs, I have found that there is an increasing emphasis on experience. They want much more than someone who can get good marks. They want a well rounded individual in most departments.
She needs to sit down and decide what she enjoys doing the most. She does not even have to go into IT and Psychology if she does not wish. Tell her to think outside of the box. Make a plan/list of things she wants to do and would like to. Hopefully that should steer her towards finding something suited to her, rather than that just pursuing what she is accustomed to. Use UCAS as a starting point. Just to see what kind of courses are on offer.
One could even do a joint honours programme.
As I am most familiar with the legal field, I can say that there is a vast proportion of lawyers who do not even complete an undergraduate degree in law as a stepping stone. Those who are academic and excel in their chosen field, can steer towards other professions via Masters programmes. A subject does not necessarily confine you to that discipline all your life.
With her grades, she has the potential to do very well.
I'd tell her that University in itself is an exploratory time where you end up learning more about your interests esp. in the first two years. Many of us have switched our majors and streams, some even multiple times until we find the subject area that is most aligned with out aptitude.
That being said, Computing and Psychology can be combined together rather synergistically in a field such as HCI (Human Computer Interaction) where issues such as usability, user centered design, technology affordance etc. are studied. Again, this can be regarded as a starting point of sorts, but she should try different subjects in her first year to see if there's anything else she may be interested in.
