Careers in psychology

Psychology provides an excellent foundation for work in community and welfare services, especially with roles in the following areas:

• Social work
• ​Welfare work
• Child protection
• Juvenile justice
• Community corrections
• Disability work
• Drug and alcohol
• Youth work
• Other roles such as administration, management, policy and research.

Further study

While a Bachelor degree in psychology offers a good grounding for work in this area, it does not train you in the treatment - interventions - with people with psychological disorders, for example, case management skills. Further study is required to gain these skills. Options include:

• TAFE courses - Certificates or Diplomas (E.g., Community Services or Welfare Services)
• Graduate entry to undergraduate courses (E.g., Social work)
• Graduate Certificates or Diplomas (E.g., Disability Studies or Rural Social Welfare)

Possible roles without undertaking further study:

• Customer service roles in government and community organisations (Centrelink, TAC, non-government welfare organisations)
• Case management roles where training is provided on-the-job (E.g., Housing Officers with Human Services)
• Residential care work in juvenile justice or youth and disabilities
• Administrative support in government departments and non-government organisations.

For more information on careers in community psychology, contact the APS College of Community Psychologists. 

Counselling

Counselling overlaps with community services, but extends beyond just community groups and has diverse applications, such as in workplaces and schools. Counselling is also applied in areas such as:

• Child and family
• Personal
• Grief and loss
• Trauma
• Genetics
• Careers

Counselling requires further specialised training, such as fourth-year psychology (or beyond), a Graduate Diploma in Counselling or training with counselling training organisations.

Graduate courses may require some work and/or voluntary experience.

Find out more about careers in counselling psychology by contacting the APS College of Counselling Psychologists.

A combination of psychology with a vocationally-specific business course is attractive combination to employers within the business sector. This could include psychology plus:

• Marketing and market research
• Public relations
• Human resource management
• Industrial relations
• Management

Some of these courses can help provide skills in these areas:

• TAFE courses - Certificates or Diplomas (E.g. Human resources, public relations, or marketing)
• Graduate Certificates and Diplomas (E.g. Human resource management, industrial and employee relations or public relations)

It is possible to gain employment without completing further business-related study, including:

• Market research - Research assistants in market research companies
• Human resources - Entry-level positions in human resource administration or in specialty areas (E.g Recruitment)
• Employment services - Assistant or associate employment consultant roles with job network agencies
• Management - Trainee programs in retail

Find out more about psychology careers in business by contacting the APS College of Organisational Psychologists.

Educational and developmental psychologists can help teachers, education facilities and education communities maximise learning impacts and outcomes.

Helping teachers teach and students learn can be incredibly rewarding.

Significant training and education is required to be a primary and secondary teacher or to work at these levels. Your state or territory’s tertiary admissions centre can provide specific details on the education courses available.

Other options within education include integration aides in schools, student services in the tertiary sector and customer service and administration roles within schools and universities.

Educational and developmental psychologists have knowledge and skills in the following areas:

• Identifying and clarifying problems
• Diagnosing disabilities and disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Assessing developmental, learning and behavioural difficulties
• Designing effective treatment programs
• Counselling
• Consulting with individuals or groups
• Designing training programs
• Evaluating programs and interventions
• Designing professional development programs.

Specific areas of practice

There are several main areas that 'Ed and Dev' psychologists work in.

Early childhood

Parents may seek help for:

• Concerns with a child’s development and/or parent-child relationship issues
• Managing a child’s difficult temperament or behaviour
• Assisting a child with disabilities
• Sibling rivalry in the family

School years

Parents, teachers or children themselves may seek assistance to deal with:

• Problems with transition
• School avoidance
• Learning difficulties
• Poor peer relationships
• Low self esteem
• Problems with behaviour
• Family relationships
• Physical or sexual abuse

Adolescence

Adolescents, their parents or others concerned with their welfare may seek help to deal with:

• Conflict between adolescent and parents
• Peer pressure
• Career guidance
• School to work transition
• Sexuality issues
• Drug and alcohol problems
• Identity issues

Adulthood

Individuals, their partners or employers may seek assistance with:

• Relationship problems
• Parenting issues
• Mid-life concerns
• Career restructuring
• Work stress
• Education and training in the workplace

Later adulthood

Elderly people or their adult children may seek information or assistance with:

• Healthy ageing
• Coping with decline in functioning
• Dependency

Find out more about psychology careers in education by contacting the APS College of Education and Development Psychologists.

It might seem obvious but behaviour change is key to improving health and recovery. This is why psychologists can play a critical role in health for individual patients and in health behaviour change in overcoming current challenges as the obesity epidemic.

Health psychology promotes positive health behaviour and reduces harmful health behaviour such as poor dietary habits, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, and physical inactivity. It aims to reduce risk factors associated with chronic conditions such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. 

• Health psychologists work with other health professionals and advise on attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that contribute to ill health, and how they might be changed (E.g. programs to assist people who overeat or eat a high fat diet).
• Health psychologists design public health programs in behaviour change related to exercise, alcohol, cigarettes, drug consumption, and injury and cancer prevention (E.g. SunSmart, Life. Be in it).
• Health psychologists work with community members and professionals to improve health and wellbeing by estimating the distribution of disease, identifying health behaviour and modifiable determinants.

Psychology can be an excellent foundation for roles such as

• Nursing
• Speech Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Rehabilitation Counselling
• Audiology

Health services related courses include:

• Graduate entry to undergraduate courses (E.g. nursing)
• Masters of Practice (E.g occupational therapy or speech therapy)
• Graduate diplomas (E.g rehabilitation studies or audiology)

Find out more about careers in health psychology by contacting the APS College of Health Psychologists.

Forensic psychologists are scientist-practitioners. They apply psychological knowledge, theory and skills to the understanding and functioning of legal and criminal justice systems and to conducting research in relevant areas. They often work in criminal, civil and family legal contexts and provide services for litigants, perpetrators, victims and personnel of government and community organisations.

Forensic psychologists are employed in a variety of areas, including:

• Courts and other tribunals
• Mental health (General services and forensic mental health services)
• Corrections (Adult and juvenile, prisons and community)
• Child protection
• Family services (E.g. family violence counselling services, parent training programs)
• Alcohol and other drug services
• Rehabilitation services (E.g. pain clinics, head injury services)
• Police
• Academia, research and policy organisations
• Private practice

Skills and competencies of forensic psychologists

• Collecting and reporting (both in written reports and oral) evidence of a psychological nature for use in legal and quasi-legal proceedings
• Psychological assessment and report writing
• Psychological formulation and diagnosis
• Psychological intervention (psychoeducation; individual, group and family psychotherapies; rehabilitation).
• Program evaluation
• Forensic interviewing
• Research

Tertiary qualifications are not required to enter the police force but do provide an advantage. Psychology qualifications are highly-regarded. On-the-job training is often provided and a range of specialist career fields are available.

Find out more about forensic psychology careers by contacting the APS College of Forensic Psychology.

Graduate programs are structured programs of induction and training. Students apply for graduate programs early in their final year of study. Most programs begin early the following year.

Two types of graduate programs are relevant:

• Generalist management - in public and private organisations (all disciplines considered). Examamples include the VPS graduate program and GoGrad, a local government graduate program. 
• Human resources - in both public and private organisations and in human resource consultancies.

Graduate programs are very competitive. Employers look for exemplary results and indications of other personal strengths.

Find out more about psychology careers in graduate programs and human resources by contacting the APS College of Organisational Psychologists.