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Step into a career in Psychology
If you are curious about human behaviour, thinking and wellbeing, Psychology offers the opportunity to explore how people interact with the world around them. You will develop knowledge of key psychological theories, research and real world applications, while building valuable analytical, communication and problem solving skills for a range of professional settings.
Learn by doing
Apply psychological concepts to real life situations through research, investigation and practical activities. You will explore a range of applied areas of psychology while developing research, critical thinking and data analysis skills. Work related learning opportunities help you understand how psychology influences sectors such as healthcare, education, sport and forensic services.
Our facilities and your support
Learn in a supportive higher education environment where discussion, enquiry and independent thinking are encouraged. Experienced tutors will help you develop academic confidence, research skills and professional awareness, preparing you for graduate level opportunities.
Where this could take you
Psychology provides a strong foundation for careers across a range of sectors. Graduates may progress into roles within healthcare, education, sport, social care, business and public services, while others continue their studies through postgraduate qualifications. You will leave with the knowledge, research skills and professional understanding to take the next step in your career.
Our Courses
Access to Higher Education Diploma (Psychosocial Studies)
Helping shape your career pathway
Scroll through the job areas to learn more about each pathway
Primary Education Teaching Professionals
£34,380
Entry Level Salary
£41,654
Average Salary
£57,384.62
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Assists with or plans and develops curriculum and rota of teaching duties.
- Discusses progress with student, parents and/or other education professionals.
- Supervises teaching assistants and trainees.
- Undertakes pastoral duties.
- Teaches simple songs and rhymes, reads stories and organises various activities to promote language, social and physical development.
- Maintains records of students’ progress and development.
- Prepares students for external examinations and administers and invigilates these examinations.
- Prepares, assigns and corrects exercises and examinations to record and evaluate students’ progress.
- Prepares and delivers courses and lessons in accordance with curriculum requirements and teaches a range of subjects.
Nursery Education Teaching Professionals
£29,250
Entry Level Salary
£32,110.07
Average Salary
£47,371.01
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Assists with or plans and develops curriculum and rota of teaching duties.
- Observes and assesses students and discusses their progress with parents and/or other education professionals.
- Supervises teaching assistants and trainees.
- Undertakes pastoral duties.
- Supervises and cares for children, provides a secure learning environment and ensures their health and safety is maintained during all activities.
- Teaches simple songs and rhymes, reads stories and organises various activities to promote language, social and physical development.
- Prepares and delivers lessons in accordance with early years foundation stages curriculum and encourages and stimulates children's learning.
Special and Additional Needs Education Teaching Professionals
£20,610
Entry Level Salary
£41,242.92
Average Salary
£60,844.43
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Discusses student’s progress with parents and other teaching professionals.
- Updates and maintains students’ records to monitor development and progress.
- Liaises with other professionals, such as social workers, speech and language therapists and educational psychologists.
- Supervises students in classroom and maintains discipline.
- Prepares, assigns and corrects exercises to record and evaluate students’ progress.
- Encourages the student to develop self-help skills to circumvent the limitations imposed by their disability.
- Develops and adapts conventional teaching methods to meet the individual student’s needs.
- Gives instruction, using techniques appropriate to the student’s disability.
- Assesses student’s abilities, identifies student’s needs and devises curriculum and rota of teaching duties accordingly.
- Creates a safe, stimulating and supportive learning environment for students.
Teaching Assistants
£22,194
Entry Level Salary
£20,255.99
Average Salary
£28,266.69
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Helps with outings and other out-of-classroom activities.
- Makes simple teaching aids and constructs thematic displays of educational material or children’s work.
- Assists children with washing or dressing for outdoor and similar activities.
- Listens to children read, reads to them or tells stories.
- Looks after lesson materials such as paper, pencils and crayons.
- Assists teacher with preparation or clearing up of classroom.
Educational Support Assistants
£22,086
Entry Level Salary
£19,673.66
Average Salary
£29,579.93
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Provides feedback to teachers and completes and maintains records.
- Attends to child’s physical needs.
- Helps and encourages child to communicate.
- Implements care programmes, as appropriate.
- Identifies signs of distress and offers reassurance.
- Helps child understand instruction through a variety of means and encourages self-confidence and independence.
- Supports schoolwork under teacher’s supervision.
Childminders
£20,178
Entry Level Salary
£20,377.80
Average Salary
£30,806.39
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Complies with regulations set by OFSTED and their inspection requirements.
- Maintains appropriate records of children’s development.
- Takes older children to and from school.
- Takes children to participate in play groups or on appropriate outings.
- Provides, supervises and participates in children’s indoor and outdoor play activities to promote their development.
- Plans, prepares and serves children’s meals and supervises children during meals.
- Changes babies’ nappies and clothes as necessary and makes up bottles for feeds.
Playworkers
£17,496
Entry Level Salary
£6,791.44
Average Salary
£15,791.90
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Liaises with parents, carers and colleagues and keeps appropriate records.
- Puts away equipment and cleans premises after use.
- Organises and supervises children’s activities in accordance with Health and Safety regulations, deals accordingly with injuries and emergencies.
- Organises and supervises children on excursions.
- Encourages children’s independence, self-confidence and social interaction.
- Provides play areas and prepares materials for a wide range of children’s activities.
- Supervises children’s games and encourages the development of physical, social and language skills.
Houseparents and Residential Wardens
£25,740
Entry Level Salary
£25,882.09
Average Salary
£38,861.41
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Keeps records and writes reports.
- Maintains contact and discusses problems/progress with other staff and social workers.
- Establishes and maintains contact with members of the neighbouring community and/or the residents’ family and friends.
- May provide one-to-one counselling or group therapy.
- Manage the household (domestic duties).
- Ensures that students attend school regularly.
- Ensures that all material needs of residents are provided and endeavours to resolve any problems that they may have.
- Plans and participates in games and leisure activities to encourage emotional, social, physical and intellectual development.
- Creates friendly, secure atmosphere and tries to gain the trust and confidence of those in the home or under supervision.
School Midday and Crossing Patrol Occupations
£21,276
Entry Level Salary
£4,048.82
Average Salary
£11,564.92
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Directs children to cross the road when safe.
- Signals approaching traffic to stop by using hand signals and school crossing signs.
- Waits for a safe gap in traffic and walks to the centre of road.
- Meets children wanting to cross the road and directs them to wait at the kerb.
- Assists young children with feeding, dressing, washing and toiletry activities.
- Cares for sick children and administers first aid if necessary.
- Supervises the playground activities of children during meal and break times.
Fitness and Wellbeing Instructors
£22,698
Entry Level Salary
£19,440.99
Average Salary
£58,458.83
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Understands the health and safety aspects of different forms of exercise and ensures that any statutory requirements are met.
- Plans and monitors personal fitness schedules.
- Ensures that clients do not injure themselves through over exertion or using incorrect training techniques.
- Demonstrates and leads fitness activities and supervises exercise classes.
- Devises programmes of training appropriate to the needs of clients with varying levels of strength, fitness and ability.
- Assesses the fitness levels of clients.
Sports Coaches, Instructors and Officials
£18,792
Entry Level Salary
£11,353.94
Average Salary
£36,248.99
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Manages the playing areas and competitors, starts race, competition or match and controls its progress according to established rules.
- Inspects and maintains specialised clothing and equipment.
- Understands health and safety aspects of various activities and ensures any statutory requirements are met.
- Provides information and develops facilities to encourage greater participation in sport, and to enhance the standards of participants.
- Deals with administrative aspects such as arranging matches, contests or appearances for athlete or team, and organising required transport and accommodation.
- Monitors and analyses technique and performance, and determines how future improvements can be made.
- Controls team selection and discipline and recruits ancillary staff such as coaches or physiotherapists.
- Coaches teams or individuals by demonstrating techniques and directing training and exercise sessions.
Leisure and Sports Managers and Proprietors
£19,386
Entry Level Salary
£25,662
Average Salary
£45,662.40
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Ensures custody of all cash receipts and organises regular stock checks.
- Recruits, supervises and trains staff.
- Determines financial, staffing, material and other short and long-term needs.
- Advises on the facilities available and promotes publicity in relation to shows, games, races, new theme parks, etc.
- Keeps abreast of new trends and developments in recreational activities and arranges exhibitions, theatrical productions, concerts, demonstrations, etc.
- Ensures that facilities are kept clean and in good condition and that appropriate health and safety requirements are adhered to.
- Organises timetable of activities/schedule of programmes.
Sports Players
£16,002
Entry Level Salary
£12,482.11
Average Salary
£37,533.55
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Discusses performance problems with coaches, physiotherapists, dieticians and doctors.
- Maintains clothing and other specialised sporting equipment.
- Builds stamina, physical strength and agility through running, fitness exercises and weight training.
- Attends training sessions to develop skills and practice individual or team moves and tactics.
- Participates in exhibitions, pre-qualifying events, tournaments and competitions.
Records Clerks and Assistants
£20,430
Entry Level Salary
£25,964
Average Salary
£37,249.73
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Performs specialised clerical tasks in connection with conveyancing, litigation and the maintenance of medical records.
- Copies or duplicates documents or other records.
- Classifies, files, archives and locates documents and other records.
- Examines and sorts incoming material.
Transport and Distribution Clerks and Assistants
£19,476
Entry Level Salary
£24,367
Average Salary
£35,996.14
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Maintains records regarding the movement and location of freight, containers and staff.
- Obtains customs clearance and processes import and export documentation necessary for the movement of goods between countries.
- Monitors tachograph readings and maintains records of hours worked and distance travelled by drivers.
- Formulates delivery loads, vehicle schedules and routes to be followed by delivery staff.
- Processes customer orders and forwards requisition documentation to storage and distribution personnel.
Human Resources Administrative Occupations
£20,916
Entry Level Salary
£25,365.70
Average Salary
£37,471.48
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Implements and maintains HR records systems.
- Provides administrative support for training courses, work placements etc.
- Provides practical support for recruitment and selection procedures such as checking application forms, arranging interviews of candidates and ensuring the interview panel receive all relevant documentation.
- Arranges advertisements for jobs in the relevant media.
- Supports senior HR staff in the development and implementation of HR and industrial relations policies.
Office Managers
£20,952
Entry Level Salary
£31,102
Average Salary
£52,254.91
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Plans, organises and co-ordinates the activities and resources of other offices not elsewhere classified including box offices, other ticket offices and accommodation bureaux.
- Ensures that procedures for considering, issuing, amending and endorsing insurance policies are adhered to.
- Advises on the handling of all correspondence and enquiries relating to accounts, sales, statistical and vacancy records.
- Plans work schedules, assigns tasks and delegates responsibilities.
Office Supervisors
£20,574
Entry Level Salary
£30,216.91
Average Salary
£47,393.37
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Reports as required to managerial staff on work-related matters.
- Determines or recommends staffing and other needs to meet the organisation’s requirements.
- Liaises with managers and other senior staff to resolve operational problems.
- Establishes and monitors work schedules to meet the organisation’s requirements.
- Directly supervises and coordinates the activities of office staff.
Sales Administrators
£21,744
Entry Level Salary
£27,492.24
Average Salary
£43,871.83
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Carries out general sales and marketing administrative duties.
- Handles customer complaints or forwards them to relevant member of sales team.
- Prepares sales invoices and maintains records and accounts of sales activity.
- Fields telephone enquiries from prospective customers on behalf of the sales team.
- Help customers to place orders online through social media platforms.
- Provides information to customers on products and prices.
Other Administrative Occupations
£20,916
Entry Level Salary
£23,613
Average Salary
£38,345.25
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Checks figures, prepares invoices and records details of financial transactions made.
- Receives and distributes incoming and outgoing correspondence.
- Types reports, memos, notes, minutes and other documents.
- Stores information by filling in forms, writing notes and filing records.
Registered Community Nurses
£30,366
Entry Level Salary
£31,654
Average Salary
£46,257.25
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Plays an educational role for patients and families, helping to develop rehabilitation routines and advising on how to care for their condition in everyday life, disease prevention and nutrition.
- Manages own case load.
- Assists medical doctors in conducting examinations and other medical procedures.
- Administers drugs and medicines, applies surgical dressings and gives other forms of treatment.
- Provides basic care and monitors patients' general health such as blood pressure or body temperature.
- Plans, manages, provides and evaluates nursing care services within a community care setting.
Registered Specialist Nurses
£35,460
Entry Level Salary
£48,666
Average Salary
£71,117.57
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Delivers lectures, and other forms of formal training relating to nursing practice.
- Plans, manages, provides and evaluates nursing care services for patients, supervises the implementation of nursing care plans.
- Advises on nursing care, disease prevention, nutrition, etc. and liaises with hospital board/management on issues concerning nursing policy.
- Plans duty rotas and organises and directs the work and training of ward and theatre nursing staff.
- Gives consultations with patients and their families to explain a patient's condition and possible treatments.
- Consults with and provides guidance to other nurses and healthcare professionals within their specialism.
- Provides specialist care in their area of expertise, assesses patients, determines treatments and conducts a variety of medical procedures.
Registered Nurse Practitioners
£24,894
Entry Level Salary
£41,201
Average Salary
£58,269.87
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Plans, manages, provides and evaluates nursing care services for patients, supervises the implementation of nursing care plans.
- Plans duty rotas and organises and directs the work and training of ward and theatre nursing staff.
- Monitors patient’s progress, administers drugs and medicines, applies surgical dressings and gives other forms of treatment.
- Interviews and diagnoses patients, orders tests and interprets results and determines appropriate treatments.
- Manages own case load.
- Assists medical doctors and works with other healthcare professionals to deal with emergencies and pre-planned treatment of patients.
Registered Mental Health Nurses
£25,632
Entry Level Salary
£40,980.87
Average Salary
£59,886.98
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Provides information to patients and their families about a patient's condition, how to manage it and possible treatments.
- Works with other mental health professionals.
- Administers drugs and gives other forms of treatment.
- Monitors patient’s progress, encourages patients to participate in different therapies.
- Participates in the preparation for physical and psychological treatment of patients with mental health conditions.
- Provides day to day support for and, in some cases, physical care for patients with a variety of mental health conditions.
Registered Children's Nurses
£25,074
Entry Level Salary
£34,986.49
Average Salary
£51,127.15
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Plans, manages, provides and evaluates nursing care services for patients, supervises the implementation of nursing care plans.
- Advises on nursing care, disease prevention, and nutrition.
- Works with parents to explain procedures and health conditions and to help them care for children when they return home.
- Administers drugs and medicines, applies surgical dressings and gives other forms of treatment.
- Monitors children's progress, including the interpretation of the behaviour of young children too young to communicate.
- Manages own case load.
- Assists medical doctors and works with other healthcare professionals to deal with emergencies and pre-planned treatment of patients.
Other Registered Nursing Professionals
£26,874
Entry Level Salary
£36,385
Average Salary
£54,245.55
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Teach nursing professionals clinical skills, patient care methods, and best collaboration practices.
- Informs and advises patients and their relatives on their health problems and how to care for themselves.
- Cares for the physical and emotional wellbeing of patients in their care.
- Monitors patient’s progress, administers drugs and medicines, applies surgical dressings and gives other forms of treatment.
- Manages own case load.
- Assists medical doctors and works with other healthcare professionals to deal with emergencies and pre-planned treatment of patients.
Nursing Auxiliaries and Assistants
£20,484
Entry Level Salary
£23,575
Average Salary
£33,952.91
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Changes bed linen, makes beds and tidies wards.
- Assists patients in washing, dressing, toiletry activities and general mobility.
- Distributes and serves food, assists patients in feeding and prepares snacks and hot drinks.
- Prepares patient for examination and treatment.
- Performs basic clinical tasks such as taking patients’ temperature and pulse, weighing and measuring, performing urine tests and extracting blood samples.
Dental Nurses
£22,194
Entry Level Salary
£22,225
Average Salary
£33,370.36
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Maintains records, processes and mounts x-ray films and undertakes reception duties.
- Removes water and saliva from patient’s mouth during treatment.
- Assists with minor treatment, such as preparing materials for fillings.
- Hands required equipment and medication to dentist during examination.
- Prepares and sterilises instruments and follows guidelines to maintain sterile conditions within the surgery.
- Prepares patient for examination.
Midwifery Nurses
£28,206
Entry Level Salary
£44,775.83
Average Salary
£65,432.71
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Delivers lectures and other forms of training in midwifery practice.
- Plans and manages midwifery care services.
- Supervises more junior staff and directs the work of the midwifery unit.
- Advises on baby care, exercise, diet and family planning issues.
- Monitors recovery of mother in postnatal period and supervises the nursing of premature and other babies requiring special attention.
- Delivers babies in normal births and assists doctors with difficult deliveries.
- Monitors condition and progress of patient and baby throughout pregnancy.
Environment Professionals
£20,628
Entry Level Salary
£34,694.17
Average Salary
£60,608.30
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Provides professional guidance to clients, government agencies, regulators and other relevant bodies, having regard for sustainable approaches and solutions.
- Implements, reviews and advises on regulatory and legislative standards, guidelines and policies.
- Assists organisations to conduct their activities in an environmentally appropriate manner.
- Communicates scientific and technical information to relevant audiences in an appropriate form, via reports, workshops, educational events, public hearings.
- Carries out or assists in environmental audits and environmental impact assessments.
- Carries out environment-related desk-based research and fieldwork to collect, analyse and interpret data to determine their validity, quality and significance.
- Implements remediation works.
- Advises on and provides solutions for mitigating the effects of such contamination.
- Identifies contamination of land, air or water and assesses any adverse impact on the environment.
Property, Housing and Estate Managers
£22,356
Entry Level Salary
£47,671.57
Average Salary
£71,061.94
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Examines and assesses housing applications, advises on rent levels, investigates complaints and liaises with tenants’ association and social workers to resolve any family problems.
- Acts as arbiter in disputes between landlord and tenant and ensures that both fulfil their legal obligations.
- Maintains or arranges for the maintenance of estate accounts and records and produces financial forecasts.
- Negotiates land or property purchases and sales or leases and tenancy agreements and arranges legal formalities with solicitors, building societies and other parties.
- Conducts or arranges for structural surveys of properties and undertakes any necessary valuations of property or agricultural land, and deals with grant and subsidy applications.
- Discusses client’s requirements and may advise client on the purchase of property and land for investment and other purposes.
- Advises on energy efficiency.
- Oversees the support services of a business, such as catering, IT, utilities and physical environment.
- Makes sure that the amenities meet health and safety standards and legal requirements.
- Manages general upkeep, maintenance and security of the estate’s amenities.
- Determines staffing, financial, material and other short- and long-term requirements.
Quantity Surveyors
£29,394
Entry Level Salary
£43,587.99
Average Salary
£72,700.99
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Measures and values completed contract for authorisation of payment.
- Measures and values work in progress and examines any deviations from original contract.
- Examines tenders received, advises client on the most acceptable and assists with preparation of a contract document.
- Prepares bills of quantities for use by contractors when tendering for work.
- Examines plans and specifications and prepares details of the material and labour required for the project.
- Liaises with client on project costs, formulates detailed cost plan and advises contractors and engineers to ensure that they remain within cost limit.
Higher Education Teaching Professionals
£36,198
Entry Level Salary
£45,885.62
Average Salary
£79,270.47
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Undertakes research, writes articles and books and attends conferences and other meetings.
- Directs the work of postgraduate students.
- Participates in decision making processes regarding curricula, budgetary, departmental and other matters.
- Provides pastoral care or guidance to students.
- Advises students on academic matters and encourages independent research.
- Prepares, administers and marks examinations, essays and other assignments.
- Prepares, delivers and directs lectures, seminars and tutorials.
Secondary Education Teaching Professionals
£37,728
Entry Level Salary
£44,406
Average Salary
£60,834.19
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Assists with or plans and develops curriculum and rota of teaching duties.
- Discusses progress with student, parents and/or other education professionals.
- Supervises teaching assistants and trainees.
- Undertakes pastoral duties.
- Supervises any practical work and maintains classroom discipline.
- Maintains records of students’ progress and development.
- Prepares students for external examinations and administers and invigilates these examinations.
- Prepares, assigns and corrects exercises and examinations to record and evaluate students’ progress.
- Prepares and delivers courses and lessons in accordance with curriculum requirements and teaches one or more subjects.
Teaching Professionals
£17,298
Entry Level Salary
£20,357.94
Average Salary
£48,428.82
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Provides private academic, vocational and other instruction to individuals or groups.
- Manages/owns and teaches in private drama, music and dancing schools, training centres and similar establishments.
- Designs and implements methods of assessing the performance of students, co-ordinates and undertakes the evaluation of assessments and awards grades of merit based upon performance.
Further Education Teaching Professionals
£26,550
Entry Level Salary
£35,048.55
Average Salary
£53,395.07
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Liaises with other professional and commercial organisations to review course content.
- Assists with the administration of teaching and the arranging of timetables.
- Arranges instructional visits and periods of employment experience for students.
- Prepares, administers and marks examinations, essays and other assignments.
- Prepares, delivers and directs lectures, seminars and tutorials.
Managers in Transport and Distribution
£24,696
Entry Level Salary
£45,904.99
Average Salary
£77,708.84
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Arranges for maintenance of airport runways and buildings, liaises with fuel and catering crews to ensure adequate supplies and resolves any complaints and problems raised by airport users.
- Supervises day-to-day activities in a railway station.
- Ensures that harbour channels and berths are maintained and liaises with ship owners, crew, customs officials, dock and harbour staff to arrange entry, berthing and servicing of ships.
- Ensures that regulations regarding hours of work, the licensing of crews and transport equipment, the operational safety and efficiency of equipment, the insurance of vehicles and other statutory regulations are complied with.
- Co-ordinates the transportation of passengers, the movement, handling and storage of freight in transit, and reviews space utilisation, staffing and distribution expenditure to determine future distribution policies.
- Plans the optimum utilisation of staff and operating equipment, and co-ordinates maintenance activities to ensure least possible disruption to services.
Stock Control Clerks and Assistants
£20,358
Entry Level Salary
£27,119.99
Average Salary
£40,063.01
Potential Salary
Daily Tasks
- Adjusts stock records as orders are received, reports on damaged stock and prepares requisitions to replenish damaged stock.
- Checks requisitions against stock records and forwards to issuing department.
- Prepares requisitions, consignments and other despatch documents.
- Receives enquiries and orders from customers, and quotes prices, discounts, delivery dates and other relevant information.
- Allocates appropriate storage space in accordance with stock control and space utilisation policies.
- Receives and checks in deliveries from suppliers or completed stock to be despatched to customers.