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About Psychology
You'll become
Average Salaries
Psychology workers may earn between $50,000 and $104,000 per year
Tackle some of society’s most pressing problems and help people thrive in your work by studying a psychology course.
Play a critical role in our understanding of complex human behaviours and make a real different in people’s lives by working in the rewarding and challenging field of psychology. Exploring human thoughts, emotions and behaviours, the practise of psychology aims to deeply understand and treat psychological problems and disorders, providing tangible and meaningful support to the many thousands of Australians experiencing mental ill health and distress.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately one in five Australians experiencing mental illness, but only 35 per cent of those people accessing mental health services. We have a clear and urgent need for skilled professional interventions to better support our population, and skilled psychology course graduates can play a leading role.
Usually working as psychologists, graduates of psychology courses deploy cognitive, psychotherapy and other psychological interventions to patients, to offer critical support and assistance when people need it most. Combining leading theoretical knowledge, cutting-edge research and tested practical tools, psychology courses ensure graduates are equipped with the powerful skills to make areal difference.
Qualifying as a psychologist is a tough, but rewarding process. You must complete a bachelor’s degree in psychology, then undertake a combination of further academic learning and practical workplace experience. It’s important to choose a course accredited by the Australian Psychological Accreditation Council, as only graduates of approved courses may practise as psychologists in Australia.
If you want to help others lead meaningful, productive and engaged lives, are curious about what contributes to human flourishing, and have the drive to achieve great things in your career, a dynamic, challenging and rewarding career in psychology is for you. It starts now with a psychology course.
What do psychology graduates do?
Psychology course graduates usually work as psychologists, working closely with patients to investigate, assess and treat psychological disorders, and ensuring optimal personal, social and educational development.
As a psychologist, you might perform tasks like:
- Interviewing, consulting to and assessing patients to determine their cognitive, behavioural and emotional disorders;
- Performing and interpreting diagnostic tests and checks;
- Making assessments of patients and developing individual interventions and treatment plans;
- Developing and demonstrating tools, activities and tasks that may assist a patient with their treatment;
- Evaluating and monitoring patients’ continuing psychological health;
- Evaluating and monitoring psychological programs and interventions;
- Conducting research, surveys and analysis, and preparing submissions and reports;
- Consulting with other psychologists; and
- Managing patient documentation and progress.
Career Outcomes
Career Outcomes
After completing the minimum study requirement of six years for a psychology qualification, you’ll be eligible to apply for general registration as a psychologist. You may choose to apply your skills in areas like:
- Community service and counselling
- Business
- Education
- Health services
- Protective services
You may also choose not to work as a psychologist, and apply your skills to a role in areas like counselling, coaching, mentoring, or working in marketing and consumer behaviour.
After completing a psychology course, you’ll be qualified to seek employment in a range of psychology roles. Obtaining a qualification as a registered psychologist is a challenging and rigorous process, and further specialisation requires additional study. If you would like to specialise your psychology practice, you may choose to complete additional training, which takes approximately two years. After completing this training, you’ll be eligible to apply for registration as a:
- Human Resources Manager
- Sales Manager
- Mental Health Worker
- Consumer Behaviour Analyst
- Organisational Consultant
- School Counsellor
- Marketing and Market Research Professional
- Trainer
- Grief Counsellor
- Drug and Alcohol Counsellor
- Counsellor
- Mental Health Coordinator
- Mental Health Support Worker
- Mental Health Officer
- Community Development Officer
- Crime Prevention Officer
- Drug/Alcohol Case Worker
- Policy Development Officer and Analyst
- Disability Support Coordinator
- Aged Care Coordinators
- Provisional Psychologist
- Psychotherapist
- Therapist
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Is psychology right for you?
You’ll thrive working in psychology if you:
- Are empathetic
- Have excellent listening skills
- Are highly organised
- Have excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Are deeply committed to helping people
- Have excellent administrative skills
- Can manage multiple pieces of information at once
- Like solving problems
- Have strong time management skills
- Are patient
- Care deeply about others’ well-being
- Are disciplined
- Have drive and a thirst for learning
Job opportunities
According to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook, psychology is a medium-sized but growing industry in Australia. Job Outlook reports that job opportunities in the sector have increased steadily over the last decade, and predicts that modest growth in the industry will continue until at least 2020. Current, approximately 23,400 people are employed as psychologists in Australia, and Job Outlook predicts that figure will rise to approximately 25,000 by 2020.
Average Salaries
According to PayScale, clinical psychologists can expect to earn between $50,000 and $104,000 per year, with an average annual salary of approximately $79,000. PayScale observes a positive relationship between experience and earning capacity, with psychologists who have 20 years or more experience earning on average approximately $24,000 per year than practitioners with fewer than five years of professional experience. However, PayScale notes that entry-level psychologists may still command competitive salaries, earning on average $72,000 per year.