How to become a psychologist

Official title: Other psychologists

Also called: Psychologist, Sport psychologist, Health psychologist, Business psychologist, Forensic psychologist, Research psychologist, Registered psychologist, Counselling psychologist, Educational psychologist, Occupational psychologist, Practitioner psychologist, Sport and exercise psychologist

Psychologists research, study and assess emotional, cognitive and behavioural processes and abnormalities in human beings and animals and how these are affected by genetic, physical and social factors.

Main tasks

• Develops and administers tests to measure intelligence, abilities, aptitudes, etc. and assesses results
• Develops treatment and guidance methods and gives treatment or guidance using a variety of therapy and counselling techniques
• Observes and experiments on humans and animals to measure mental and physical characteristics
• Analyses the effect of hereditary, social and physical factors on thought and behaviour
• Studies psychological factors in the treatment and prevention of mental illness or emotional and personality disorders
• Maintains required contacts with family members, education or other health professionals, as appropriate, and recommends possible solutions to problems presented
• Applies professional knowledge and techniques within the workplace, addressing issues such as job design, work groups, motivation etc
• Applies psychological treatment methods to help athletes achieve optimum mental health and enhance sporting performance

How to become one

Entrants require a degree in psychology recognised by the British Psychology Society. Postgraduate and professional qualifications relating to different areas of psychology are available and are required for certain posts.

Ways in

• University: Allied Health degrees, Offered by 17 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £34,866 a year The middle half earn £26,785 to null.
• About 34,600 people work in this job now, and about 38,000 are projected by 2035. (+9.6%)

Related jobs

• Physiotherapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech and language therapists
• Psychotherapists and cognitive behaviour therapists
• Clinical psychologists

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Questions people ask

How do I become a psychologist?

Entrants require a degree in psychology recognised by the British Psychology Society. Postgraduate and professional qualifications relating to different areas of psychology are available and are required for certain posts.

How much does a psychologist earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £34,866 a year (Office for National Statistics).

Is a psychologist a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 10% by 2035, from about 34,600 to about 38,000 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a psychologist?

Usually. 100% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.