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For many students, you might be uncertain about your next steps, you might be unsure as to whether you want to continue studying or look to start a career, armed with all the skills and transferable skills your psychology degree has given you.

If that’s you, you’re not alone, so we've asked BPS graduate member Lloyd Emeka for some advice on making sense of the future when it all feels a bit uncertain.

Read the full article on taking the next steps after graduation.

Making the transition from being an undergraduate student to a postgraduate researcher, or a taught postgraduate student, can be tricky. While they may look similar from the outside, the experience of being an undergraduate versus a postgraduate are markedly different in a number of ways.

PhD researcher Maddi Pownall, chair of PsyPAG (the Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group) gave her advice for managing the transition.

Read the full article on moving from undergraduate to postgraduate study.

This information and advice has been gathered from the BPS careers portal and BPS accredited courses in psychology.

Read the full article on transferable skills from your psychology degree.

While the pandemic has had an impact on all of our lives, university students have been particularly affected by lockdown and social isolation.

Mariyah Mandhu, BPS Partnership and Accreditation Officer, considers what effect the last 12 months have had on our student community.

Read the full article on students and social isolation.

As students, autumn always brings the excitement of returning to university. But this year the return will look very different due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

To best support students, and understand the impact of the pandemic on their studies and research, the BPS is running a Covid-19 impact survey, and wants to hear your views.

Read the full article on adapting to university during Covid-19.

Results day can be a rollercoaster, and you will likely experience a range of emotions, from nervous anticipation to joy and excitement, and maybe even a hefty dose of disappointment if things don't go the way you want.

Read the full article on riding the rollercoaster of results day.

This document provides guidance to those who employ and/or supervise individuals in assistant psychologist and other associated posts, both within the NHS and privately, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This guidance has been written to offer a structure of support for those aspiring psychologists who are working during this difficult period.

Please utilise this document alongside existing NHS Trust policies and other guidance referenced throughout, particularly the BPS Guidance for psychological professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020).

Read our guidance for aspiring psychologists and their supervisors during Covid-19.

This document is aimed at professionals who support young people at key points of transition into work, training and further learning.

It will be of special interest to teachers, educational psychologists, social workers, careers advisors, mentors, third sector workers as well as graduate recruiters.

Drawing on a robust psychological evidence-base the document offers advice about steps to take in the context of Covid-19, recognising some of the challenges faced by young people and suggesting approaches to support a way forward.

Read our guide to supporting young people into training, learning, and work.

The British Psychological Society's Division of Clinical Psychology, the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK and the Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology have jointly produced this document to answer a range of questions raised by trainee clinical psychologists.

Together we are working to think of ways trainee clinical psychologists can continue to obtain their competencies to assure a future psychological workforce, which will be much needed following this crisis.

In considering the phases of psychological response, there is a strong rationale for utilising trainee and qualified clinical psychologists’ skills in multiple contexts, now and in the future.

Read the guidance on DClinPsych Training during Covid-19.

On 26 August 2020 the DCP Pre-Qualification group hosted a webinar for the DClinPsy 2020 intake to provide a space for reflections and Q&A in relation to starting training during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The focus of the event was on issues around being a trainee during coronavirus and the implications of remote teaching and placements, as well as discussions about starting training more generally.

The event featured representatives from:

• BPS DCP Pre-Qualification Group
• BPS DCP Minorities Sub-Group
• BPS DCP Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology
• BPS Workforce and Training
• ACP Director of Trainees
• Community Psychology Representatives

• Student Minds - Help through Coronavirus - support for student mental health and wellbeing during (and after) the current pandemic

• Mind - Student mental health during coronavirus - information for both new and returning university students, studying full-time or part-time during coronavirus

• Student Space - Wellbeing resources and advice - expert information and advice to help you through the challenges of coronavirus

• Discover Uni - Coronavirus (Covid-19) information - information about higher education for current students and potential applicants
• Nidirect - Coronavirus (Covid-19) advice for students in higher education - guidance and advice for students in higher education on issues such as safety and travel, finance and support, etc
• UK Council for International Student Affairs - Coronavirus information for international students - information, support, and FAQs for international students

Download Psych-Talk

The BPS publishes its own member network-specific publications.

Psych-Talk is one such BPS publication specifically comprising of articles written by undergraduate student members.

The Psych-Talk page gives information on word counts, deadlines, etc, but we've also provided the following hints and tips to think about if you're considering submitting something to Psych-Talk for publication.

Steps for writing for Psych-Talk:

1. Pick a topic you're interested in - we love getting articles about general topics, but the best ones seem to have a passionate flair to them
2. go through our past publications - if you're unsure about what to write, going through what we've chosen to publish before might help you get a better understanding of what to submit
3. Start simple, then funnel - Alice Thomson, the winner of The Psychologist's Student Competition suggested using a technique where she wrote down every idea related to the topic in it's simplest form, then grouping them together into common themes that would form paragraphs. This helps organise your article better
4. Communicate with other BPS student members - the BPS student community includes several discussion threads started by members on topics that can help inspire you into writing for us
5. Don't be afraid of being controversial - we are open to articles that specifically look at controversial topics as a publication that hopes to provide a platform to varying perspectives
6. However, be as objective as you can - this is still a scientific publication representative of the BPS student community. A high level of objectivity when writing is a prerequisite for most of our articles

Our evolving student community is a great area to look for hints, tips, and advice on all aspects of life as a psychology student or graduate and the various career options available. Explore the many mega-threads centered around careers on the community. 

These threads provide a space for you to discuss and share information on specific areas of psychology, including potential career and qualification paths.

The communities also feature a number of blogs by both students (Student Life) and psychologists (A Day in the Life) which provide information and insight into various aspects of life both while still studying and once fully qualified.

• Student Life
• A Day in the Life

This free event for psychology students and recent graduates was designed to encourage students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds to consider clinical psychology as a career, providing information about clinical psychology training programmes and sharing the experiences of BAME colleagues during training and as qualified clinical psychologists.

On Saturday 21 November 2020, the society held an all-day online event aimed at helping our student members to explore their career options and learn about where psychology can take them.

As well as exclusive keynote speakers and panel discussions the event also featured several Q&A sessions with representatives from various BPS member groups.

Part 1

• Welcome and introduction - Hazel McLaughlin, BPS President
• My route into Clinical Psychology and Beyond - Dr Gemima Fitzgerald
• The psychology of performance excellence - Dr Mustafa Sarkar CPsychol

Part 2

• Panel discussion - including practitioner psychologists, BPS student member and representative of the student committee and BPS staff from membership and education & training
• Cognition and neuroscience: a day in the life - Dr Chris Street

Part 3

• Being a Forensic Psychologist: from the street to the laboratory - Professor Coral Dando
• Speaker panel - a Q&A session with our expert keynote speakers

On 18 November 2020, the Division of Counselling Psychology Scotland held an online event aimed at those interested in, or thinking of, a career in Counselling Psychology.

Participants heard from a number of professionals who work within a variety of settings such as the NHS, private settings and the third sector.

Speakers included:

• Dr Suzanne Roos, Consultant Psychologist & Professional Lead for Psychological Therapies, NHS Orkney
• Dr Siân Clifford CPsychol., Chartered Counselling Psychologist
• Dr Fani Papayianni, Counselling Psychologist
• Ben Amponsah, BSc, PGDipl, GMBPsS, MBACP (Accred)

On 10 September 2020, the society's East of England branch held an online careers event entitled 'So you want to work with Children?'

The event featured four speakers with psychology backgrounds who now work with children, each of whom presented a 'Day in the life of' segment describing what a typical day looks like in their role, and this was followed by a panel discussion.

The society has produced a series of five short videos to highlight the importance of continued professional development (CPD) throughout your career, whether you are studying, in-training, or already practicing.

These videos providing advice on a variety of topics and answer some key questions, such as:

• The value of professional development
• Why is CPD important?
• What are the benefits of engaging in CPD?
• Advice to peers to encourage CPD engagement
• How do you approach CPD?

You’re studying hard, but how do you make sure you secure your dream job?

Coming across well in a job interview is an important step towards your landing your perfect job, and there are lots of psychological tips to make sure you come out on top.

The BPS Division of Occupational Psychology have put together some top tips for job interviews to help you stand out from the crowd.

PsychWeb is a UK network supporting aspiring Clinical Psychologists from underrepresented backgrounds to progress onto DClinPsy.

Find out more about PsychWeb.

The Black Mind Initiative is a non-profit organisation which aims to educate, encourage, equip and engage with young Black individuals to increase representation within the mental health field.

Find out more about The Black Mind Initiative.