Are you considering pursuing a psychology degree? If you are interested in matters of the mind and want to know how you can contribute to studying people's minds and help them with mental health issues, it might just be the career path for you.
That said, there are many things to know and understand about psychology before you actually decide to pursue a degree. What are some psychology courses in Australia? What is a psychologist's salary in Australia? How much time does it actually take to become a psychologist?
If you are interested in learning more about the world of psychology and how you can get a psychology degree in Australia, you will find some interesting info below. Read on!
Learn more about what you can do with a psychology degree.
A Brief History of Psychology
How and when did psychology start as a discipline? Who was the first to actually think about psychology?
For centuries, psychology has been discussed without being properly named. When it comes to the way humans think, issues of the spirit and people's minds have been discussed and studied through disciplines such as philosophy and art.
But what is the history of psychology as its own discipline?
For years and years, several ancient cultures started questioning the nature of the human mind, soul, and spirit. That said, it was not until the Middle Ages that psychology became a study for scholars where they aimed to comprehend people's minds and behaviour. Nevertheless, it was still seen as a branch of philosophy. This changed during the mid-19th century.
Later on, the first psychology laboratory was opened by Wilhelm Wundt at the University of Leipzig, Germany. It is him who gets the historic credit of seeing psychology as an academic discipline. He also started approaching psychology as a scientific study of conscious experience, and thought that its ultimate goal was to understand human conscience and how its different elements shaped our experience.
During this time, William James also became a key character in the world of psychology. But, who was William James? James was the first North American psychologist that actually had a different perspective and thoughts about how this discipline should be regarded. His idea was that, same as survival of the fittest works for natural selection, the same happens with their behaviour.
Later on, Sigmund Freud founded psychoanalysis in 1896. Freud's way of approaching this was around the idea that people have unconscious drives, conflicts and motivations. Based on this, he developed a type of therapy that used free association and dream analysis.
During the early 20th century, Psychology changed towards behaviourism. Behaviourism was a new theoretical perspective that brought a huge change and emphasized a rejection towards the conscious and unconscious mind. This theory was looking to make psychology way more scientific, since it should only focus on behaviours that were observable.
Finally, during the last decades of the twentieth century, a new approach made its way into the world of psychology: cognitive science. What was it about? Cognitive science saw the "mind" as a subject for investigation, and used tools such as evolutionary psychology, linguistics, computer science, philosophy, and neurobiology.
Ever since that happened, cognitive psychology has stayed a dominant area of psychology. Nowadays, researchers are still on the path of studying matters such as perception, memory, decision-making, problem-solving, intelligence, and language.
Learn more about the jobs you can have as a psychologist.
Psychology Degrees in Australia
Are you interested in diving a bit further into psychology or maybe getting a Bachelor of Psychology? A bachelor's degree in psychology sets you up for success whether you enter the workforce immediately or continue to graduate school.
A Bachelor of Psychology is extremely valuable as the first step in your professional career. Some careers in psychology require academic degrees at the master’s or doctorate levels, but a bachelor's degree by itself can also be valuable.
But what are psychology students looking for? Students choose to pursue a psychology major are often looking to better understand the human mind, emotions and behaviours. Through a program in psychology, students learn how to evaluate and create treatment plans for people who have issues such as family problems, substance abuse, stress, depression, and much more.
A typical Bachelor's Degree in Psychology covers the following topics:
- memory
- learning
- cognition
- perception
- neuroscience
- language
- developmental psychology
Here are some of the schools in Australia that offer a Bachelor of Psychology degree and that you can look at for your future studies:
- The University of Sydney
- The University of Western Australia
- Charles Sturt University
- University of South Australia
- UNSW Sydney
- Victoria University Melbourne Australia
Do you know where to study psychology in Australia?
Psychologist Salary Australia
Another important factor to take into consideration when choosing to pursue any degree is how much money you can expect to make once you obtain your diploma and dive into the professional world.
While it is true that there are no magic formulas to calculate how much you will specifically make as a psychologist, there are some resources online that have gathered information from psychologists all over Australia and have landed an average salary for this profession.
For example, on the website talent.au, the average psychologist's salary in Australia is $102,996 per year or $52.82 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $90,222 per year, while most experienced workers can make up to $121,276 per year.
Another thing to take into consideration when talking about a psychologist's salary in Australia is the profession you will choose. It's not the same working as part of a human resources team in a big company as it is deciding to be a clinical psychologist for example.
To give you more context, a clinical psychologist is a mental health specialist who provides psychological services and support to people with varying mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and drug or alcohol abuse. Becoming a clinical psychologist is not easy. In order to achieve this, you must undertake a four-year undergraduate sequence in psychology. This could be either a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours), or a three-year Bachelor of Psychological Science followed by an accredited fourth-year program such as a Graduate Diploma of Psychology (Advanced).
Find a psychology statistics tutor Sydney to help you in your courses on Superprof.
On the other hand, if you have already have a bachelor's degree that's not necessarily related to psychology, you can complete a Graduate Diploma of Psychology, followed by a Graduate Diploma of Psychology (Advanced). Just bear in mint that the degree that you choose must be accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC).
According to the website seek.org, the average annual salary for clinical psychology jobs in Australia ranges from $100k to $120k. That said, this can also vary depending on the region where you live (and the cost of living in your region).
For example, while the average annual salary for clinical psychologist jobs in VIC ranges from $90k to $110k, the average annual salary for clinical psychologist jobs in WA could go from $110k to $130k.
Another good comparison of prices can be done through the Superprof website where you can see how prices for psychology lessons or psychology classes compare depending on the city where the tutor is based.
Get ready to start learning about the different types of psychology with the help of Superprof!
Find a Psychology Tutor in Australia with Superprof
Are you ready to start studying psychology? Getting a psychology degree will require you to focus on the program and your classes, understand the curriculum and really dive into theory.
That said, if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed and feel like you need to go through some of the program subjects on the side or maybe want to become stronger on a certain topic, we have just what you need: private tutorials or a course with psychology experts.
Whether online or in-person, with Superprof you will have the opportunity to study with a private course and a private tutor who tailors the learning to your needs. All you need to do is conduct a quick search, check out their profiles and find the one that best aligns with your expectations.
Discover your perfect psychology statistics tutor on Superprof!
They are all very different with varying years of experience and degrees, international backgrounds and studies and skills. This is why it's important that you choose the one whose experience is closer to what you want as a student.
You can also read other students' experiences on the platform so you can base your decision on more information.
The work that you do on your course or courses needs to be personalised so it's good for you to find someone who will help you master the program you are studying and will help reinforce the skills you need in your career and future work.
Remember that the best student is not the one who gets a full or complete honours degree but that who actually finds purpose in the work they are doing and the experience and skills they gain.
Start learning more about psychology and psychology courses.
Summarise with AI:
Enjoyed this article? Leave a rating!
Loading...
