Why Study Psychology?

Why study psychology? One of the best reasons to study psychology is because it is such an interesting subject. Have you ever wondered why people behave in certain ways? Or maybe you’ve always wanted to learn more about your own mind, emotions, and actions? Earning a degree in psychology is an excellent way to gain a greater understanding of people. Although you’ll need to study a Masters or a Doctorate to learn how to apply the theory that you learn during an undergraduate degree.

In the UK Psychology is one of the most popular degree courses. It’s not only popular amongst students – employers like psychology degrees too. Employers like psychology graduates because the degree is a good mix of science and the arts. Psychology graduates understand scientific method and statistics but they can also make a compelling argument and communicate complex ideas.

In Malaysia and other middle-income countries you may have to work harder to explain why a psychology degree is a good course.

What Skills Do You Learn During a Psychology Degree?

A Psychology degree gives you the ability to:

• Gather information from a variety of sources.
• Analyse data.
• Present complex ideas.
• Engage in effective team work.
• Problem solve.
• Reason scientifically.
• Consider alternative approaches and solutions.
• Evaluate and make critical judgements.
• Understand issues from other people’s perspective.
• Plan and manage projects.
• Be sensitive to cultural issues.

The list above is from the British Psychological Society’s document ‘Your Journey into Psychology’.

Careers that aren’t specific to psychologists

Many psychology graduates do not want to become practising psychologists or researchers. In the US, UK and other western countries businesses are usually happy to employ psychologists for roles that don’t have much to do with psychology. Psychology graduates have been employed in:

• Human Resources
• Sales & Marketing
• Market Research
• Advertising
• Public Relations
• Management Consultancy
• Teaching
• ….. and many others

Professions in Psychology

One strong reason why you should study psychology is that some careers are only open to psychology graduates. You’ll find a description of some of these professions below.

There’s no need to rush into specialising in one of these fields. It’s helpful to gain ‘life experience’ or to have worked in other careers before becoming a professional psychologist.

Clinical psychology

Clinical Psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress and promote well-being.

One of the key benefits of becoming a Clinical Psychologist in Malaysia is that the role is officially recognised under the Allied Health Professions Act (Act 774). This means that clinical psychologists are regulated by law, giving them professional credibility and protection. Once registered, they are considered part of Malaysia’s formal healthcare system. This legal recognition makes it easier to work in hospitals, universities, and other established institutions, and it gives clients more confidence in the psychologist’s qualifications.

Clinical Psychology is also one of the broadest and most flexible fields within psychology. During training, clinical psychologists learn to work with people of all ages and with a wide range of emotional, behavioural, and mental health difficulties. Because of this, most employers – including international schools, NGOs, mental health centres, private hospitals, and even corporations – tend to prefer hiring clinical psychologists, especially when the work involves more complex or high-risk cases.

After qualifying, clinical psychologists in Malaysia can choose to specialise further, depending on their interests and the needs of the community. While these specialisations (such as Educational Psychology, Sports Psychology which are described below) are not formally separated in Malaysia in the same way they might be in some Western countries, the title of Clinical Psychologist allows you to work across many of these areas, as long as you have the appropriate training and experience.

In summary, becoming a clinical psychologist in Malaysia offers a clear professional identity, greater job opportunities, and the flexibility to shape your career in different directions over time.

For more information about becoming a Clinical Psychologist see the guide on this website.

Educational Psychology

Educational Psychologists help children and young people who are having problems with learning, their emotional well-being, behaviour or friendships. They try to understand a young person’s strengths and the difficulties by giving them a series of structured tests or observing them in the classroom. You can find out more about the sort of assessments that they may conduct on our page about learning assessments.

Based on their assessment they will then develop an intervention and work directly with the young person or work via their parents, teachers or other professionals. In some countries you need to be a teacher before you become an Educational Psychologist.

In countries such as the UK and Australia, you can pursue a specific training pathway to become an Educational Psychologist. These countries have well-established professional qualifications that prepare psychologists to work closely with schools, children, and families to support learning, development, and emotional wellbeing.

However, in Malaysia, we are not aware of any recognised training programme that leads to qualification as an Educational Psychologist. While some universities offer Master’s degrees in areas like Educational Psychology or Child Psychology, these are academic programmes. They may deepen your knowledge of psychology in educational settings, but they do not qualify you to practise as a psychologist under the Allied Health Professions Act.

If you are interested in the kind of work Educational Psychologists do—such as conducting assessments for learning difficulties, supporting students with emotional and behavioural needs, and working alongside teachers and parents—the most appropriate and recognised pathway in Malaysia is to train as a Clinical Psychologist

Forensic Psychology

Forensic Psychologists work at the intersection of psychology and the legal system. Their main role is to understand the behaviour of individuals involved in crime—especially those who have already been convicted—and to help reduce the chances of them committing further offences. This might include assessing a person’s risk of reoffending, helping courts understand the psychological factors behind a person’s actions, or supporting the rehabilitation of offenders in prison or community settings.

A common misunderstanding is that Forensic Psychologists work like detectives—solving crimes, profiling serial killers, or tracking down suspects. In reality, those methods are rarely used and are often exaggerated in movies and TV shows. Most of a Forensic Psychologist’s work is focused on supporting decision-making in the legal system, not catching criminals.

In middle-income countries like Malaysia, the role of Forensic Psychologists is still developing. One major challenge is that governments may not allocate enough funding for this kind of psychological work. Forensic services, including rehabilitation and psychological assessments for legal cases, are often seen as lower priority compared to other areas like physical health or education. As a result, there are fewer job opportunities, and psychologists interested in this field may need to work in related areas such as clinical psychology or academic research.

Despite these challenges, there is growing awareness of the importance of psychology in legal and correctional systems. Over time, there may be more opportunities for psychologists to contribute to improving rehabilitation programmes, prison mental health services, and court-related assessments in Malaysia and the region.

Health Psychology

Health Psychologists help people improve their physical health by changing how they think and behave. They focus on the connection between the mind and body, supporting both prevention and recovery.

They may work in several areas:

• Research – Studying how behaviours like smoking, stress, or diet affect health, and how to encourage healthier choices.
• Policy – Advising governments or NGOs on health campaigns, such as increasing vaccination rates or reducing obesity.
• Patient support – Helping people in hospitals cope with illness, manage pain, follow treatment plans, and adjust their lifestyle.

In Malaysia, the title “Health Psychologist” isn’t yet common, but Clinical Psychologists and researchers often do similar work. As healthcare becomes more integrated, there is increasing need for psychologists to support physical health alongside medical professionals.

Neuropsychology

Neuropsychologists study how brain conditions affect thinking, emotions, and behaviour. They often work with people who have had strokes, brain injuries, dementia, or other neurological conditions.

They use specialised assessments to understand how the brain is functioning and then recommend strategies to help the person cope better in daily life—at home, school, or work.

In Malaysia, this work is often done by Clinical Psychologists with extra training in neuropsychology, especially in hospitals and rehabilitation settings.

You can find out more about the sort of assessments that a neuropsychologist may conduct with a child on our page about learning assessments.

Occupational psychology

Occupational psychologists are also called Organisational or Industrial psychologists. They:

• Help businesses to get the best from their employees.
• Conduct recruitment, training or develop incentive schemes.
• Reduce stress at work.

The challenge of occupational psychology is convincing large organisations to pay for your services. You’ll need quite an entrepreneurial spirit to be successful as an Occupational Psychologist in Malaysia.

Sports psychology

Sports psychologists try to improve the performance of athletes. This is another profession which may be more challenging in middle-income countries such as Malaysia because athletes usually have less funding. However, there are some sports psychologists operating in middle-income countries so it is possible.

Research Psychologist/Lecturer

Research psychologists tend to study for a PhD and then focus their time on investigating the topic that most interests them. It may later lead to you becoming a lecturer at a University. Your undergraduate psychology degree will give you an introduction to research. If you enjoyed your final year project this could be an area for you to look into.

If you’d like to know about other professions in psychology https://careers.bps.org.uk/

I have a psychology degree and I want to become a practicing psychologist. What should I do next?

If you would like to become a practicing psychologist in Malaysia the best option would be to qualify as a clinical psychologist. The title of clinical psychologist is better recognised in Malaysia and there are more training opportunities. You could then choose to do further short training courses to specialise in forensic, sports, education, occupational or health psychology.

To find out how to become a clinical psychologist in Malaysia click here.

Any questions or comments?

Did you find this article on why you should study psychology helpful? If you have any questions on this topic write them in comments section at the bottom of this page and we’ll reply to you as soon as possible. We’d also be very happy to read any comments or opinions you may have.

Further Information …

Here are some links to websites that you may find useful:

British Psychological Society Career Guide

The BPS’s web guide to careers in Psychology is aimed at British Citizens but the information should still be useful.

American Psychological Society Career Guide

The APA’s guide to careers includes stories and biographies of a number of different psychologists so you can learn about their day-to-day work.

Times Newspaper (UK) Article on Studying Psychology

The Times Newspaper answers the question: What can you do with a psychology degree? It gives information on what you should study to get your place on a degree, and what jobs you could get once you graduate. It should be noted that the article is written from the British perspective.