Undergraduate psychology training and workplace needs: student perspectives on the extent to which their education prepares them for their chosen career

The current study surveyed 195 first to fourth year psychology students at a regional university in New South Wales about the amount of applied content in undergraduate psychology training and post-graduate opportunities for employment as a psychologist. Eighty-nine percent of students believed that the level of applied psychological training was either nonexistent or inadequate, and therefore did not equip them for finding work as a psychologist. Ninety-six percent of students who wished to become intern psychologists believed that opportunities for working as intern generalist psychologists were either non-existent or insufficient. Concerns around employment and registration opportunities reflected this group’s disillusionment with undergraduate training. Availability of work-place supervision and associated worry about paying for alternative private supervision was also evident. Recommendations for further investigation of the ‘goodness of fit’ between undergraduate psychology training and the ability of students to be competitive in the workplace following graduation will be articulated.