Amanda, thanks for taking part in this Q&A. Please tell us a little about your career and how it started.

I am a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and have worked in Occupational Psychology for coming up to 11 years. My career has been quite structured to date and I have sought out opportunities that have given me experience in both the public and private sector, as I knew this would benefit me when I decided to go freelance and set up on my own as a freelance Chartered Occupational Psychologist.

When did you first realise you were interested in Psychology?

I knew that I wanted to explore Psychology as a career after studying A-Level Psychology whilst at Sixth Form College, it was quite a new subject and few schools/colleges were offering it, so I actually left my comprehensive school after my GCSEs to study at York Sixth Form College who offered this course.

Did you follow A-Levels with a University course?

I really enjoyed Psychology A-Level as I knew that I wanted to study this at University. At the time I wanted to persue a career in Educational Psychology, so I went to Keele University to study Psychology and education, however after a term I new that I was specialising too soon so decided to leave University as study a general Psychology degree so applied to study at the University of York for a BSc in Psychology, and ensured that I got my place secured for the following year before leaving Keele.

I graduated from the University of York in 1999, and decided to study for an MSc in Industry Psychology at the University of Hull. I completed an elective module in my final BSc year at York and this is where I first gained my insight into Occupational Psychology. I really enjoyed my MSc and it also gave me opportunity to do a project with an Occupational Psychology consultancy, PA Consulting which again was great experience. I knew then that I wanted to combine my interest in Psychology and the opportunity to work in business.

Was it easy to find work after university?

I left the University of Hull and secured a role with a global HR Consultancy, Hewitt Associates, where I was taken on as a junior consultant. I decided to explore what HR Consultancy was about to gain some insight into Consultancy before deciding to specialise too early on in my career. This role really threw me in at the deep end and I was attending client meetings immediately and working on a wide range of projects from leadership development and team building to pensions and compensation and benefits.

Do you have any other professional qualifications?

Whilst at Hewitt Associates I also studied and completed my Chartership status with the British Psychological Society, which is my professional body. This qualification means that you can practice independently on your own and you have undergone coaching by someone else in the profession. My tip is to start working for your Chartership as soon as you graduate from your Masters as it is quite challenging and will take some time.

What other work experince have you had?

I then left Hewitt Associates after 1― years as an Occupational Psychology opportunity came up with Centrex, near to my family home. Centrex (now the National Policing Improvement Agency) was a non-departmental body of the Home office, responsible for Police recruitment, promotion and training. I was there for 5 ― years and this is where I really got my grounding in Occupational Psychology and really learnt my career. My role was designing and delivering the national recruitment processes for recruiting Police Constables and Police Community Support Officers throughout England and Wales. I was responsible for designing the Assessment Centre recruitment exercises, Assessor training material as well as delivering the Assessment centres and training programmes.

You now work as a freelance. What inspired you to take this path?

I always knew that I wanted to work for myself once I had sufficient experience behind me so in July 2007 I decided to leave Centrex and I set up on my own as a freelance Occupational Psychologist, specialising in assessment and selection. This is a typical career path for Occupational psychologists, however I wanted to get experience behind me before I set out on my own as it is quite challenging. I work as an associate for a number of clients and I also have some of my own clients, so my work is really varied, something that really attracted me to working freelance.

My main area of work is delivering assessment/development events, working as an Assessor/interviewer and I have also been involved in deployment work this year. I also get involved in designing recruitment exercises, competency frameworks, and 360 feedback tools etc. I also am qualified in a range of psychometric tools so I administer and deliver feedback on a number of personality tools, for both selection and development projects. I have been freelance for newly four years know and I have really enjoyed it, although I make sure that I never get complacent, particularly given the impact of the past year.

I am always on the look out for new clients promoting myself and networking. Some clients I work for on a regular basis whilst others I may work for once or twice a year. I see myself carrying on working for myself for the foreseeable future however I am also keen to develop and stretch myself so this year I am hoping to get involved in coaching, particularly career coaching using my 11 years experience of working in recruitment, assessment and selection, so I am planning on starting coaching diploma this Spring.

Are there any particular problems with being freelance?

One challenge I have faced is a limited number of employers of Occupational Psychologists near to where I wanted to settle down in Yorkshire. I worked for Hewitt Associates in London for over a year and I moved back to Yorkshire to work for Centex. Many Occupational Psychologist jobs are in the South East, however there are opportunities all over the UK, itīs just a matter of finding organisation that employs Occupational psychologists.

Although I had been in the profession for 7 years when I went freelance, I discovered many more companies local to me that either employ or work with occupational psychologists, so my advice is to do lots of research as there opportunities that are available locally. One reality of freelance work is that I do spend some time away from home, as my client work is, for the majority not in my local area, so I do travel a lot and I also have to stay away from home from time to time, however this is also a reality of working for others organisations nowadays.

Running your own company also has its own challenges, itīs not just about doing the work, you also have to find time to run and manage your company and accounts.

Do you have any tips for aspiring Psychologists?

One tip I would give is to choose A-Level subjects carefully, I was advised to study one science subject and chose Biology. I really did not enjoy it as much as I hoped. However it really came in useful during my BSc degree as there was quite a large science component. I would also try and seek out opportunity to study Psychology at A-Level, many school and colleges now offer it and it will give a good insight before deciding whether it is the right career for you.

Also when choosing Psychology degrees, make sure that you apply for courses that are recognised by the British Psychological Society. The British Psychological Society also run CPD events for psychologist and these cover range of levels from A-Level students through to experienced professionals, they also run a number of conferences each year and they are a good starting point for someone wanting to explore Psychology as a career and meet potential employers. There are also local hubs throughout the UK that meet regularly.

One other key tip I have its to try and get as much work experience as possible, the ever increasing, competitive job marker means that your CV will have to stand out from others, as Occupational Psychology is also a popular career.

Do you enjoy your work?

As well as getting a huge amount of personal satisfaction from my job, I know that I really add value to the clients that I am working for; whether it is selection the best person for the job or giving an unsuccessful candidate really good feedback so they can move forward. Working for yourself does have its own financial rewards and although I donīt work full time my income is more than comparable to what I used to earn.

As with many other professions, salary within the private sector is usually higher than the public sector. Starting salaries do vary considerably and I would say that Ģ20-25,000 is pretty typical. Salaries for more experienced professionals vary hugely depending on who you want to work for and where you want to work.

I really enjoy my career and I know that I have found my niche, and that applying my Psychology skills to help and benefit others will continue to drive my career forward.