Jessica Tang

After graduating from Northumbria I returned to Hong Kong and not long after started a four year doctorate degree specialising in clinical psychology. I will be graduating in Spring 2018 and plan to return to Hong Kong to start my career as a Clinical Psychologist. I have aspired to become a Clinical Psychologist because psychology always fascinates me and more importantly, I want to be a fellow traveller to help those who struggle in their life journey.

What are you doing now?

In August 2017 I returned to Newcastle to work as a Trainee Clinical Psychologist in one of the NHS Trusts doing psychotherapy with adult patients as my final year placement.

What was it like studying at Northumbria?

It was a mixture of lectures, assessments, exams and a thesis. The level of independence in learning is fairly high that you're expected to revise the teaching materials given and read additional texts to really get the most out of what you taught. There is also the social side and I know that there was social gathering and study groups within my cohort.

How connected was your course with industry?

I would say learning how to write lab reports, perform statistical analyses and how to write a thesis are most relevant to my subsequent doctoral study. I feel like these helped build a strong foundation on the research/ statistic modules.

What was the best thing about your course?

Learning about the different areas of psychology and a very friendly and supportive program director - Dr Colin Hamilton.

How did studying at Northumbria help you achieve your career goals/ give your career an edge?

The whole studying experience, though very tough at the time, taught me how to study, think and improve, and perhaps more importantly built my resilience. These might not contribute to my career as a psychologist in very specific ways but I reckon these positive qualities and soft skills are very crucial to my own personal and professional development.

Which skills/ knowledge did you learn on your course that you use most now throughout your career?

Relatively speaking I would say the statistics and research parts are the skills I now use in my current job role. Other skills that I found most beneficial are the critical thinking and abstract reasoning skills.

What did you enjoy most about your time at Northumbria University?

Getting exposed to a wide range of topics in psychology and meeting people from diverse backgrounds.

What advice would you give somebody who is thinking of studying at Northumbria?

Go to course instructor, professor or program director when you struggle with your learning because from my experience they are pretty helpful.

How would you describe your time at Northumbria in three words?

Intellectually challenging enough.