The Australian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science

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In 2019, a team of psychological scientists in Canada came together to write an open access book about the many careers related to psychology that students might pursue. At the time, the team admittedly did not know much about open access publishing, but based on data, our own experiences, and feedback from our students, we knew there was a gap in connecting students in psychology with career options. Armed with passion for psychological science, and a shared goal of helping well-trained students make evidence-based impacts in areas that they care about, we created The Canadian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science.

Although we knew there was a need for a resource like this, we were surprised that in only two years, this book has had approximately 24,000 homepage views. Now, thanks to a team of authors in Australia, this book is evolving, and will serve many more across the world.

It is with excitement and gratitude that I write to formally welcome and celebrate The Australian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science. As editor of The Canadian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science, my hope was to spark in others the curiosity that my friends, colleagues, and mentors had inspired in me – I did not expect to see these same sparks mirrored back to me from across the oceans a short time later.

To the authors of The Australian Handbook of Careers in Psychological Science – a sincere thank you for sharing your knowledge freely to support students as they pursue their paths.
For students – uncertainty is part of the journey. Psychology is a broad and deep discipline, and it continues to grow as we learn more about our world and each other. I hope that this book develops curiosity and action in both the science and practice of our discipline, illuminates paths you may not have considered, and empowers you to pursue your goals.

Welcome to the world of psychological science – we’re so thrilled to share it with you. If you’re feeling apprehensive about the word ‘science’, don’t let it throw you off. Although psychology is a science (more on this below), we want to encourage you to think of science as a power tool: you might be a bit apprehensive at first, but once you learn how to use the tool, things become incredibly exciting. You will get some information on the tool of science in this chapter, with more to come in the chapters to follow.

With our science power tool in hand, we can systematically explore, evaluate, understand, and solve questions that we care about. For example, understanding how, when, and why the brain can rewrite itself is (a) amazing, and (b) allows us to use this information in contexts such as everyday learning, and recovery from trauma. Science allows us to measure and evaluate the efficacy of treatments, including psychotherapy – providing us with evidence that a specific treatment is worthwhile and won’t cause harm.