Darcey McNaught

The ability to demonstrate critical thinking and writing skills in a part-time role meant Darcey was able to pivot into a career path in risk services.

I originally started out doing Health Science at another university, as had really enjoyed studying sciences at high school. However, I found it didn’t align with the way I liked to learn. I visited a careers advisor who suggested I look at Psychology as an option as it had a more human, creative focus and a prominent written element. As a second major, I picked up Criminology as I had heard it tied into Psychology and I found crime TV shows interesting!

I loved Psychology as it was that perfect balance between being based in the scientific method, but with a lot of freedom to explore. The teaching style asked us to independently seek out information to support the points we made. My favourite part was searching for scientific literature related to my research topic and then writing introductions to lab reports. Being able to see real examples of the work I was doing made it feel more meaningful and I could see what a future in research might look like. I hadn’t enjoyed English at school, so I wasn’t sure I would like the writing aspect of Criminology, but it turned out to be one of my favourite areas of study. The content is interesting, and the lecturers are truly experts in their fields, which makes the opportunity to explore topics that resonate with you that much more enjoyable.

I had a rather unconventional way into my first role (an area I’m still in now). While studying, I worked part time as an office administrator at PwC, sitting right across from their Risk and Audit teams. Through the skills I had gained from my degree, such as writing, critical thinking, qualitative and quantitative research, and effective communication, I was able to demonstrate that I was capable and eager to learn in my part-time job. I ended up being offered a role in their Risk Services team as a graduate and I have really enjoyed it, despite my lack of a commerce background. I think the key to taking this big step was that my degree really enhanced my employability, giving me all the right skills to work, and PwC has provided the job-specific training for my role.

I am now a senior associate in the Risk Services team, which feels like a big deviation from my degree, but I love it! Risk services typically involves being asked by businesses to independently evaluate one (or many) of their processes and provide insights and recommendations on how they can improve. Elements that I enjoyed in my degree have found ways to manifest themselves in my role now. For example, I found the ethical perspectives we looked at in Criminology interesting, and now I evaluate whether lending and insurance decisions are made in the customer’s best interest and that each customer is treated equitably. Writing and critical thinking have been crucial for my current role as I have been well equipped to write client reports. The ability to understand my audience and tailor my writing accordingly is a skill which I think is quite unique to Psychology and Criminology. Equally, I’m much more agile in responding to adversity. Psychology required me to be flexible if my hypothesis was proven to be incorrect, and that is such an asset in the workplace as things don’t always go to plan.

It’s so nice being able to tell people I really enjoyed what I studied, and that I found my degree truly interesting. I think initially I felt overwhelmed that there wasn’t a defined career pathway for a Psychology/Criminology graduate but for students transitioning to work, let that be your opportunity!  The skills you gain from your degree give you a strong base from which to explore.