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You’ll need an honours degree in psychology to become a member of the Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society which allows you to apply for post graduate courses in forensic psychology.

Most jobs in the NHS are covered by the Agenda for Change (AfC) pay scales. After completing their training, forensic psychologists will be paid at band 7. Forensic psychologists in the NHS will usually work standard hours of 37.5 per week. Terms and conditions can vary for employers outside of the NHS.

On a daily basis you will use a broad range of skills, including a thorough knowledge of psychological theory and practice, an interest in how people think and behave and the ability to relate to a wide range of people.You'll need to be a patient, sympathetic and the ability to work on your own and in consultation with others.

Some psychologists decide to do into management and lead a team of professionals. You could decide to go into clinical academic research to support the development of the profession.You could also apply for a trainee high intensity therapist position, enabling you to work under the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative.

You will need the right aptitude to learn how to work collaboratively in a mental health team. You’ll need to be able to demonstrate a willingness to work in a hopeful and productive way with adults with severe mental health problems. Being able to demonstrate your ability to study at degree level or above is important.

While you train, you’ll spend one day a week studying at university and three to four days working in or undertaking specific training tasks in a community mental health service. Once qualified, you’ll spend at least 20 hours a week seeing patients. You'll be paid on Agenda for change band 4 while you train, moving to band 5 once you qualify.

Most importantly you need a willingness to work in a hopeful and productive way with adults with severe mental health problems. You'll also have excellent interpersonal skills, be able to build trusting and productive relationships with a range of people, work well within a multidisciplinary team, and have a good understanding of mental health issues.

You could move to a supervisory role, teach others or undertake further training in another psychological profession such as CBT therapy or clinical psychology.