I. The psychologists in France
In 2016, a total of 57,854 psychologists worked in France. They were 49,906 in 2014 and 40,000 in 2008 (Oui, 2008; Schneider, 2012; DRESS, 2014, 2016). There is enthusiasm for the profession of psychologist and numerous students turn to this profession (Schneider, 2012) (Appendix 1. Table 1).
Despite a decrease in registrations in 2008-2009 due to the social context (strikes and demonstrations) (Schneider, 2012), the sector of psychology has known a renewed interest: in 2014, 7 % of the new students at University are registered in psychology (Buratti, 2016). Nevertheless approximately 15 % only of the students will become psychologists (Buratti, 2016): according to the former councillor of the Ministry of Education and professor at the Paris 5 Descartes university, there are three psychology students for two working psychologists (Oui, 2008). But what becomes of those who complete their studies? Are there enough jobs on the market? In order to make an analysis on the professional integration in this profession, it is necessary to determine the characteristics and the job offers.
II. The characteristics of the job
The different inquiries on professional integration published since 2010 (Calmand & Mora, on 2011; Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l’Innovation, 2010,2011; Schneider, Mayor, Dollander & Senlis, 2010) show a homogeneity of the results, and seem to indicate that the prejudices according to which there are no job prospects in psychology are inexact (Oui & Service of documentation, 2014). The rates of professional integration remain stable in spite of a less favorable economic context with the crisis that hit France and generated an increase of unemployment between the fourth semester of 2011 (9.4 %) and the fourth semester of 2012 (10.2 %). Obtaining a Master 2degree favours hiring: 80 % of the Master’s degree graduates in human sciences have a stable job after 18 months and 86 % after 30 months of the obtaining of the diploma (Enseignement supérieur et Recherche, 2016).
94 % of the young graduates in psychology found a job, according to the investigation of the employability of the university graduates of 2007 (Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l’Innovation, 2010; Cf. Appendix 2), against 89 % in 2017 (Legout & Mandry, 2017). In spite of this observation, the professional integration is not simple: it is mixed (Legout & Mandry, 2017).
The sectors of human sciences and letters are the least favorable to the recruitment at the wage level and in terms of status, compared with other training courses for a similar number of years of study (trade, computer, engineer). The salaries within the various disciplines of the human ressources are relatively close (cf. Appendix 1. Table 2).
The young psychologists who got a vocational diploma (baccalauréat professionnel) earn between 1,400 and 1,500 euros a month(Calmand & Mora, 2011). The median net salary for a full-time psychologist is 1,650 euros (Legout & Mandry, 2017). The status of “executive” which comes along with a five year degree is quite formal in psychology, and does not come directly with a higher quality of employment (Schneider, Fritz & Mayor, 2013).
Psychology differs from other sectors of human sciences regarding the employment rate : 39 % work under limited-term contract (Calmand & Mora, 2011; Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l’Innovation, 2010,2011), 50 to 65 % under permanent contract, and approximately 40 % work part-time, mainly in the clinical, health and education sectors (Schneider, Fritz & Mayor, 2013) and less than two thirds of the jobs are stable, all types of contracts included (Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l’Innovation, 2012) that is to say 63 % in 2017 (Legout & Mandry, 2016).
These assessments nevertheless are to be taken with precaution. All the young graduates who were asked to participate in the study (Schneider, Fritz & Mayor, 2013) did not answer: it is possible that only the students having managed to find an employment answered. Furthermore, the populations of comparison are not strictly identical: the Observatory lists the young graduates having an employment but the records the students who were directly recruited after their studies. The given indications of salaries are determined on the basis of a full-time job, while about 40 % of the jobs in this profession are part-time.
Then, the article written by Legout and Mandry (2016) is dedicated to the professional integration after a Master of psychology to do list of the professional integration of faculties of psychology: the study is based on the rate of employment, the number of stable jobs, executives and full-time jobs. The socioeconomic data regarding the regions and the students are not taken into account in these inquiries. Nevertheless, these studies can give us an idea of the reality of the professional integration rates of psychologists.
An analysis of the job offers published on the website of the French Federation of Psychologists and of Psychology (FFPP) was making in 2011-2012 (Schneider, Fritz & Mayor, 2013) and enables us to get more information on employment with socioeconomic characteristics.
III. The Job offers
.
After getting their diploma, the students start to seek employment. The ways of looking for a job are diverse : through the word of mouth, personal network, structures intended for the employment such as Pôle-Emploi, websites… The study of job offers is to be taken into account in the professional integration : the digital importance of the individuals highlighted the activities and the varied needs. The FFPP is a good indicator of the job offers it proposes to the psychologists on their website: there is a quality control on the advertisements to make sure that the job offered is actually aimed at the psychologists. The analysis of the proposed job offers realized by Schneider, Fritz and Mayor (2013) enables us to look at the number of advertisements published over the year 2010 and 2011 in an interval of 6 months (cf. Annex 0 Table 2). In spite of some fluctuations in the number of publications, the monthly offers vary between 73 and 111.
Scheider, Fritz and Mayor (2013) highlight that the number of job offers is proportional number of people living in the city. According to the regions proposing the most offers, there are in 2016, 13,481 psychologists in active employment in Ile-de-France (a region that contains a fifth of the national population), 6,954 in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (name of the new region Rhône-Alpes), 4,719 in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and 2,791 in Pays de la Loire (DRESS, on 2016).
This report can be an indicator of needs by region: it is not however a reliable indication of the adjustment of the offer. Scheider, Fritz and Mayor (2013) suggest considering that the number of inhabitant by region is inversely proportional to the adjustment of the offer. For the regions that we mentioned before (that are rich in job offers), the averages in their adjustments are: 1 psychologist for 156,277 in Ile-de-France, 1/157,856 in PACA and 1/137,462 in Pays-de-la Loire.
It should be noted that in this analysis, only the offers proposed on the site of the FFPP were taken into account, and that the quality control of their advertisements is not optimal: some of them do not have all the information on the type of job, the work structure … (Scheider, Fritz & Mayor, 2013).
According to studies carried out, the professional integration of psychologists is positive (Cf. Appendix 2). Nevertheless, a paradox appears: society expresses its need for psychologists, and there are numerous job offers, but the professional integration remains difficult. The profession is characterized by part-times and unstable jobs.
It is necessary to deal with the reasons that lead to this situation in order to improve employment. For more information about the professional integration of the psychologists who graduated at the university of Nantes, it is possible to look at the inquiries on professional integration realized by the Service Universitaire d’Information et d’Orientation ( SUIO).
IV Bibliography
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SCHNEIDER, B., FRITZ, L. & MAIRE, H. (2013). L’insertion professionnelle des psychologues. Analyse de synthèse entre synthèse et observation de l’offre proposée sur le site de la FFPP, Bulletin de psychologie, 523 (1), 87-100. DOI: 10.3917 / bupsy.52
V. Annexe
