📘 Worked example — not a real student’s record
A de-identified illustration of the mid-degree undergraduate decision (what comes after the bachelor’s), to help you plan with full foresight. The frameworks here are field-agnostic; the figures are public AU data (AQF, QILT graduate outcomes, the regulators). No grades, no IDs, no individual — this is a framework you fill in from your own handbook, not anyone’s real plan.
🔒 Privacy: this page reads nothing about you — no tracking, no profiling, no account access. You pick your path; we store only your own choices on your device. Privacy notice
Your path: this example follows a current undergraduate deciding between honours, a coursework or research master’s, and a professional-entry route. Other paths — school-leaver · career-pivoter · lifelong-learner · post-registration psychologist — plug into the same engine (Career Explorer).
Where you are, and the fork ahead
Your bachelor isn’t the finish line — it’s the branch point. The decision is best made in your penultimate year, while applications are still open.
The four routes after a bachelor’s
All share the AQF spine — Bachelor is Level 7; what you add sits at 8, 9 or 10.
Your six questions, answered
- When do I specialise? Generalist degrees via a major in year 1–2; professional-entry degrees lock at admission. The honours/postgrad call is made in your penultimate year.
- Honours or master’s? Honours (+1 yr, AQF 8) = research on-ramp; coursework master’s (AQF 9) = professional deepening. See Decide ↗.
- Coursework or research? Research master’s/MPhil is a thesis-heavy PhD alternative; coursework is employability-led.
- Which body accredits / registers me? Depends on the field — psychology (APAC/PsyBA), medicine (AMC), law (LACC + state board), teaching (AITSL + state regulator), engineering (Engineers Australia). See The Gate ↗.
- Does my prior study count? Up to ⅔ credit max; the receiving institution decides. See Credit & RPL ↗.
- What does my field pay / employ? Real QILT by-field medians in Outcomes data ↗.
🧰 Helpful for your path From Mindspan
Shown because they’re relevant to a study-and-registration journey, not as ads — our own resources, openly labelled. Mindspan’s depth is psychology-leaning, so the clinical items are flagged as “bookmark for a future stage”. If your field is law/medicine/teaching/engineering/science, the honest fit is general study skills + the official tools below — not these.
The strongest link here is to the other Career Explorer pages — Mindspan as the foresight tool that grows with you, not a course to buy today. Explore your field with Your Career ↗ · Course Seeker ↗.
The decision frameworks
Field-agnostic logic — the core of this page. Three calls: when to specialise, which next qualification, and whether you’re entering a registration profession (which overrides personal preference).
1 · When to specialise framework
- Most generalist AU bachelors (science, arts, commerce) specialise via a major declared in year 1–2 — options stay open longer.
- Professional-entry bachelors (engineering, nursing, education, some medicine) lock specialisation at admission.
- The honours/postgrad decision is typically made in the penultimate year; applications open ~mid-final-year. Confirm dates in your handbook.
2 · Honours vs coursework master’s vs research master’s vs professional-entry framework + AQF (hard)
| Route | AQF | Typical time | What it unlocks | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honours | 8 | +1 yr | Direct PhD entry; First Class (H1) = de-facto PhD/RTP-scholarship gate; H2A may suffice for a research master’s or some PhDs | research/academia, or a research-gated profession (psychology 4th-year is effectively this) |
| Coursework master’s | 9 | 1–2 yr | Professional deepening / career change; may include a minor thesis (~12,000–20,000 wds) | employability + specialisation; not the strongest PhD route alone |
| Research master’s / MPhil | 9 | 1–2 yr | Thesis 20,000–40,000 wds; a PhD on-ramp alternative to honours | research, when honours wasn’t taken |
| Professional-entry / Extended master’s | 9 | 1.5–4 yr | The accredited route into a registered profession (JD, Master of Teaching, Master of Professional Psychology) | the field requires registration — the accredited-program list is the binding constraint |
3 · The “is this a registration profession?” check decisive
Real graduate outcomes by field
Source: QILT Graduate Outcomes Survey. National topline (2025 GOS) UG full-time employment 75.4%; UG median full-time salary $75,000 (2024 GOS, the most recent full field breakdown); postgraduate coursework median $100,000.
⚠️ These are national medians measured ~4–6 months post-graduation. They describe cohorts, not individuals — and a low full-time % often means the field “studies on” (psychology, science) rather than “poor field”. Read them that way.
| Study area | FT employed | Median FT salary | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dentistry | 85.6% | $103,300 | highest salary |
| Medicine | 90.4% | $86,800 | — |
| Social work | 77.3% | $82,000 | — |
| Engineering | 85.5% | $80,000 | — |
| Teacher education | 86.8% | $78,800 | — |
| Law & paralegal | 79.3% | $76,000 | — |
| Computing & info systems | 67.8% | $75,300 | — |
| Psychology | 65.5% | $75,100 | low FT% = studies on (registration pathway) |
| Rehabilitation | 94.9% | $75,000 | highest FT% |
| Architecture & built env. | 66.6% | $75,000 | — |
| Health services & support | 75.4% | $74,900 | — |
| Humanities, culture & soc. sci. | 66.7% | $73,100 | often studies on |
| Business & management | 78.5% | $72,000 | — |
| Nursing | 85.5% | $72,000 | — |
| Science & mathematics | 63.6% | $72,400 | studies on |
| Agriculture & environmental | 77.8% | $71,500 | — |
| Veterinary science | 84.7% | $70,000 | — |
| Communications | 58.3% | $65,200 | — |
| Creative arts | 48.4% | $62,600 | lowest FT% |
| Pharmacy | 91.4% | $59,500 | high FT%, lower starting pay |
Salary by field — the spread
Median full-time UG salary, 2024 GOS. The bars show how flat most fields are around the $72–80k mark — pay alone rarely decides your route.
The “studies on” signal
Where many undergrads continue to postgrad (2024 GOS further-study destinations, Fig 21). If your field is here, a low FT% is expected — the next qualification is the plan.
Roadmap template · the four routes
A generic timeline you fill in from your handbook — not a fixed calendar. Choose major → honours/postgrad decision in the penultimate year → applications ~mid final year → graduate → next qualification / registration.
Worked timing — four illustrative students
| Route | Penultimate yr | Final yr | After graduating | Lands at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honours | Talk to a potential supervisor; check H1 cut-off | Apply for honours entry | +1 yr honours → PhD application | AQF 8 → research |
| Coursework master’s | Shortlist accredited programs | Apply (mid-year intakes common) | 1–2 yr master’s | AQF 9 → specialised employment |
| Research master’s | Draft a research interest; find supervisor | Apply + scholarship rounds | 1–2 yr thesis | AQF 9 → PhD on-ramp |
| Professional-entry | Confirm the accredited program list (the binding constraint) | Apply to an accredited program only | 1.5–4 yr + supervised practice | Registration / practice |
The Gate — accreditation & registration
For a registration profession, the accredited-program list is the master constraint: you must hold a qualification that the regulator recognises. Below is the per-profession gate. Always verify your specific program is accredited on the body’s own list.
Per-profession gate table
| Profession | Accredits the program | The gate (sequence) | Registers you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | APAC | 3-yr accredited sequence → accredited 4th year (Hons/Grad Dip) → 2-yr Master’s (5th+6th yr) or 5+1 (M.Prof.Psych + 1-yr internship + National Psychology Exam) | PsyBA (Ahpra) |
| Medicine | AMC | AMC-accredited primary medical program → internship | Medical Board of Australia (Ahpra) |
| Law | LACC | LACC-accredited LLB or JD (Priestley 11) → Practical Legal Training (PLT) | State/territory admission board (e.g. LPAB in NSW) via the Supreme Court |
| Teaching | State regulator, against AITSL standards | ITE program accredited to AITSL Standards & Procedures | State/territory teacher regulator |
| Engineering | Engineers Australia (AEAC) | EA-accredited program (Washington/Sydney/Dublin Accord) → optional Chartered | Self-regulating; Chartered via Engineers Australia |
⏰ Psychology — time-sensitive, read this if it’s your field
State variation — read this for law & teaching
- Teaching: AITSL sets the standards, but your state/territory teacher regulator accredits programs and registers you. Find your state’s regulator.
- Law: LACC sets accreditation standards; admission is by the state/territory admission board via the Supreme Court (LPAB is the NSW example only). PLT reform is under 2026 consultation.
Credit & Recognition of Prior Learning
Before paying for study you’ve effectively already done, check whether it counts. Credit is recognised equivalence that reduces required study — granted via credit transfer, articulation, RPL, or advanced standing.
The hard rules
- Maximum credit is usually two-thirds of the course.
- Unspecified RPL credit cannot be granted toward compulsory components (the bits a regulator requires you to actually do).
- Credit decisions are made by the receiving institution against its own rules — ask your course adviser, in writing.
How to action it
Primary sources & confidence
Everything above traces to these. “Hard data” = regulator/official-statistics published; “framework” = a heuristic that varies by university — confirm in your handbook. One source (PsyBA pathway-redesign) blocked automated fetch (403) and is flagged.
| What | Type | Primary source | Conf |
|---|---|---|---|
| AQF levels 7–10, volume of learning | hard | AQF levels ↗ | 95% |
| UG FT employment 75.4% (2025 topline) | hard | QILT GOS hub ↗ | 88% |
| By-field FT% + median salary (Tables 6 & 7) | hard | 2024 GOS National Report ↗ | 94% |
| Honours / master’s structure + postgrad defs | framework | Study Australia postgrad ↗ | 82% |
| Credit / RPL — ⅔ max, compulsory-component limit | hard | TEQSA Credit & RPL ↗ | 93% |
| Psychology: 4+2 closed, 5+1/Master’s live | hard | PsyBA 4+2 retirement ↗ · 5+1 ↗ | 95% |
| Psychology: redesigned pathway (mid-consultation) | flagged | APAC pathways ↗ 403 on PsyBA redesign page — verify live | 60% |
| Medicine gate (AMC) | hard | AMC accredited schools ↗ | 92% |
| Law gate (LACC + state admission) | hard | LACC standards ↗ · LPAB ↗ | 88% |
| Teaching gate (AITSL + state regulator) | hard | AITSL Standards & Procedures ↗ | 90% |
| Engineering gate (Engineers Australia) | hard | Engineers Australia accreditation ↗ | 90% |
| Fees / HELP (we route, never assert a $ figure) | hard | StudyAssist ↗ | 93% |
| Course / occupation exploration tools | tool | Course Seeker ↗ · myfuture ↗ · Jobs & Skills ↗ | 90% |
Career Explorer · public worked example · figures are AU public data (AQF · QILT · the regulators) — verify against the linked sources · general guidance, not personal advice · contact info@mindspan.com.au · privacy.
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