Full Careers
A new career in counseling - is it feasible?
I have a degree in Psych (grad 95), am I likely to be accepted and succeed in a Masters program with no experience in a psych field and more than 10 yrs elapsed since school. I was a good student back then, but shortly after graduating I went off in another direction (Network Admin). I am sick of living in a cubicle and am no longer so focused on a big paycheck. Any suggested course of action would be appreciated. My main concern is that I would be at a disadvantage in school because all the background info (theories, etc.) has long since slipped away...LOL
Public Comments
- I am not a graduate student, but I recently graduated from undergraduate. I know that for psychology masters programs, you must start off with core courses, the same as you do for undergraduate to get a footing in whatever area interests you the most. You need to figure out what field you want your Masters to be in and then they will have intro courses for you to take. It will probably not be "Intro to Psychology", but it is a buffer for your field. For example, I am looking into "Industrial/Organizational Psychology" and I know that I would need to take Intro to I/O Pych, as well as another stats course, even though I took both in undergraduate. I think the best thing for you to do is to buy some psychology books (and breeze through any old ones you may have) yourself and freshen up on your basic schools of psychology and you would need this anyway because you will most likely need to take your GRE's anyway, and perhaps the GRE subject test in Psychology would prove valuable to you. You should find out the stipulations at whichever institution(s) you are thinking of applying to.
- You're over thinking ; ) Heres a suggestion that may interest you. "Host home provider" (title may vary from state to state) which is a government subcontracting job through a state board mental health facility. You open your home up to a person(s) with mental health issues or mental retardation. You care for the person(s) in your home following an individual plan that covers various objectives of counseling and life skills for each person. Most subcontractors get paid $70k or higher (not exceeding $150k) per year for each individual which is tax free money, yes, it is tax free. Along with the nice pay check it is an experience of self worth that is given for making a difference in someones life. Most states have a "respite plan" which allows you a break during the day or week so you may go back to school or just go out for your own personal time. Criminal back ground checks, house inspections, family background checks and home-studies will first have to be done to insure the safety and well being of the client. You will need to be certified in "QA of medications, CPR & first aid,etc .... " which the state will provide the training classes for you. Just from what you've said above sounds as if you're more than qualified already.
