Careers in Psych - suggestions?

meadow30

Hi there, I am looking for career suggestions. Basically I feel stuck. I am in a job with very little room for progression and am looking at the next few decades of work ahead of me and not feeling very inspired. I studied psych initially and then went on to do an occupational psych masters. I found it hard to get work in that area as there were only a few consultancies operating in this area in Ireland. I have been thinking about getting back into psychology recently but not sure which direction to take. Does anyone know what opportunities are out there with occ psych at the moment? I have thought about doing a general masters in psychology (msc in applied psychology) to sample a range of areas but all of the courses seem to be full-time and focused on clinical psychology. Has anyone any suggestions of part-time or distance learning courses?

I have considered doing a PhD but to do part time would take forever and I assume wouldn't lead to an academic position as it is so competitive. I have thought about clinical psych but am worried about how long it would take before I could apply (and how much of that time would be unpaid) aswell as whether the mental health conditions I would be dealing with would be difficult to deal with. I've thought about counselling psych as it is quite similar to what I currently do but there seems to be fewer job prospects and I also think about the risk of burnout. Finally I have thought about ed psych but wonder is it a bit limiting with the heavy focus on assessment. So you can see I am confused! I am looking for a career in psych which will allow me to develop/learn over time, help people and use research every day. Suggestions on a postcard please!

abcdefghi123

My son is thinking of putting down psychology in Trinity today as his no. 1 on the CAO
I know nothing about it, but feel it would be very difficult to get a job. He had hoped to do medicine but the HPAT did not go his way. I think there has to be an opening for someone who can guide leaving cert students knowing the courses in the various universities and job opportunities. It's all very well to follow your dream, but at the end the day , most degrees will cost upwards of €50k by the time you are qualified.

JuliusCaesar

The first port of call is the Psychological Society of Ireland: http://www.psihq.ie/career-guidance-psychology-training for general advice, but follow it up with a phone call for more recent and specific information. I would also say that you might be able to talk with somebody working in the various specialised fields, meadow30, to get more of an idea of what the work entails. People get burned out in every profession! We have to ensure that we look after ourselves and lead balanced lives.

For example, there is a really high demand to get into Clinical Psychology, and there are limited places. What happens then is that people do reseach degrees, even PhDs, and years of voluntary or paid work in related areas, in order just to get into the Clin Psych doctorate. And that's not guaranteed. Other people end up doing the Clin Psych doctorate abroad.

And then there is a limit on recruitment to the HSE, and to other public bodies, for all professions.

There's a stickied thread about psychology and psychotherapy careers here on the forum.

JuliusCaesar

abcdefghi123 wrote: »

I think there has to be an opening for someone who can guide leaving cert students knowing the courses in the various universities and job opportunities. .

Isn't this what Careers Guidence is for? If you're not satisfied with CG provision in the school, you can access it privately. I am told the book "What colour is your parachute?" is useful.