Educational Psychology - employment prospects

First

Hi, I am interested in applying for the Doctorate in Ed Psych in UCD in a few years. I have a psych degree and am going to focus on building up relevant experience in the meantime.

Are there any recent grads out there from this course/MaryI that could give me their opinion on employment prospects? I am slightly concerned about getting employment in ireland after the course - am I correct that NEPS don't seem to recruit at the moment? Is all the employment in the HSE (e.g. early intervention)? Where else might a grad be employed? Thanks a mill :-)

DalaiAlma

I'm a trainee, and I'm due to finish in a few weeks so I've been keeping an eye out on the current job situation. It depends on a few things, such as where your interests lie and whether you'd prefer to work in the public sector, or as a private practitioner.

If you're interested in working with children with disabilities and/or ASD, there tends to be a steady stream of jobs that come up with various HSE-linked voluntary sector agencies, and the HSE itself. The voluntary sector agencies often advertise on jobs websites, whereas the HSE opens a panel competition every few years. Lots of EPs are gaining employment in these settings, due in part to the civil service recruitment embargo that limited the opportunities for employment with NEPS (more on that in a minute), but also I think these services also realise EPs' knowledge and skills are a good fit for disability services.

If you're interested in working with mainstream children, then you would most likely be interested in working with NEPS. Like the HSE, these jobs are advertised as part of a competition every few years, and it's hard to predict how often they come up. I know from speaking to some recently qualified EPs that there can be a lot of competition for NEPS, which means that they have their pick of experienced candidates, and so it can mean that recently-qualifieds can be at a disadvantage. However the level of competition will also be dictated by funding, whether contracts are permanent or temporary, and how many posts are available, so it's not to say that that will always be the case, but it is worth bearing in mind. Remember too, that it's part of the civil service so there are a lot of strict rules involved.

Another option is private work, for which I'm told there is always plenty of work available. EPs can and do pursue private work straight after training, but there are overheads to consider such as regular supervision, the purchasing of (expensive!) test kits and tax affairs that will need to be factored in. As part of working as a private practitioner, you may do additional work, such as training, workshops, seminars, etc - again depending where your interests lie. Also as EP training is now at doctorate level, it also means that more options for work in research and academia could be available to future graduates than it may be for those of us trained to MA level :-)

Training is both an emotionally and financially demanding undertaking, but I think it can ultimately lead you to a range of career options. There is, I'm told, enough work out there for EPs, and the list above is in now exhaustive. So I think it's mainly a matter of learning what your interests are, and then figuring out what's the best route to take.

I hope this helps.

pink12

Thanks very much for your reply. That's very helpful. I wondered if many in your class have teaching backgrounds? I have a psych degree and university teaching experience..is this outside of the age range for ed psychs do you know? Do you know when NEPS recruited last?