How did you figure out where you wanted to go with your career?

[2000lightyearsaway]

I graduated in July with a 2:2 in Psychology. Not great but mental health was so poor throughout uni that I’m just proud of myself for coming out with anything at all. I wanted to be a clinical psychologist but obviously with My degree classification that’s massively unlikely to happen.

Towards the end of my degree things have been on the up.

I am now in a job that is pretty well paid on a big project for a big company. It’s a year contract but more or less guaranteed a few more years out of it if I wanted. On paper it looks great.

The jobs fine but I’m not particularly good at it and it’s already starting to feel like a massive chore. But now I’ve started making money it feels impossible to go back to study or to go into something else.

Not to mention I have no clue what I would go in to. Does anyone have any tips on how to start carving out a fulfilling career path?

Sorry for the ramble. I suppose I’m just trying to give you guys a picture. TIA

I saw an advert for nursing and thought I might be good at it. Mentioned it to my in all other ways dickhead ex, who agreed it would be a profession I would be good at. So I applied. I have been a nurse for 12 years now and I do think I'm good at it!

Still figuring it out now. I am nearly 50.

Moved city for now DH, needed a job having finished PhD but hated the last year or so, applied for random graduate jobs.

In summary, fell into it...getting off the treadmill to an in house role was more complicated and took several years of on-off soul searching and lots of discussions with DH.

What ties you to where you are now? Who do you have to bounce ideas off?

Thanks for the replies guys.

delurkingAJ nothing ties me here to be honest. In fact my current job is a field role. I haven’t been home in 8 weeks. It takes me all over the U.K. I don’t have anybody to bounce ideas off really. I don’t have a partner. I have a very small circle of friends and my best friend is going through a very difficult time so it feels a bit wrong to talk to her about it. And my parents response to everything is ‘whatever you want’.

What interests you? What were your hobbies when you were a child? Are they things you could look st? Counselling psychology is a growing field, very strong miler to clinical in many ways in terms of jobs, but courses a little easier to get into....

Iapt?

Counselling? You can train p/t evening easily enough. Not easy but do able. If you were to specialise I’m working with children, it’s a growing area with funding. Working with adults could be trickier work/pay wise but it not impossible.

I retrained in my 30’s - wasn’t exactly easy, or cheap but was totally worth it. It did involve lots and lots of violent art hours and all nighter sessions of essay writing and then going straight to work, but I’m so glad I did it!

I'm a nurse, I took a promotion in a direction I didn't really want for my family's sake (hours, exhaustion, stress levels etc were too much in my old job although I loved it with all my heart) - and found I love it, and it seems I'm very good at it! It took many false starts to make the move but it's worked out better than I could've dreamed.

My pay is still shit though - thanks Jezza 👍🏻

borisinajohnson mm my main hobbies are around music. I play instruments to an advanced levels but don’t have any certificates.

I’ve been looking in to counselling. My issue at the minute is in my current job I can’t do a evening class because I’m moving all the time. But it’s defently something I’m might look at moving towards. I’m not scared of grafting to get to where I want. I just worry that I’ve got a case of the grass is greener and I’m never going to be satisfied.

Thanks for the replies 😊 food for thought.

Music therapy?

The grass often feels greener.... sometimes if you’re job isnt right, having a life you enjoy outside of work is enough.... do you have any passions/ hobbies you love?

Before I started my degree I looked at music therapy but because I’m self taught with no formal certificates I wouldn’t qualify.

I did have lots of stuff I loved. Nearly all music related (can’t list of it’ll be unbelievably outing) lol but this job doesn’t leave me a chance for any of that. I think perhaps if I got into a more normal job rather than travelling all the time I would be able to know better. Maybe that’s what I need to do. Find something that’ll base me at home and see if my life outside work is enough.

I was going to suggest music therapy!

Order a copy of Strengthsfinder from Amazon. It’s the only personality test type thing I’ve found useful or accurate and it might help you pinpoint the kind of thing that would suit you.

I was a young child when I realised I wanted to be a midwife. 22 now and stuck with that dream. I realise I'm very lucky though and in the minority to have known so certainly!

I don't think you need to have taken music exams to do music therapy. I've just checked two courses and neither require it. They just audition everyone anyway. Having said that, jobs are in short supply.

Though you would need a good understanding of harmony etc as well as practical instrumental skills.

witchmountain I’ll have a look 😊

littlemissalwaystiered that’s really nice we are similar ages. I hope your midwifery career is long and fulfilling

glorious the couple that I’ve looked at that suit me location wise would take me with my degree but require competency on guitar or piano. I play piano but I wouldn’t say I’m fully competent. With regards to harmonising etc my music theory is terrible to non existent. I play my main instrument to a grade 8 standard but I don’t have the theory to back it up. But perhaps it may be a case of playing the long game and brushing up my piano skills and music theory and then looking at doing a course.

you cold train as a counsellor and then incorporate music too

I think you should (play the long game, get the formal music skills up to where you you can apply them in a career). Sounds like that's your real passion.

At least if you start on that path you will start to know after a while whether it's taking you where you want to be.

I'm also at a bit of a dead end career-wise without a clear idea of where to go and I think that taking some concrete steps in 'a' (maybe not 'the') direction at least helps bring some clarity and momentum.

You're very young anyway, you have time to explore different options.

Sometimes the years after uni involve a lot of trying things out and kind of zigzagging while you work out what you want to do, which directions to go in, etc etc.

You don't always need a qualification in something. For music therapy, the National Careers Service website says you need 'a high level of musical ability and knowledge'.

It's very soon after you graduated, so give yourself plenty of time to get used to the rhythms of your new job, and take the opportunity to start saving.

It's not "impossible" to do more studying or get a different job, but you need to go bit slower and take a longer-term approach. Also while you are doing this job you could look into distance learning courses, eg a short online course or taster in music therapy.

You could consider taking jazz piano lessons to work on harmony, improvisation and piano all at the same time (I have a v traditional academic music degree but tbh there are probably better ways to develop the kind of practical fluency you would need)