Are there any psychologists here who can advise me?

[SheldonSaysSo1]

Since I've had a lot of time in lockdown I've been pondering my next career move. I always wanted to do a masters (in Psychology) but had study fatigue after my degree and couldn't make it fit in with my job. Due to corona virus a lot of universities are now doing distance learning masters with little/no attendance required. I am super anxious for lots of reasons - I feel like I have forgotten everything, I worry it will be too hard and I won't be able to do it and I am concerned about the quality of delivery of the course. I wanted to ask opinions from people who have done one, particularly in Psychology/Forensic Psychology. Is it worth the cost both time and money? Will it help with my career advancement? (not really sure where I'm going but something Psychology based one day)

It sounds to me as though you really don't want to do a Masters.

There are two separate issues there: Whether you can manage a masters successfully and whether it will be worth the investment of time and money. If you graduated successfully from your UG, you are probably more than capable. What’s was your undergrad subject and what result did you get?

The current widespread provision of distance learning because of Covid is another good point in favour of doing it. Have you picked a particular course or shortlisted a few?

My undergraduate was in Psychology and I got a 2.1. It isn't a case of not wanting to do one, its not feeling confident that I can and also whether it will actually be useful to a career in that field. I am looking mainly at forensic psychology as I have experience working in a prison which has given me this interest.

I have just finished my first year of a two year part time masters, after 15 years in the same career and a couple of years as a SAHM. I am lucky that I don't work though, I have really enjoyed it but found it far more work than I had envisioned. I don't know how those on the course who are working full time are doing it I have worked really hard and it has been intense. I was very nervous about returning to studying after so long, I has been a learning curve but I found it came back to me fairly easily and h

Thanks @studychick81. It's good to hear it came back to you and also the fact it was more work than you envisioned. Do you feel well supported by your tutor etc?

If you have the motivation, go for it although if you had "study fatigue" with your first degree, it might be an idea to do a MOOC or short course first to see if you manage it as well as work. Just because it's online doesn't mean it's less work.

Re: Psychology, have you got a clear career plan with relevant experience? Do you know what modules etc you would do and what is needed for that career? How competitive is it? Or are you pursuing an interest that will wane with advanced, in-depth study and no clear goal - these often are the students that I see struggling.

Online learning also has a higher dropout rate than face to face and some people (not all) feel quite isolated that way. You need to be motivated and self-directed. I'd also look for a course that has been running for a number of years online (eg OU), not one that has had to go online with minimal time and preparation.

@SheldonSaysSo1

My undergraduate was in Psychology and I got a 2.1. It isn't a case of not wanting to do one, its not feeling confident that I can and also whether it will actually be useful to a career in that field. I am looking mainly at forensic psychology as I have experience working in a prison which has given me this interest.

If you got a 2.1 in the same subject you are definitely up to it.

You could ask HQ to change your thread title to something like “Are there any psychologists here who can advise me?”. That would probably attract women from a few different specialisms to comment.

@ArriettyJones I'll do that now, how do I ask them? That's almost exactly what I'm after, people with experience in taking a masters or in Psychology to tell me the good/bad/ugly!

I did a psychology masters (5 hours per week) and worked full time. It was doable but I didn't have kids then. I didn't find masters work much of a step up from undergrad (I got a 2.1 also).

What work experience do you have in a prison? If in a therapy/counselling base then this will be a real strength for building a career from your masters. Clinical psychology is notoriously difficult to get in to. Loads of work experience needed. High failure rate for getting in. That would be the barrier I would think - what career could you get in to
Not a psychologist myself but worked with loads. It seems an endlessly fascinating career and they have all been well rounded people. Probably the most well rounded I’ve ever worked with and I learnt a lot from them.

I’d check first whether a Masters will really help you enter Psychology as a profession. For example, I think to train as a clinical psychologist, you’d need to do the three year post graduate clinical psychology course and to get onto that you’d usually need to be a psychology assistant for a year, or similar. If Forensic Psychology is similar, then a Masters might not be that much help or the best use of your time or money. Perhaps it would be helpful to explore the area of the profession you want to move into in more detail and come up with a training/studying plan from there?

It seems that you can do a masters in Forensic Psychology and then follow this with 2 years supervised practice. What is unclear is whether having a masters will give me better chance of gaining trainee positions than just undergraduate study?

[quote SheldonSaysSo1]@ArriettyJones I'll do that now, how do I ask them? That's almost exactly what I'm after, people with experience in taking a masters or in Psychology to tell me the good/bad/ugly![/quote]
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I got a 2.1 in my undergrad (biomedical science), just completed my part time masters (clinical cardiac science) with a distinction. It’s definitely doable, I had a 5 year gap in between both degrees and still found it much easier than doing my undergrad (although biomed is a very intense degree subject tbh).

I think your experience working in a prison could be more valuable than a masters, but check out the requirements for positions you want to apply for down the line. If you are looking at a Masters make sure it is accredited by BPS as I don't know that it will be hugely helpful otherwise.

I have both, but would say that my experience working in forensic units/ mental health secure care centres have been much more valuable on my CV than the Masters.

Can you further your work experience in prisons? I did things like developing literacy screening tools for the places I worked, as the ones they paid big bucks for weren't sensitive to / couldn't accommodate their patients' particular difficulties and gave inaccurate results.

Niche things like that can stand out on CVs and make you more interesting for future roles.

Chartered psychologists are registered with the HCPC. If you want to be a forensic psychologist then the accreditation pathway for what you need for this can be found on the British Psychological Society website. Did your undergraduate offer graduate basis for chartered membership? Otherwise you would need to get this through a conversion course. It really depends on whether you want a specialist chartered psychology career, or if your interest of psychology in your career is more general. In which case I would suggest working in the area of interest. I would only do a masters if you want to study further, or if it’s part of your job.

Are you sure you can listen to the most horrific stuff that people have had to endure, my psychologist is great but honestly I don’t know how she does it. I admire her immensely.