do i have a hope in hell ?

[cheeryface]

left school at 15.
got a gcse in english
have done nothing much except bring up childen since then.

would like to be a psychologist!

do i have a hope ?

Awww dont be so hard on yourself!
do an access to uni course -study psychology degree
see what happens

think of the skills you already have
coping skills
resilience
exp of children
life exp

are you esp set upon Psychology?
be aware it is VV competitive to get on PG and psychology asst post

consider
social science
SW
OT
mental health nurse

i would say your "nothing much" involves a variety of important skills that are useful for studying and also in the workplace. I am also a mum of 2 with non-standard qualifications, i am now halfway through my degree and top of my class all the way. I believe desire is half the battle. I agree with scottish Mummy about keeping your options open. If you do decide to go to uni you may find another area more fascinating

As ScottishMummy has said, you need to get yourself on an access course. Lots of people get into uni these days through the mature student route.

Do be aware though that you will have to do more studying than just a psychology degree to be a psychologist. It is quite a useful degree to have though in terms of employability. My psychology degree definitely helped me get into training/consultancy.

If you are really 81, as your profile suggests, then you may have left it a little late .

Otherwise, no reason it shouldn't be possible, although it's not something that can happen overnight. What is it about being a psychologist that appeals? What sort of psychologist do you want to be? A psychology degree can lead to any number of other rewarding careers, as well.

lol
are you 18, cheeryface?

if so, then the world's your oyster educationally speaking.

Sorry to be completely honest, no you don't have a good chance to be a proper clinical psychologist. Even if you gain a psychology degree you have to work for years on a CRAP wage as as an assistant psychologist (which is really difficult to get any posts in) then try to get on a course (which is even more difficult to get onto). Why not think about occupational therapy or speech therapy? They are a bit easier to get on in as far as I can tell and have similar aspects of working with people in a proper professional discipline. (I have a psych degree and lots of my friends with one have really struggled for years to get anywhere in it)

you could always try an OU course to see how it goes? Don't be put off by other peoples opinions. If it's what you really want then anything is possible.
Good luck.

Hi Cheery,

As others have said its very difficult to get accepted on the course for clinical psychologist training but don't let that put you off taking the first step. Access course will give you confidence and can be done part time which helps with family commitments.

I left school without A levels but later wanted to get a professional qualification. I went to an open day at uni and found that they would consider prior life experience in lieu of A levels. I blagged my way onto a course and trained as an Occupational Therapist. I qualified with a First class honours degree which I didnt know I was capable of as I'd spent most of my adult life bringing up children, doing work which fitted around them and feeling a failure for dropping out of A levels.

Absolutely love my community based job now although there is a psychology assistant on my team who has just failed for the 5th year in a row to get on a clinical psychologist course. From my perspective, there are lots more professions which are far more rewarding than being stuck as a frustrated 'wannabee psychologist'. I work alongside a clinical psychologist too and there is quite a lot of overlap with my role (although she gets paid more than me ).

Good luck whatever path you decide to take

Hi Riven,
It is a degree course now but I think there may be places which will allow you to skip the first year and fast track if you already have a compatible degree / qualification - there certainly was a few years ago. Are you working as a psychologist at the moment?

You can definately have a go. It's incredibly competitive but that shouldn't stop you trying. I left school at 15 with no qualifications and went back to do an OU degree in psychology. I then got experience in mental health and have now been working for a couple of years as an assistant psychologist. I haven't gone for the doctorate yet as it's incredibly full time and hard work and I want to wait until my son's a bit older (even tough he's 11 - I'm a single mum and want to be around). But I met another mature student doing the OU who is now nearly fully trained. It is an incredibly hard slog if you want to do clinical psychology but there are other options - I am also starting training that may lead to child psychotherapy. If you want to do it I would say start the OU degree and see how you find it- I think it's great to come to psychology later, hard but worth it!