Which career to choose now?

[NotAllWhoWanderAreLost121]

I posted here a few months ago about having too many career ideas, and got some really helpful feedback.

I managed to short-list down to a more narrow list of career options. These are 1) clinical psychologist 2) psychotherapist / counsellor 3) academic (Psychology, so do a PhD, become a Lecturer etc) and 4) Librarian. I have also thought about teaching, but I think I'd prefer to be a Lecturer rather than a secondary school teacher IYSWIM.

I already have a Psychology degree (from 2008) and worked in the field of HR, which I don't want to go back to. Been a SAHM for a few years, and can't wait to go back to work! Will have to return gradually, so part-time, study, etc.

How do I go about deciding which path to take?

They all come with their own pros and cons, and take a while to work towards. I don't mind as I love studying, just don't want to make the wrong choice as it's not cheap to retrain.

Thank you :) 😊

I'm an academic ( not psychology). Are you also considering research as part of being a lecturer? Many posts are teaching / research contracts. Im sure it's extremely competitive to secure the HE jobs as there's just so much competition. It probably depends on your field of research and if it matches the requirements of that department. If you just want to teach then further education may be a better path. There's absolutely loads of psychology graduates teaching in further education.

Thank you @decionsdecisions62 I have also considered secondary school teaching, but I should probably try to get some work experience in a school, before committing.

I think for anyone choosing a career right now, it's important to think about the impact of AI. Libraries are changing massively and a librarian qualification now will soon become redundant.

The safest bets from your list in terms of longevity are the first two - psychologist or counsellor - they are still going to be in demand.

Counselling would fit around your SAHM role as well, you can study and work very flexibly. For clinical psychology you would likely have to work full time whilst training/ first few years.

It's great that you have so many ideas/options!

I am a lecturer. I would strike academic off your list, to be honest. It's a very long and hard road to get a lecturing job, and lots of outstanding candidates never make it. You also need to be totally geographically mobile. Plus the job is no longer what is used to be.

I am also retraining to be a psychotherapist. I absolutely love it, the training is amazing and I'm learning so much about myself. However, it's not really a route to a steady job. Most psychologists/counsellors are self-employed, so you are running a business as well as providing therapy. If you want to work in the NHS, it would be worth investigating training in CBT, as that's where most of the job opportunities are at the moment. There are lots of good "introduction to counselling" courses out there, you could take one of those as a starting point.

That's really interesting @wiseoldcat I didn't think about AI, thank you for pointing it out. I'm hoping that the information management profession will keep up with this somehow? Anyhow, worth bearing in mind / looking into this further.

Yes, I think I'm going to park academia for now, and maybe go into it as a side-gig from the other, more practical professions like psychologist or counsellor.

@myphoneisbroken great to hear that you are enjoying psychotherapy! What made you decide this one over the psychologist route?

@NotAllWhoWanderAreLost121 I think they will adapt and change, but the job of a librarian is not going to be anything like how it currently is. Things you learn on a qualification now could be redundant in as little as 2 or 3 years.

I think if you go into that industry you would have to be very adaptable and flexible, and accept that you might end up sat at a computer all day telling an AI what to do. You might have to retrain/ upskill as soon as you finish your qualification.

AI is going to drastically change the world over the next 3-5 years, so you really do need to consider it if you are going to have a career change.

@wiseoldcat thank you for your insights, that's so interesting. I really do need to consider this when evaluating this career option.

@NotAllWhoWanderAreLost121 Good question! I needed to maintain my earnings while I retrained as I'm a single parent - I can retrain as a psychotherapist while working 4 days a week, whereas the psychology training would have been impossibly financially disruptive.

I do know somebody who retrained as a counselling psychologist (she did a PhD) and that is a great route as she is qualified for lots of different sorts of jobs and can also work in private practice charging an excellent hourly rate.

Thanks, I am definitely going to look into psychotherapist training, it definitely fits in with studying around my childcare commitments.

@myphoneisbroken what kind of psychotherapy training are you doing? Is it a Masters? Would you say it's emotionally hard or is it very illuminating?

Clinical psychology requires the Doctorate in CP which is three years, full time and heavy going. It is funded which is a bonus, but the work life balance is poor or stretched at times. Worth considering the impact of this as a single parent.

@NotAllWhoWanderAreLost121 I'm doing an integrative training. It is both hard going AND illuminating! It really takes you to some dark emotional places, and you have to be in weekly therapy for the whole five years of the course. Mine is a PG Diploma but lots are MAs. Both are a level 7 training, and lead to UKCP registration. Personally I don't care about getting an MA but there are lots of trainings that do lead to one if you want to.

Have you thought about MH nursing? Yes, it’s slightly left field but

a) you’ll always have a steady job using your psychology/mental health skills, unlike many counsellors/psychotherapists.
b) the training is funded, even if you already have a degree.
c) it’s easy to get CBT training while employed as a MH nurse and this is usually funded. This training is often highly specialised (CBT for psychosis, CBT for personality disorders etc) and to masters level. You can also get support to train/practice in other modalities such as psychodynamic.
d) There’s a defined career path with space to specialise.

Of course, it depends on exactly what you want to do and, yes, like any other type of nursing you have to be reasonable at maths and fairly non squeamish (MH nurses give injections regularly and can take blood/give fluids if need be). However, if you want to be a psychotherapist it’s a real option. That’s what I wanted to do, and I ended up in MH nursing due to wanting steady work. I’ve now completed my specialist CBT training (I mainly work with emotional dysregulation) and operate as an independent practitioner-with support from the NHS. Do think about it 😊

I graduated an MSc in psychotherapy last year. It was a long haul, hard work and absolutely worthwhile. I wouldn't do anything different if I had my time again.
Realistically though you will likely need to be self employed, and it's emotionally draining work which limits the amount you can do. So you'll likely need a side hustle to earn a reasonable wage. I'd do an intro course and see if you like it.
As you have a psychology degree already, I'd definitely go the masters / UKCP route rather than a counselling training. It is more in depth and you will have more options afterwards.

Thank you everyone so so so much for taking the time to post. It's been great to learn about all the different options, and I've made lots of useful notes. I haven't considered mental health nursing before, but will definitely look it up online as it wasn't something I was even aware of. I will also look into all the different psychotherapist pathways! Thank you 😊

I’m currently working in Library/IM field and looking at options, including psychotherapy interestingly to get out.

I don’t think ‘librarian’ as a job will die, but there are not as many jobs. It’s definitely almost dead in the public sector. There are cores of still very viable jobs in academic and special libraries, I don’t think these will die anytime soon. They are, however, very location based so not very flexible in terms of that. Not much remote working in libraries!

I think at the moment all AI is showing us is that information will become even more unreliable and information professionals will be even more needed. Whether this will result in actual paying jobs as people consider AI ‘good enough’ I don’t know. Have you thought of records management? I personally think some bits are duller than librarianship but intersecting with things like cyber security and Data Protection means I think there are jobs there for the foreseeable.

Have you considered an MA in Social Work. NHS Bursury available so you get income while studying, guaranteed job at the end either full or park time, your psychology will be very useful in understanding the dynamics at play in families referred to the service. Lots of niche areas within the field to follow your particular passion, CPT so you never stop learning and opportunities to move into academia. Salarys above average and scope for independent work

@Countrydiary interesting to hear the perspective of someone who works in the library services and is thinking of going into psychotherapy. What do you enjoy about library work? And what is making you consider alternatives?

@WrappersDelight thank you for the suggestion about social work. I will also add it to my list of options. good to hear that there are so many alternatives!

I agree with @Countrydiary about library/information work. I work in medical libraries and there are already issues with healthcare students using AI to write papers - AI bots like ChstGPT are notorious for 'inventing' information or not supplying references for information. Probably similar issues in academic libraries. Library/info professionals can help people with this. Also, AI cannot (yet?) handle the nuances involved in database searching for complex topics, for example. I don't think our jobs are going to be redundant within our lifetime, at least.

Library work involves more than just organising information/resources as well. Really depends what sector you're in but at the core it's about helping people to find, access, and evaluate information, and promotion of lifelong learning and linking in with support services (particularly in public libraries).

I'm actually wanting to leave the profession as well because it's turned into a dull desk job. I want more variety of interaction and work. And I feel like the "professional skills" are rather generic and anyone in most professions should have them anyway. When I first started, I had visions of helping children directly with reading, but that's not within the remit of even school or public libraries. I want to develop expertise in something and support people more directly.

Things to consider if you're still thinking about librarianship I suppose.

@Countrydiary thank you so much for an honest and illuminating account of the challenges of librarianship. This thread has been so helpful! I am keeping all my options open and looking into all of them now, but I am definitely leaning towards psychotherapy as a valid option, given the circumstances. Thank you all!

I think mental health nursing is a secure route into a career. You can also get postgraduate degrees after, and teach if you want too. Opens many doors. I’ve been keeping an eye on the types of vacancies in mental health nursing for years, and the profession has expanded exponentially.

Alternatively, would you consider occupational psychology?

Or occupational therapy? That has an MSc conversion route.