Hi all
I am currently a teacher and really do enjoy my job. However, I’m honestly not sure if I can see myself doing this until I’m almost 70 (which is probably what the retirement age will be by the time I get there). I’m also a bit fed up of working around the clock for a wage that is not reflective of the effort I put in. I’m therefore thinking of lining up my ducks ready to do something else in approximately 10-15 years time if I have had enough by then.
My other interests include psychology and counselling. I have done some very basic counselling training previously, but I am not a qualified counsellor. I like the look of PWP jobs and the new Education Mental Health Practitioner roles. I am also considering Educational Psychology. The other option is switching the subject I teach to either psychology or education. Basically, I would like to keep as many options open as possible.
I live in the North West and should I go down the Ed Psych route, I would need to do this at Manchester for practical reasons. I am a single parent. I like the look of the MSc Psychology of Education at Manchester, but it looks very competitive and they look at where you got your undergrad degree from (mine is not from a top uni). I imagine it would be even more competitive for a place on the doctorate at Manchester so I feel like I need to do a conversion masters at a top university to be in with a chance.
Has anyone in here studied either the masters or doctorate at Manchester? Has anyone got on the doctorate with a masters/ undergrad from a university quite far down the league tables? There’s no saying I will even pursue the Ed psych doctorate eventually, but I’d like to keep my options open. It’s a lot of time and money and I’m wondering if it’s all worth it. If you did a conversion course at a university with a less than great reputation, what did the majority of graduates go on to do? I will be looking at online conversion courses too, but the Russell group unis come with a significant price tag.