Following your dreams....is it really possible/practical?

[fastasleep]

Argh! I just wrote two messages and my little one deleted both! GRR! Basically is it possible for a skint 18 year old who never got the chance to do GCSEs to become the child psychologist she's always wanted to be? I have no idea how to go about it.... I'd completely resigned myself to becoming a nurse, through an access course etc.. I'm not dissing nurses at all... I find the whole nursing thing fascinating and I really look up to them... but it's just not that special thing I've always wanted to do... (How selfish is that!)

I have about 2 years to find out how to go about it, if it's even possible with our income and my lack of education ... but I really like to plan ahead...it's an almost OCD like tendancy! Does anyone know anything that could help? I'm not even sure how many degree like courses you have to do normally to become a psychologist!

Of course it's possible!

I think you need a degree to become a psychologist, you could do an open university one, there are no entry qualifications and if you are on a low income you get help with fees. It might take a while to be qualified, the degree can take up to 10 years, but you're still young so 10 years isn't going to matter! If it's what you really want to do it would definitely be worth it.

info on open uni here

I tried looking it up (not on OU) and I got totally confused by undergraduate stuff and then loads of weird in between things and then postgraduate and I'm left a bit befuddled!! These are degrees I don't have a snowballs chance in hell of getting on in the first place at the moment!

10 years is ok, as long as the kids get to good secondary schools... I can't be that selfish

I'm not certain but I think this is what you need to do.

undergraduate degree in psychology, which means that you can then go on for further postgraduate training to become a professional psychologist.

To become a child psychologist your post grad training would specialise in that subject.

I don't know, any psychologists on MN who can help?

bps The British Psychological Society website might be helpful, it'll be more helpful than me anyway!

So far I've got that I can do an access course, then do a 3 year undergrad degree in Psychology although the intake is 88 and a lot of people get turned down... then another 3 year postgraduate thing which is basically a PhD...which I can only get onto with relevent work experience and even then only 30% of people trying actually get onto it! It can't be that hard! 6 years plus a an access course doesn't phase me at all though...just the thought of being knocked back!

It's just all quite scary lol I'm not sure my family could handle me being forever a student! The access course does sound a good place to start I can always 'chicken out' and do nursing... which is a hard thing to do in the first place lol I must be mad to have that as my soft option!

Thanks for the help you guys and good luck with the nursing!

Good luck, fastasleep!

I have no specific knowledge of psychology, but SallyS is right about universities tending to be quite keen on committed students coming in from access courses. And you are clearly VERY committed, which will count for a lot.

If you have a 'home' university (i.e. if you are thinking of applying to the nearest one to where you are now, rather than just applying all over the place and then moving) I'd be tempted to ring their psychology department and ask if you can talk to (or go and meet) their admissions tutor.

Very good luck.

Thanks now all I have to do is pop this sprog, spend the time I'm breastfeeding to convince the hubby that my dream is physically possible and then find a nursery and talk to the admissions guy...sounds so simple, yet will take years!

Hi there fastasleep, if you want to do any kind of work in the psychology field you will need an undergraduate honours degree in Psychology (the Open University runs this course - beansmum posted the link). Depending on whether you want to be an Educational Psychologist or a Clinical Psychologist specialising in work with children there are two different routes. To be an Ed Psych (in England and Wales) you will have to complete a PGCE (Postgrad Certificate in Education) after your degree, then you can get on to a MSc (Masters) in Educational Psychology which is 1 year full-time. In Scotland you do not require the PGCE course, only the undergrad Psychology degree before enrolling on MSc Ed Psych. If you want to go down the clinical route you will have to get some relevant work experience after your undergrad degree and then try to get on a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course (3 years full-time funded).

If I were you I would have a chat with the Open Uni about your undergraduate options (they are really helpful) and pretty much forget about the postgraduate courses for the time being - you may find that your interests change during your Psych degree.

Sorry for blethering on, but I am about to complete my BSc in PSychology through the Open Uni and am hoping to leave my job at the end of this year to go and do some lowly-paid work experience in teh psychology field. I am interested in either forensic or clinical psych.

Hope this helped.

Thanks ScotsBird! It has helped, I've been banging on about it to my DH and he was just going how long!? I don't like the sound of 'lowly paid'! Lol ... Good luck with your course!

Hi scotsbird. i am a psychologist (working in research). It's not too hard to get onto a psychology degree course, and they do tend to like mature students, as others haves said. It is quite competitive to get onto the three year Clinical psychology course. almost every psychology undergraduate wants to do it!

It's probably an easier route to go for Educational psychology but it has the major downside that it takes (unless it has changed very recently) 4 years after your degree. One year PGCE after your psychology degree, as Scotsbird says. Then two years classroom teaching experience, and THEN the one year masters. you get paid for the two teaching years, as a normal teacher.

but psychology is a really interesting degree anyway with quite a lot of job options.

Have you thought of learndirect?

There are some courses which you can do from home when not on mn, and there's a section that gives info on all the courses in the country.

Enjoy.

i dont know anything about your particular dream but i just wanted to say that you are Very young and have your whole life ahead of you. even without the possibility of shorter routes like access courses you're only 4 years behind iyswim - that's nothing. please follow your dream.