has anyone gone into a degree with a clear idea of what they want at the end of it...

[juicychops]

only to find that after 5 years of studying you decide you dont want that anymore but actually have no idea what you DO want?

because i am that person now!

been searching through uni websites trying to find some inspiration

i went into my degree with a firm idea of becoming a forensic psychologist. over the years ive started leaning more towards working with children

next year is my last year of my degree and i have absolutely no idea what i actually want to do at the end of it. i ahve a few completely different ideas but no idea how to put them together.

kind of still sort of have an interest in forensic psychology/criminology, interested in working with children, in particular children from troubled/ difficult backgrounds, like the idea of being some kind of child counceller, i also like the idea of studying further towards CBT therapy, also like the idea of psychotherapy although that is many many MANY more years of studying. all i keep thinking is working in a school will solve the problems of childcare in summer hols(lone parent) but should i really base my career around that?

please help me come up with some way to incorporate everything i like or at least help me decide what i actually want because i have no idea!!

BUMP

Does your uni have a careers counseling service? I think that's what you need

thanks for replying Bousy. Its with the Open Uni i dont know if they have career advisers il have a look on their website

I did!

Started a 6 year part time BA hons with the intention of finishing off with a PGCE and becoming a primary school teacher.

In my 3rd year (so start of year 2 FT equivalent) I had to do a semester working in a school - I hated it. The kids were great but the politics (with a small p) and bureaucracy were mad and it put me right off.

But I was determined to finish and so I carried on and graduated 2 years ago with a first. While I was studying I was promoted at work so have never actually done anything with my degree. But it's there for whenever I need it.

I'd say that if you like the idea of training for a career that involves more study then go for it as the time will pass anyway. However, if you're only thinking of moving towards working with children just to fit in with the school hols I'd be wary as IMO the forthcoming cuts will impact on the staff and services schools and LEAs will be able to afford.

thats a good point tidybush about cuts in school staffing.

im so confused i like having a set path with targets so i know what im doing and where im going. i like order in my life. This not knowing is hard to deal with. im a bit of a control freak like that

The thing to bear in mind juicy is that you still have a year to go and goodness knows we've seen that a lot can happen in a year.

Why not just go with the flow until Christmas and then you'll have a better idea of what opportunties may be around from next summer.

Have you spent much time in schools? I always liked the idea of teaching, partly due to the school holidays, but when I got a job in a school I really didn't enjoy it at all. I also found out from teachers that although you're only working term time, alot of the holidays are spent marking and planning, so it's not as ideal as you might imagine.

Good luck

My dh studied history with the intent of becoming a history teacher, but found after trying it that it wasn't his cup of tea and retrained as a computer programmer. My understanding is that it is very difficult to find permanent work in forensic psychology (we had a temp at work in the field and she said it was all contract research). She was a great judge of people though, which is a very valuable and applicable skill.

Teaching as a parent is great for the holidays, but can be very inflexible during term time.

thanks everyone for your replies. No, i have no experience working in schools as yet. i did write to a load of local schools about 5 months ago for work experience with a school counsellor but none of the schools had any such thing

ive never really thought about the cons of working in a school but with anything i suppose there are. I shall have to think long and hard. my ds is 5 at the mo when he's older the holidays wont be a problem but its just for the next 6 or so years