Term time only educational psychologist?

[lgraham]

I'm currently a qualified careers adviser and former teacher, paid term time only. Schools don't promote careers advisers so while my hourly rate isn't bad, there is little prospect of progression. I don't think I want to go back to teaching and I'm thinking of retraining as an educational psychologist but I'd like to continue working term time only. I understand that the doctorate is incredibly demanding so if I get onto it I will have 3 years of round the year work but I'd like to know what the prospects are of securing a term time only work once qualified?

I know several EPs who work term-time only. They are both part time as well (2 or 3 days). Another I know just does ad hoc locum work during term time.

There is such a shortage of them in our area, you can pretty much dictate your terms!

Good luck-I think it's a fab job. I presume you already have a psychology undergraduate degree?

Hi Igraham

Can I ask which route you took to qualify as a careers advisor? I am also a former teacher ( been gone 10 years though) and am considering retraining as a careers advisor. However I can only see a handful of universities who offer this course and I am not near any of them. Do you need to be in the workplace to get into the course?

Best of luck with your new venture.
Nasreen

All the ed psychs I know work in the holidays as well.

Thanks for all the replies, it's really helpful information.

Nasreen, the routes to qualification as a careers adviser are laid out on the CDI website www.thecdi.net/GettingQualified

As far as I am aware there are 2 main routes to qualification, either through a university, or through a training provider, usually a firm who employs careers advisers (which is the route I took - I did LDSS level 4 about 10 years ago and then recently topped that up with a Guidance theory level 6 qualification, but that's not a route for someone starting from scratch).

The schools careers advice sector is currently very fragmented, at least in Yorkshire where I work. Broadly speaking, it used to be the case that Connexions employed schools careers advisers and you would have a standard 52 week employment contract. Since the responsibility for providing careers advice was put onto schools some schools employ a careers adviser directly, some for the full year, some term time only, and many schools use an agency. So I work in 2 schools for 1 academy trust 3 days a week term time only. I have colleagues who have similar employment patterns to me and others who work for agencies. So for example I have a friend who works for 2 agencies across 6 schools term time only, across a 100 mile radius. Needless to say she is looking to change this.
The pay amongst me and my colleagues in general is between £15 and £20 per hour.
Jobs are here jobs.thecdi.net/

If you would prefer steadier employment you might like to look at university careers advice. Warwick University do courses specifically aimed at University Careers Advisers but you don't necessarily have to have done this to work in universities. Jobs are here
www.agcas.org.uk/vacancies