- Joined
- Apr 6, 2017
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 0
Background: BA in psychology, out of school for two years. Doing some volunteer work in crisis counseling, but haven't been working.
This has been the biggest mystery for me in my quest to become a therapist. Many people tell me that working as a therapist at a master's level is almost identical to working with a doctorate, while others have emphasized that with a doctorate you will get much more/better education, the ability to perform psychological tests, be better able to give complex diagnoses, higher earning potentials, and generally be a better, more well-rounded therapist. This all sounds very appealing to me, as I want to be the best therapist that I can be. However, I am wondering if it is really worth it to put so much time, effort, and money (or lost earnings at least) into getting more education to do "basically the same thing."
I want to be a therapist because I am passionate about mental health and helping others. I don't think I will be satisfied in my life if I am not in a helping career. I have been very intrigued by therapy since I was in middle school, and it has never left me.
The one goal I have that is more important than any career goal, is to get married and become a mother. This is the biggest reason I am hesitant to go for a doctorate degree. I'm 24 and the biological clock is always ticking. I start envisioning myself in my early 30s and still barely making any money. I grew up in a family where my dad, a professional performing, made all of the money and my mom, despite having a law degree, has never worked since I was born. I have watched my dad struggle to get work and make money to support us, and I have watched power struggles between my parents because my mom doesn't contribute. Because of this, I feel strongly that I don't want to be in a position where I am relying solely on my husband to support the family, and I want to feel like I am contributing to society more than just by raising my kids. Not only does a doctorate program take many years to complete (and it would be several years before I could even be ready to apply for a program), from what I have read it also takes quite a bit of time after completing the education for someone to actually get a decent paying job. In that amount of time, I could be working for years establishing myself as a master's level therapist.
If I felt that the doctorate program would really be worth it in terms of having a much better job or much better salary, I would go for it. Right now I am not seeing a ton of evidence of this, it's just still a dream I have.
This has been the biggest mystery for me in my quest to become a therapist. Many people tell me that working as a therapist at a master's level is almost identical to working with a doctorate, while others have emphasized that with a doctorate you will get much more/better education, the ability to perform psychological tests, be better able to give complex diagnoses, higher earning potentials, and generally be a better, more well-rounded therapist. This all sounds very appealing to me, as I want to be the best therapist that I can be. However, I am wondering if it is really worth it to put so much time, effort, and money (or lost earnings at least) into getting more education to do "basically the same thing."
I want to be a therapist because I am passionate about mental health and helping others. I don't think I will be satisfied in my life if I am not in a helping career. I have been very intrigued by therapy since I was in middle school, and it has never left me.
The one goal I have that is more important than any career goal, is to get married and become a mother. This is the biggest reason I am hesitant to go for a doctorate degree. I'm 24 and the biological clock is always ticking. I start envisioning myself in my early 30s and still barely making any money. I grew up in a family where my dad, a professional performing, made all of the money and my mom, despite having a law degree, has never worked since I was born. I have watched my dad struggle to get work and make money to support us, and I have watched power struggles between my parents because my mom doesn't contribute. Because of this, I feel strongly that I don't want to be in a position where I am relying solely on my husband to support the family, and I want to feel like I am contributing to society more than just by raising my kids. Not only does a doctorate program take many years to complete (and it would be several years before I could even be ready to apply for a program), from what I have read it also takes quite a bit of time after completing the education for someone to actually get a decent paying job. In that amount of time, I could be working for years establishing myself as a master's level therapist.
If I felt that the doctorate program would really be worth it in terms of having a much better job or much better salary, I would go for it. Right now I am not seeing a ton of evidence of this, it's just still a dream I have.