LMFT going back to school MBA or I/O Psych

[REW]

I am a divorced mother with a MS and licensure as a LMFT looking to return to school. Currently, I live in a state where the majority of jobs are focused on community agency work which I do not wish to do. I am considering an MBA or Phd in I/O Psych in wanting to combine my former experience in the business world as a business analyst with my clinical training as a therapist. I am not sure what would be the best options in terms of income potential and relocation. I would like to get input as I do not want to relocate my family for a degree that will not allow me to support as I incur more student loan debt. I would like to consult business about creating structures that increases the productivity of its human capital. Please share your thoughts about which direction to take as well as which schools are best for this type of work. Thank you for your feedback.

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[PHD12]

I am a divorced mother with a MS and licensure as a LMFT looking to return to school. Currently, I live in a state where the majority of jobs are focused on community agency work which I do not wish to do. I am considering an MBA or Phd in I/O Psych in wanting to combine my former experience in the business world as a business analyst with my clinical training as a therapist. I am not sure what would be the best options in terms of income potential and relocation. I would like to get input as I do not want to relocate my family for a degree that will not allow me to support as I incur more student loan debt. I would like to consult business about creating structures that increases the productivity of its human capital. Please share your thoughts about which direction to take as well as which schools are best for this type of work. Thank you for your feedback.

Hi Rew:

If you already have debt, I don't know if more schooling is always a good idea unless you can get into a top program. You are probably pretty qualified for an HR job already given a BA and MA degree. I don't know if you want to do private consulting for companies or work at a company. The former usually requires extensive expertise.

From what i've seen in the business world, the MBA degree is more common for human resource director positions (I think this is the type of position where you would be working on increasing productivity of human capital), although there are many people with BA degrees who do this work too. HR directors usually get paid pretty well, but the job is stressful and it takes a while to get there. MBA's are also doing a lot of executive coaching, consulting, and restructuring, but typically at consulting firms. PhD is I/O psych is generally more of a research/academic degree and will take you longer to complete (6 years vs. 2 for MBA). However, the advantage is that you may be able to get full funding. The I/O psychologists i've known who are doing well are already experts in their area though and are well published. Companies will not hire you because you have a PhD without extensive industry experience or proven expertise in the area (books, publications).

My bias is to see what private sector job you can land with your MA degree and your past business experience. Most people in the business world do well with only a BA degree and most companies will not care about your education level (beyond a college degree), but whether you can do the job and connections always help. The exception to this is if you can get into a top 10 MBA program, like wharton, harvard, etc. Those schools tend to open a ton of doors, but your average MBA degree not so much.