Older midlife career change to Clinical Psychology

[ExpatMedic]

Hello everyone,
I'm 39 and have a MSc in Global Health. My undergraduate is a BS in Paramedicine with a minor in sociology. I completed the masters in 2017 with a thesis on "Challenges In Evaluating The Global Burden of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest". I have been published several times in peer review trade magazines which are indexed in MEDLINE (such as The Journal Of Emergency Medical Services). I have been working as a paramedic for the past 15 years and I think I'm ready to throw in the towel. I'm currently considering looking further into clinical psychology (PsyD or PhD). I have emailed a couple of programs but have received very vague, non-direct answers to my questions. Kindly see my questions below and I look forward to your insight!

1. Would most programs require me to start completely over at undergrad and complete an entire Psychology bachelor's degree from scratch? (or would completing several minimum pre-recs be an option)

2. Would my background make me less competitive because of my age and changing career tracks?

3. Do you have any suggestions for outside resources I can look further into?

Thank you

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[NeuroJaguar]

What are you hoping to do with the degree? What kind of position would you be looking for after you graduate (e.g., research, therapy, assessment, academia/tenure track professor, industry)

From my experience in the field, I don't think you would need to earn another degree prior to entering a doctoral program and you would be best served by getting some psychology-specific research experience including national presentations, and taking a few psychology courses. I think having a research background would aid in your competitiveness.

 

[WisNeuro]

1.) A degree in psych is not a pre-requisite at most places, but certain classes may be
2.) Not necessarily

 

[ExpatMedic]

What are you hoping to do with the degree? What kind of position would you be looking for after you graduate (e.g., research, therapy, assessment, academia/tenure track professor, industry)

Thank you both for the replies. This is very helpful. The end goal would be clinical practice, licensed psychologist. I'm hoping to shadow or speak with those in the field before choosing an area of specific interest within the realm of clinical practice.

 

[WisNeuro]

What do you envision your day-to-day work life like? Or what setting do you want to work in?>

 

[PsyDr]

1) Usually just the pre-requisites
2) There would be concerns about geographic flexibility, willingness to take the student role, and potential to change careers again.
3) Do well on the GRE, come up with a great reason why admissions would benefit from you as a student.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

Hello everyone,
I'm 39 and have a MSc in Global Health. My undergraduate is a BS in Paramedicine with a minor in sociology. I completed the masters in 2017 with a thesis on "Challenges In Evaluating The Global Burden of Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest". I have been published several times in peer review trade magazines which are indexed in MEDLINE (such as The Journal Of Emergency Medical Services). I have been working as a paramedic for the past 15 years and I think I'm ready to throw in the towel. I'm currently considering looking further into clinical psychology (PsyD or PhD). I have emailed a couple of programs but have received very vague, non-direct answers to my questions. Kindly see my questions below and I look forward to your insight!

1. Would most programs require me to start completely over at undergrad and complete an entire Psychology bachelor's degree from scratch? (or would completing several minimum pre-recs be an option)

2. Would my background make me less competitive because of my age and changing career tracks?

3. Do you have any suggestions for outside resources I can look further into?

Thank you

I went to a university-based PhD program in clinical psychology at a major US university in the 1990's and we had two older (I think late 40s to early 50s) guys in our cohort. One was retired Navy and the other was a former engineer. It was only a class of nine and these two older gents were two of them in the cohort. Anecdotal, but true.

 

[ExpatMedic]

What do you envision your day-to-day work life like? Or what setting do you want to work in?

I like the idea of continuing to see patients. Perhaps seeing various patients in a clinical office setting through the day. But I feel the need to vent a little about my current day-to-day work environment that has led me to consider another work environment (such as clinical psychology). I'm still very early into researching this career, which is why I'm here.

One thing that is nice about my job as a paramedic is seeing different patients throughout the day. The ever-changing environment of that versus working on a vast project over a long period. I can complete research projects, but I don't want to do that as a full-time career. I do enjoy theory based research. Things I dislike about my current career and environment as I get older are surfacing. The very low pay, terrible hours, being physically and verbally attacked routinely(a man attacked me with a machete last week on a call), "running" non-stop from call to call with no time to use the restroom or eat lunch(many days I don't get to eat a lunch because they were too busy), no pay or incentives for my higher degrees due to low higher educational requirements to enter my field. It was a fun career in my 20s and 30s, but I don't envision myself being a paramedic into my 60s and I'm looking for a replacement career with a better work environment, better pay, and higher entry level education requirements, better work life balance.

 

[PsychSupreme]

I like the idea of continuing to see patients. Perhaps seeing various patients in a clinical office setting through the day. But I feel the need to vent a little about my current day-to-day work environment that has led me to consider another work environment (such as clinical psychology). I'm still very early into researching this career, which is why I'm here.

You can do this without being a licensed psychologist or getting a doctoral degree. Master's-level counseling programs, MFT programs, and MSW (clinical) programs can easily lead to this kind of career, and most aren't significantly competitive in the way that doctoral programs for psychology are.

 

[Fan_of_Meehl]

I like the idea of continuing to see patients. Perhaps seeing various patients in a clinical office setting through the day. But I feel the need to vent a little about my current day-to-day work environment that has led me to consider another work environment (such as clinical psychology). I'm still very early into researching this career, which is why I'm here.

One thing that is nice about my job as a paramedic is seeing different patients throughout the day. The ever-changing environment of that versus working on a vast project over a long period. I can complete research projects, but I don't want to do that as a full-time career. I do enjoy theory based research. Things I dislike about my current career and environment as I get older are surfacing. The very low pay, terrible hours, being physically and verbally attacked routinely(a man attacked me with a machete last week on a call), "running" non-stop from call to call with no time to use the restroom or eat lunch(many days I don't get to eat a lunch because they were too busy), no pay or incentives for my higher degrees due to low higher educational requirements to enter my field. It was a fun career in my 20s and 30s, but I don't envision myself being a paramedic into my 60s and I'm looking for a replacement career with a better work environment, better pay, and higher entry level education requirements, better work life balance.

I'd definitely share your ability to tolerate emergency situations and out of control behavioral presentations in interviews or application essays. If I were on an admissions committee, I'd rate your background as very desirable since you're likely to be able to keep your cool with suicidal/homicidal, belligerent, or intoxicated patients. You'd be quite unlikely to 'crack' or feel overwhelmed just because things got dicey in a clinical scenario.

 

[summerbabe]

1. Would most programs require me to start completely over at undergrad and complete an entire Psychology bachelor's degree from scratch? (or would completing several minimum pre-recs be an option)

This will vary program by program but usually no and programs have leeway to admit students as they see fit. For programs with unclear pre-reqs, you can follow-up and ask for specificity of requirements, usually from the director of training.

A funded PhD will require some psychology related research with poster presentations or contributions to peer reviewed articles a major plus. Some people gain that experience during undergrad, some as a postbac and some through a MA/MS program. If you go the MA/MS route, you almost certainly won’t need to worry about undergrad pre-reqs.

I'm still very early into researching this career, which is why I'm here.

Glad you're taking time to think things through and hope there's a more fruitful path forward. As for a broad intro, Mitch's Guide is a nice start. It's not perfect and written from the perspective of a PhD clinical psych prof so other options aren't as detailed or covered (like master's level degrees) but it's free and has important points that everybody considering this field should probably consider.

I'm looking for a replacement career with a better work environment, better pay, and higher entry level education requirements, better work life balance.

Are you thinking about any other health-related fields? Other options for people interested in patient care and/or mental health but don't want to go for a PhD/PsyD in psychology could include master's level psychotherapy (LCSW, LPC, MFT, etc), recreational/art therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and psychiatric nurse practitioner. And what about non-patient care related options?

 

[PsychSupreme]

Just going to quickly self-promote, and second the recommendation to check out Mitch's Guide....

Careers in Mental Health (Abridged)

docs.google.com

 

[ExpatMedic]

Very helpful! Reading it now. Thank you

 

[PsychPhDMama]

Hi, here’s a similar thread you may find helpful:

PhD/PsyD - MA/MS ---> PhD Counseling Path for 2nd Career

Hello, I am seeking input re: a MA/MS --> Counseling Psychology PhD path that I am exploring. I'm looking to enter counseling psychology as a second career. I had a long first career in business, became a ICF-certified executive coach two years ago and my training and client experience in...

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