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[docstudent1248]

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[deleted760483]

Personally I never really experienced that, other than a 2 day period when I was waiting for match results and was concerned I wouldn't match and started heavily researching how to get a realtor's license.

 

[WisNeuro]

In our program, it was common in year 2. But, that was our busy year, started full client loads in the clinic and had to defend our masters theses before the year was out, so it was VERY busy. Usually as you get closer to the end, you feel better about the journey. Although, may depend on some lifestyle factors, we were fully funded and a program with >95% match rates and 100% EPPP rates, so we were pretty confident about the next couple steps after grad school.

 

[PsyDr]

I've found an honest assessment of what you find the pros and cons of the daily actions of a professional psychologist to be extremely helpful in conjunction with an estimate of the day to day functions of alternate careers.

A possibly cogent simile would be that making such a decision is like deciding if you should move to the beach after vacationing there. You're gonna have all these fantasies about going to the beach every day, eating out every meal, socializing with friends and loved ones every night instead of watching tv, etc because you're under a lot of emotional loading and that you're experience with the beach. But the reality is that life on the beach is going to mean that you have to work and probably work harder because of the increased costs, have limited time to go to the beach, hate tourists, have increased pressures to host people when it's inconvenient, etc. and let's face it, you're probably not going to go that often, although there are people that go every day.

 

[singasongofjoy]

I

A possibly cogent simile would be that making such a decision is like deciding if you should move to the beach after vacationing there. You're gonna have all these fantasies about going to the beach every day, eating out every meal, socializing with friends and loved ones every night instead of watching tv, etc because you're under a lot of emotional loading and that you're experience with the beach. But the reality is that life on the beach is going to mean that you have to work and probably work harder because of the increased costs, have limited time to go to the beach, hate tourists, have increased pressures to host people when it's inconvenient, etc. and let's face it, you're probably not going to go that often, although there are people that go every day.

That was a pretty good analogy. In my program it was typical to question life choices in 3rd year, when the program expectations were basically continue to do more and more and more until you learn the very important professional and life skill of saying "no." Most people enjoyed 4th year a lot more because the grunt work decreased and the focus was more targeted on your interests, dissertation, etc. Are you questioning because you feel ineffective because you are jsut doing too many things to feel good at any of them? Are you doing mostly things you enjoy, but just too many of all the things? Or do you genuinely dislike most of the things you have to do? I asked myself "If I only had to do this thing for 1/3-1/2 of the time that I am currently expected, then would I enjoy it? If the answer was no, I tried to find a way to get out of it or negotiate. For me this involved quitting a paid position and re-organizing my budget even though that meant fewer clinical hours (I had plenty at that point and the drive wasn't worth the time). I also quit a couple of other commitments at that point and suddenly I enjoyed everything else about my program/training exponentially more. It was an important turning point. If you assess how much you'd enjoy things if you had to do them only half as much and you still get a lot of "nopes" then some more serious introspection may be warranted.

 

[barryggg]

I am currently entering my third year in a top PsyD program. I am finding myself second guessing my abilities in this program and my reasons for being here. I find myself constantly exploring other career options that are totally unrelated to the field of psychology. I am wondering if this is a normal process that others have gone through or if this seems like a larger issue? I've had conversations about this with other members of my cohort and my strong resentment feels somewhat unique in comparison to their experiences.

What exactly are you feeling? What did you imagine going in and what are you experiencing now?

 

[ilovedance1]

A possibly cogent simile would be that making such a decision is like deciding if you should move to the beach after vacationing there. You're gonna have all these fantasies about going to the beach every day, eating out every meal, socializing with friends and loved ones every night instead of watching tv, etc because you're under a lot of emotional loading and that you're experience with the beach. But the reality is that life on the beach is going to mean that you have to work and probably work harder because of the increased costs, have limited time to go to the beach, hate tourists, have increased pressures to host people when it's inconvenient, etc. and let's face it, you're probably not going to go that often, although there are people that go every day.

I think that this is a great example. During times when I was under a lot of stress I would have fantasies like this. Some examples that I can remember are daydreaming about quitting school and becoming a scuba diving instructor in Antigua or opening a tube rental company and living on a river. If I had actually quit school to do these things my life would not have been nearly as fulfilling as my daydreams led me to believe. I think that I primarily had these daydreams when I felt like I wasn't fulfilling what I find important in life (e.g. recreational activities like kayaking and swimming, traveling). There were times that I definitely needed to pull back some from graduate school and focus more on work-life balance. I think that most of the people in my cohort felt the same way at times. I feel like this type of experience is likely normal and to be expected when under stress. The important thing was that I never doubted why I was actually there and these feeling were not constant. I agree with the advice provided by other posters. Take some time and figure out if these feelings are only coming up when you are under a lot of stress. Do you enjoy any of your classes or practicum/externship experiences? Are there pieces of what you are doing now that you can see yourself enjoying in the future?

 

[smalltownpsych]

I am currently entering my third year in a top PsyD program. I am finding myself second guessing my abilities in this program and my reasons for being here. I find myself constantly exploring other career options that are totally unrelated to the field of psychology. I am wondering if this is a normal process that others have gone through or if this seems like a larger issue? I've had conversations about this with other members of my cohort and my strong resentment feels somewhat unique in comparison to their experiences.

Second guessing abilities is part of learning. We all have different ways of trying to cope with feelings of inadequacy. Some coping is more adaptive than others. Thoughts of quitting are normal in any challenging endeavor. Part of the developmental process of becoming a psychologist is developing increased self-awareness and abilities to cope with stress. Sometimes personal therapy or other types of soul-searching are indicated.

 

[justcallmepsych4life]

-getting deep here - I'm also a third year and find myself with some of these thoughts, but not about other careers because there's nothing else I'm really interested in. However, I'm one of those people who get bored easily and are never happy with routine (changing prac every year is legit a blessing to me, i just plan on mixing teaching/assessment/therapy and changing jobs a lot when I'm a doc). Maybe it's chronic emptiness but it makes it hard to stay happy and motivated at times. for instance, i thought simply being accepted into a doc program would make me ecstatic for life. Of course it didn't. Small things help spark my motivation, like getting a new position somewhere. But soon I start dreading showing up...

 

[foreverbull]

-getting deep here - I'm also a third year and find myself with some of these thoughts, but not about other careers because there's nothing else I'm really interested in. However, I'm one of those people who get bored easily and are never happy with routine (changing prac every year is legit a blessing to me, i just plan on mixing teaching/assessment/therapy and changing jobs a lot when I'm a doc). Maybe it's chronic emptiness but it makes it hard to stay happy and motivated at times. for instance, i thought simply being accepted into a doc program would make me ecstatic for life. Of course it didn't. Small things help spark my motivation, like getting a new position somewhere. But soon I start dreading showing up...

I hear you; I enjoyed the diversity in duties I had in grad school between practicing, classes, research, and a more technical (web maintenance) assistantship, which used different skill sets entirely, and the assistantship was largely independent and low-demand. During internship and postdoc when I counseled full-time is when the reality set in that I simply don't desire to counsel full-time and need different roles and autonomy. The only jobs that fit this mold are academia-related and private practice part-time with some other job/role the rest of the time (teaching, supervising, etc.). I've opted for the latter, and I'm planning to eventually branch out into several different areas as I go to keep me at my best in a variety of roles.

Even when you think you love something, sometimes doing it 40 hours per week can detract from the enjoyment of it. On top of that, the constant pressure to find more ways to bill for more time (even in nonprofits, focus on productivity is typical in my area, with productivity percentages as an indirect measure of your worth to the company) doesn't exactly contribute to job satisfaction.

For some folks, 40 hours of one role without much variety is fine, but for me it definitely wasn't, even though I'm not bothered by routine. You might find yourself needing several different roles to keep you interested and energized as well.... and I think that's something you can create for yourself and why the doctorate is so valuable in terms of flexibility.