The Highly Educated but Needs Experience Paradox
This article has been revised to another citation format. If you’d like to see Part 2, please click here.
I fall into the “highly educated but needs more experience paradox”. I pursued a Masters in Psychology in order to see if I could get a Doctorate in the field to become a psychologist.
- Where I live, you must get a Doctorate in a clinical stream to become a psychologist. This is contingent on you getting your Bachelors and Masters in the same industry.
- While it wasn’t easy to stay in the discipline, I did so while many of my undergraduate and graduate-level peers left the field to pursue other interests.
Looking back on things, self-discipline hasn’t been easy. But with careful time management and a goal to succeed, I have at least done the Masters, all in one piece. I even have some working research experience under my belt!
As a contingency, I decided to work in HR. Why? Because once you get a Ph.D., you might find yourself struggling to find regular employment.
- First, I got a post-graduate certification in Human Resources Management. I still like it here.
- If my original plan to be a Psychologist doesn’t pan out — in about 10 years or so, I can hope to work in a position that allows me to combine Psychology and Human Resources, such as through Organizational Development.
After getting that postgraduate training in Human Resources, I was able to quickly find contract roles related to the industry as did my peers in the same program!
However, the goal of working as a Psychologist still stands but has been revised. I will work in the corporate world for the time being, most likely in Human Resources. However, I will be taking additional coursework to possibly become a Registered Psychotherapist on the interim.
- Where I live, registered Psychotherapists required an accredited Master’s degree in Counselling Psychology or related.
To summarize:
- My ongoing and somewhat short term goal is reliable employ-ability through Human Resources.
- My medium term goal is to become a Registered Psychotherapist after completing my additional coursework.
- My long-term goal is to eventually work towards a PhD in Clinical Psychology (or related, such as School Psychology).
- If my long-term goal doesn’t pan out, I have Human Resources to fall back on and will continue working in the field (or related). I hope the future is promising!
For Part 2, please visit:
