I am a qualified accountant, not happy with my job profile, and I am looking to change career and want to become a clinical psychologist. I have a keen interest in human behaviour and psychology.
I have done some research online, but want to know how hard it is and how long does it take?
Is it easy to get internship?
After I get all my certifications, I wish to practice privately.
Any other suggestions are also welcome.
Accurate… also, higher Medicare rebate for clinical psychologists relative to generally registered psychologists.
Thanks, I have another bachelor's degree, so I need to do 1 year graduate diploma, then 1 year of Bachelors Honours and 1 years of Master of Clinical Psychology and 1 year of internship. That's what I have understood is required to become registered clinical psychologist.
Are you prepared to get no income during those years? Because the coursework is full time+ if you want to get the grades that will make you eligible for each subsequent course.
What's your plan if your grades aren't good enough, or you simply can't find a place? Are you a good networker? Securing a supervising psychologist to gain experience for registration is hard work and subject to good luck.
Also, I think you're misunderstanding the eligibility criteria for a 1 year Master of Clinical Psychology. They should only be available for people who are already registered psychologists (minimum honours + 2 years experience and successful registration). Every Master of Clin Psych for non-psychologists is 2 years or more.
@Tambani: Yea but most people don't know that. They don't know the differences and erroneously use it interchangeably.
Lols
interesting career change, clearly not a typical boring accountant then
I think he hasn't found out that lion tamer is a career option.
Mrs Muzeeb completed a Bachelor of Psychological Science with honors while staying at home when our kids were younger. It was a lot of hard work and seemed to take forever part time. I used to help proof read assignments etc and I had no friggin idea what she was banging on about. It's not a walk in the park.
She is not registered with the APS as she chose to go down the more hands on social worker route. She didn't want to be stuck in a box all day listening to people's shit problems. She now works in the DV space, and while frustrated with certain aspects, feels like she is making a change to individuals and families.
It will be a long slog and definitely require a pay cut along the way. With mental health such a huge consideration these days there is definitely a strong future for clinical psychologists.
My manager at very large accounting firm went from psychology to accounting because it was easier and he wanted to raise a family. Accounting was a walk in the park for him and he's a managing partner or something these days.
Psychology seems endless understanding of the human mind that's constantly changing. Accounting you just sit through a whole lot of lunchtime tax and legislation update seminars or networking.
@freefall101 Your then Manager is probably an exceptional person to start with who would have succeeded irrespective of profession chosen. I know someone who went from medicine to software sales and became global head of business in under 10 years..
TLDR: Mrs Muzeeb said it's long and hard.
And they Mr Muzeeb had no friggin idea what she was banging
Oh look, it's Beavis and Butthead.
Depending on your age it might be a gold mine.
Looking at the health engine app it looks like a trading racket of Wish on steroids, perhaps a new way of making clickbait?
Do some research, it's not easy, and it's not quick. If you can't look I to this sort of stuff yourself, you have no hope of becoming a psychologist.
OzBPsychology
Do you accept eneloops?
Good ol' shock therapy.
How long…
If you can get advanced credit for your cpa qual, you might be able to do a grad dip in psychology in two years (which would be the equivalent of a three year undergrad)… you’d still need to do your fourth year, and upon completion you can apply for masters (2 years) or dpsych (3 years). You’ll do unpaid pracs in the masters/dpsych program. Generally speaking, masters/dpsych programs are competitive and 1st class hons will help. There are other considerations too.
Upon completion of either, you will become a general psychologist, and be eligible to apply for a registrar program to gain endorsement as a clinical psychologist. The registrar program is essentially further supervised practice.
I imagine there would be some overlapping skills between accounting and psychology… I imagine going through peoples finances / taxes is a bit private, you build rapport, and help people with their tax affairs. I would imagine an accountant earns more than a psychologist… do you have any psychologists on your books, you could ask them for their experience…
As a clin psych, I'm curious where you get that 200k to 300k figure from?
This is highly optimistic - it's nowhere near as easy as the advertising material claims. There's a reason less than 1% of psych students make it through to honours.
That’s not how recognition of prior studies / advanced credit points work. There is a cap and your prior studies are essentially a substitute for elective subjects you’d do in your undergrad anyway. In order to meet APS requirements there are a defined set of credit points in psychology that you would need to meet. I’d be surprised if you are able to do a three year psy undergrad in one year. I guess I could be wrong, so, link or it doesn’t exist.
1 yr hons or post grad dip… yes.
Masters is two years and includes course work and placements over the two year period… then a two year registrar program in order to become clinically endorsed.
You’re better off doing something else if money is your motivation. Remuneration is more like low 100k… Re 200-300k you might be thinking of a psychiatrist, do an MBBS if you have the intellect and the constitution. principal of a private prac can be lucrative, but an easier way would be to do an MBA and start up a practice/business.
At the very top end maybe they are earning that. My sister just completed her masters she had distinction average through her degree and honours, she is barely able to support herself at the moment, until you have lots of experience those numbers you listed are something you won't see for many many years if ever.
more realistic about what you can look at starting at
https://www.payscale.com/research/AU/Job=Clinical_Psychologi…
Those are some sad numbers on salary for the amount of work required, both becoming a psychologist and the amount of work with the job. It's definitely a profession where passion has to come first. Sad part is, the difficult process of becoming a psychologist is warranted, it is a hard profession. However, the Customer is the general public and while the profession warrants a much higher pay, it is not something the Customer can afford, even with government subsidies. My opinion anyway after seeing my wife's journey the past 5 years.
It's also not a job you can leave at work either :(
@aaronaldo: Yep definitely not a career path to choose for the pay, ESPECIALLY if like the poster they are looking for high pay and easy work life balance.
Not sure where you are getting this figure from…most clinical psychologists cap out in the low to mid 100k range, and potentially if they are in private practice, they are contractors to the practice, so they pay for their own super, leave and other things…
Ones that earn more own a practice and have other psychologists work under them.
A psychiatrist (medical specialist) will easily earn $200k+ working full time in a public hospital.
If a public staff specialist you are looking at gradual upscale to around a package of 3-400k with all perks included once you reach senior grade depending on your private practice level and on call/overtime
If established in private practice easily 500-700k+
As a psychologist working privately for yourself with a decent gap and full books, 2-300k is definitely possible but would be the exception rather than the norm
Mrs Participant is a psychologist, works in public health and does some private.
I wish she was on $200-$300k.
The average annual salary for Psychologist jobs in Melbourne ranges from $90,000 to $105,000.
https://www.seek.com.au/career-advice/role/psychologist/sala…
Yeah as a owner of a practice and the husband to a clin psych this is not true at all.
It MAY be possible if you saw 6 clients a day and did a assessment a day but you would be dead.
Most people will see a max of 4 people a day, then use the rest of the time for reporting.
As per my other comment, you REALLY REALLY need to speak to some one from the APS or a clinical psychologist,
Also your timelines are off on the education, call the APS and ask for advice.
Everyone’s a psychologist nowadays
That makes sense. How does does that make you feel?
I’ll feel better if you can give me a prescription
Sorry. I'm not a psychiatrist.
You'll also see better!
Clinical psychologist? iirc you'll want a three year degree plus honours, that's four years of study. And they will make you study a fair bit of scientific methods.
Plus a Masters plus clinical practice.
Yes, psychology departments purged themselves of all humanities elements decades ago and now claim to be a hard science like physics. In the past you had to pass 1 statistics subject and 1 neurology/neuroscience subject.
Psychotherapy nowdays is simple; its all behaviourism + CBT. Blame the patient for all of their problems, belittle & abuse them, and voila, cure. The reason why the government subsidizes CBT is because it affirms the status quo. If all of a person's problems are their own fault (their own irrational thought patterns), then you don't need to lift a finger to change society, like building decent quality public housing, taxing the rich more and redistributing the wealth more equitably, etc. CBT is based upon the protestant work ethic: people are rich because they are good people and deserve it; people are poor because they are lazy, immoral people whom God hates. I wish we could purge the world of the "protestant work ethic" mindset.
If you put an animal in a cage and randomly electrify the floor (yes, I know it is a form of torture), animals develop learned helplessness. If if you open part of the cage, the animal continue to lie there and doesn't attempt to escape. This behaviour isn't due to irrational thoughts; animals don't have language; animals don't think, they just feel.
Psychologists aggressively push CBT because they cannot prescribe 'happy pills' like physicians can. I recall reading that when oxycontin was really popular in America, 50% + of people taking it were also comorbid for anxiety and depression. When you take an opiate, you are essential getting 3 separate treatments in one pill. People like narcotics because Mu opiod receptor agonists make them happy and take away pain as well (unfortunately I am in a minority that only gets analgesic effects from narcotics, not the mood elevating properties). In Europe there is even a tricyclic antidepressant that is a mu opioid agonist (called tianeptine, perfectly legal in those countries but not in Oz or America).
If you can disprove the efficacy of CBT then you're welcome to perform an experiment and publish it. Go through your methodology thorough enough that someone else can replicate it.
And yes psychologist can't prescribe, unless they are also psychiatrists. Which takes a wholleeeee lot more study, you're actually a doctor.
@nobro25: I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people are aware that psychiatry is a medical specialisation.
@SydStrand: I doubt it. Find a random person on the streets and ask them what differs between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. Without looking it up.
@nobro25: There is so much more public awareness of mental health than there was 20 or even 10 years ago. 'R U OKAY' day is a thing, and 'it's okay not to be okay' bumper stickers are everywhere. People are much more willing to acknowledge mental illness, and are generally aware of what therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc., means.
Both arguments have their merits.
CBT is efficacious because it's the most studied, hence there's a lot of evidence supporting it's use. It doesn't mean it'll work for all clients. I'm fortunate in my role that I can personalise my interventions but most psychs in private practice are stuck providing specific focussed psychological strategies since it's covered under medicare. There's also reporting requirements from psychs to GPs mandating them to provide these strategies in order to justify the medicare rebate.
I notice that a lot of mental health issues arise from systemic problems. Especially for adults, the interplay between housing, relationships, work etc can be very complex and near impossible to change. It is learned helplessness in a way, especially if societal pressures come from many angles and crushes an individual. The inability to cope can exacerbate the severity of mental health problems and the quick fix is to medicate them.
There's no simple solution though I believe if housing was much cheaper and we all had universal basic income as a starting point, it would drastically decrease mental health problems.
Have you considered investing in a personal assessment to validate your career change? Search term: How Birkman Can Help with Person-Job Environment Fit
My partner went from a RN with 25 plus years experience to a Bachelor of Psychology with honors in a specific field at UNE. She had no intention of practising as she had her heart set on being a Research Psychologist.
She is more then halfway to a PhD. Has had many papers published in Journals and an open paper published by Cambridge University that has been downloaded 1,000's of times.
It's a hard slog.
Killlling it with that resume of papers 👍🏻
She was invited to present at a seminar at UCLA Berkeley. Yes we went.
Does her research cross over into her RN days or has she taken a completely different path? All g if don’t wanna reveal more
I’m a psychologist, not clinical though.
I wonder, what prompts the interest beyond keen interest in people, eg there is always a joke that those pursuing psychology have unresolved issues themselves.
Others have stated the pathways to psychology, if starting fresh it is a long slog (6years) though in your case with a degree already the bridging channel may be an option.
To be a “clinical psychologist” you’ll need to do 2yrs endorsement/supervision after the studies which typically comes with a cost - protected titles are a weird scheme.
For me, clinical was never on my list. I couldn’t do it. My best mate is a child psych and runs a child psych clinic but even for him it’s very repetitive, so his growth and learning now is more on the business side of it. But always has clients but often same sort of repetitive work (can be v rewarding though).
Depending on your current work/employment, could you explore a shift into HR?
there is always a joke that those pursuing psychology have unresolved issues themselves.
I have a couple of close relatives who practice in this field and all I can say, after meeting quite a few of their coworkers, is that there's more than a grain of truth in that joke.
Thanks.
I have another bachelor's degree, so I need to do 1 year graduate diploma, then 1 year of Bachelors Honours and 1 years of Master of Clinical Psychology and 1 year of internship.
That's what I have understood is required to become registered clinical psychologist.
Now 4+2 has been replaced with 5+1 pathways.
Do you have any idea how much does child psych earns in a year?
That’s so you can become a psychologist or general psychologist (can work no problems)
“Clinical” psychologist and a few others are titles gained through endorsement (the additional two years of mentorship I mentioned). It’s a weird concept
https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/Endorsement.aspx
You can work in the field and do much of the same work but not use the official title “clinical”, same for “child psych”. Though may be some differences in clinical setting, seem to recall some news about Medicare differences.
Recommend you find people who have done the 5+1 see what they think. I did the masters pathway, the 4+2 I felt was seen as less favourable, 5+1 wasn’t really an option for me at the time. Ensure you check out the fees. Masters was $37k each year, not sure what the 5+1 path costs
Will report back in likely child psych wage starting out.
Also honours is SUPER competitive. I moved interstate to do it, which was a big risk, undergrad years were great fun but not studious. Masters was like 12 places (niche field) and reckon I got in as moving interstate was seen as being really committed.
Do you have really good marks for existing under grad? Would be discussing with uni of the bridging course you’re planning what entry to honours is like from a cohort size and reality perspective
That's ignoring the extreme competitiveness of honours places. My psych course had 1,000 students in first year - competing for one of 50 honours places in fourth year. It was a Distinction minimum to get in. Similar competitiveness to get into a clin psych course.
Your potential to earn as a clin psych may be upwards of $200k, but if you aren't as good as you think you are your earning potential will be much lower. Public clin psychs earn a bit over $100,000 and there is no rising above that grade without getting into management (which is not that common for psychs). It is definitely not worth getting into it for the money. If income matters to you, stick to accounting and get onto some non-profit boards.
For me, clinical was never on my list. I couldn’t do it.
I had the same mindset but after working a few years as a reg psych and going back to do the 1 year clin psych masters, the difference between a reg and clin psych is minimal. I couldn't get into clinical after honours since it was so competitive and I'm so glad that I applied after working for a few years. I feel like the coursework is so much easier in masters program compared to undergrad. If it wasn't for the 2 tier medicare rebate, I would've done an Ed Dev endorsement instead.
I more meant, i never wanted to work in clinical setting either as a reg/or endorsed psych. I'm actually going through the endorsement in my specialty area atm, after the Masters (i/o) over a decade ago. I'm still not convinced a specialist masters/doctorate course endorsement student needs the same endorsement process given the full 2/3yr course is related to the field of endorsement but, whatever
Been there done similar part time. Do you need to work whilst studying? Took about 12 yrs including post grad with interesting transitional job changes along the way. And 3 more of supervision to get specialist status (not clinical). Can be difficult to get accepted into the post grad courses without either outstanding demonstrated academic ability, or solid field work experience in welfare or similar roles. Private practice is not an exclusive preserve of Clinicals and is an ok goal, but there are many very rewarding roles as an employee and as a member of multidisciplinary teams. It’s in these areas you may gain wider experience faster. You need a lot of confidence in your skills for private practice. Peer practice is invaluable. Happy to share some info.
Thanks, I am planning to do it fast track though.
I have another bachelor's degree, so I need to do 1 year graduate diploma, then 1 year of Bachelors Honours and 1 years of Master of Clinical Psychology and 1 year of internship.
That's what I have understood is required to become registered clinical psychologist or something similar.
It is 5+1 pathways now.
Could you please share some more information, happy to chat via private message as well.
Check out some of the replies re competitiveness. You're unlikely to get automatic entry into any psych post-grad (including diploma) without psych undergrad subjects. As Tambani said - 1000 3yr undergrads competing for the next level. You may get one credit for some of your subjects. What they are teaching in psych undergrad is actually relevant as an underpinning for your future studies. I switched into the psych train half way through first year part time.
what made you want to switch? an interest in human behaviour and psychology alone is not going to cut it to survive as a clinical psychologist. it takes years of training (at least 4+masters/clin practice) and you will be dealing with a large portion of patients with anxiety/depression, it takes its toll
Thanks for the insights.
Reasons - Interest in human behaviour, better work life balance, and better pay.
Yea… Nah the better work life balance comes only after 5-8 years of real hardwork, not to mention you won't be earning much for those 8 years also. Not only that, you need really good networking and be really studious to get to the top.
Accounting can earn quite decent money.
If you work for a Big4 in audit, then agree the work life balance will be horrible as you roll from one client to the next. BUT it is a good stepping stone into other roles and you get a decent bump in pay along the way.
Corporate can still have its moments, but at least more cyclical and you have your definite peaks and troughs in workload.
8-10 years post graduating, I’d expect you would
earn $150k+ in audit / larger corporate environments.
Just a bit of insight in case pay is a big driving factor.
you won't be getting better pay, good accountant has higher earning potential and the average clinical psychologist is no where near the 200-300k you quoted above in aus.
tell your co-workers who are all probably depressed that you are a psychologist and charge them to talk to you
My daughter (currently a nurse) (31 years) has 6 mths to go study Clinical Psychologist. Long hard journey. Very competitive and many hoops to jump through to be able to be Clinical pyschologist. Not much of a life out of study as piles of things to pass to.get through + 2 yrs of placements with no pay. She intends doing private practice. Many choose Physiologist route as there is not many places for Clinical & they can start working a year earlier but still loads of study but if you like study and love what you are doing then do it, just be prepared for what it will take.
It is 5+1 pathways now. I believe it is not as easy as it seems.
Is it easy to enter the Master's program.
What is the salary/pay can you expect after becoming a clinical psych?
What is the salary/pay can you expect after becoming a clinical psych?
No problem with numbers though. The main reason is the pay/earnings.
Psychologist are earning anywhere between $200k to $300k after management fees.
This is obviously your primary motivation. Don't dress it up as altruism or passion, when all you're asking for is money and possible shortcuts to getting qualified. If you'd actually researched this, you'd know the vast majority of psychologists earn far from $200k. Why do you think there are so many independent contractors in 'rent a room' private practices, or moonlighting on Better Help? Psychology is tough, competitive, and a big personal and financial commitment. Do it because you actually want to do it.
Yeah, right?
This person would be a terrible psychologist, based on that and the level of insight in some of their comments here lol.
Imagine rocking up to your psych appointment, after finally finding a psych with availability in the current decade. You walk in and it’s this clown, presumably advising you how to ‘hack’ your life and giving you personal finance advice lmao
Did the ‘rent a room’ gig as a side to employment. It can work, but it can also be costly, juggling regulars, vacant slots and no-shows. It’s rarely as simple as it sounds.
Some people would say accountants are somewhere on the spectrum themselves. So if you are not having trouble with numbers I'd suggest you might try to figure out whether you can focus on just you're client / stakeholder problems?
No joke. Got my CPA 20 year member pin a few months ago and never ceases to amaze me how much accountants like to have a go at each other to make themselves feel good then get a spanking from their clients / stakeholders.
No problem with numbers though. The main reason is the pay/earnings.
True though. Hard to get an accounting job that pays more than $200k without being a clown.
I knew one so called manager ($200k pa). I was double hatting and gave them a spreadsheet to pump out their reporting because they were doing something new and 12 months later they were still using the same stick tapped together spreadsheet. I mean seriously I can leave a pile of dog poop and 12 month later it is still there except the stench is worse.
They another one that ($300k pa) obviously lied out of their teeth about the amount of change that they put through in a short period of time. It was a glorified spreadsheet that put all the data in the one place and they changed the visibility to what they thought was correct view of the world. You know the ones who bring their old models from the last workplace and try to give everyone the transplant rejection pills until they are all drugged up or just give up and die.
Psychology Undergrad and Honours is not hard to pass but you have to work very hard to do well. Many struggle with the statistics component but I'm guessing an accountant would not have that problem.
I went down the research path, but others obviously didn't. Nowadays Masters is necessary and placements are organised within that. The clinical component under supervision for the clinical specialty should not be difficult to find if you are prepared to work in the mental health sector. At least here in Qld, there's always ads for positions in mental health/corrections. In all honesty, I think you need this experience before proceeding into private practice anyway. To go from studies direct to private practice doesn't give you an insight into the system and how it all works.
So yes, it is a lot of years and a lot of hard work. As with most undergrad and honours degrees, you mostly are doing subjects because you have to not because you are interested in the topics. Having said that though, I did enjoy it all.
Thanks for your valuable insights. I will research more on this topic.
I’m currently doing a Grad Dip Psych online. It’s FULL on, and I’m only doing 1-2 subjects a trimester. Far more intensive than the degree I did back in the late 1990s/early 2000s. I’m also not doing it to become a psychologist so probably won’t go beyond the Grad Dip. To become a psychologist (registered or clinical) you need it to the grad dip (assuming you already have a degree), which is 10 subjects (2.5 years full time), then honours (1 year full time) then masters (2 years full time). If you do it full time, it would be extremely hard to work as well as the hours required is high. Also to get into honors you usually need a fairly high average (85% ish) so you have to work hard. Most courses are full-fee, though you may be able to get a CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place) for the Grad Dip (UNE offers this) and Honours.
Thank you, I will look further before making decision.
Find out as much as you can about the courses you may need, and who the teaching staff are. Go to any open days. Investigate multiple universities in depth. Admin staff at the front end are usually helpful, but to get the real info on who gets selected, you’ll get better info from the academic staff. I got in by knocking on the door of the course selection officer, and asking how to get selected. But on my second application, not the first.
Psych is no where near as 'exact' as accounting. In psych you will need to be comfortable with 'no clear direction', uncertainty and messiness. I feel they are opposites in that sense.
Pop psych and the media would have you believe psychology is a comprehensive confident, and consistent science but it definitely is not. A good psychologist will be the first to say they actually don't know what is good for you, the patient, but wants to 'go on this journey with you' / support you and such.
So make sure you are okay with this.
Thank you for the insights.
I’ll echo the above comments RE competitiveness with both honors and masters. The 5+1 pathway was recently mandated because the 4+2 has been phased out.
Just to add to the mix - if you receive your clinical psych endorsements you also have additional CPD requirements. It’s not much but it needs to be in your area of endorsement. Eg if you have one area of endorsement, 16 hours of CPD per year must be within that area of endorsement. Doesn’t seem like much but if you’re in private practice it’s hard to do because you also need a network of board endorsed clinical psychs (and the time to do your CPD work).
Expect salary as a new grad to be in the 100kish for a board-endorsed clinical psych. $70k for a regular psych grad. A clin psych endorsement won’t necessarily add to your salary in the same way throughout your career but it makes you more employable, particularly when you start. Psych doesn’t pay well when you enter the field. I’ll echo the above about improving your skills in a multi disciplinary field and not just being private practice. Actually I probably cannot stress the importance of having exposure to multi disciplinary work enough. I was fortunate enough to start my career in a very multidisciplinary field and it’s worth its weight in gold in what I bring.
Also then comments on pop psych is very true. We don’t do what you pop culture has you believe we do. And sadly a lot of what we do is butchered by popular culture. I actually selectively disclose what I do because telling people what I do often results in people telling me what they know about psychology (in most instances it’s little to nothing) or having to play accidental counselor (and being able to shut those conversations down to redirect them to a more appropriate person)
The competitiveness never stops. It continues when looking for your first paid jobs, and that may mean taking on a salary lower than you want just to get the experience you want on your resume. And the contacts you make on the way through are critical.
You have sought information from an unlikely source, but have harvested some valuable info from those who have been before you. Keep enquiring!
I had a colleague who had to change to 4+2 despite her wanting to go into masters. Her grades were good (Ds and HDs) but she had few mishaps here and there with admin and so they couldn't secure her a position in the masters.
Thank you for the advice.
I am a Clinical Psychologist and practice privately in my own clinic. I think that others have answered most of your questions already. However, if you have more specific questions about the nature of the work itself, feel free to PM me.
Nice offer but I think you're going to regret that decision.
Thank you for the kind offer. I believe most of my questions have been answered in quite detail.
Accountant here, specialising in private and corporate tax. Have my B Com, CA and are likely to do a Masters of Tax over the coming years. 10+ years in the industry.
Accounting is not necessarily for everyone, however I strongly suggest you consider the breadth of different accounting roles out there before you leave the industry (if not done already).
For example, an auditor performs a very different role to what I do, and so do corporate accountants. If not already, do a search through the big 4 career pages to get a sense of what some pathways look like.
Hi,
The OP says "not happy with my job profile" and if Psychology is about anything it is about listening.
So, my response is… what has the OP done to seek advancement (or change) in their job profile while remaining an Accountant?
There used to be a stack of CPA ads on TV, basically selling the idea the the world is your oyster and while some of that if "selling a dream" there is opportunity if you go looking for it, even if you stay in Australia.
So, I agree and support your observations.
Having a have a keen interest in human behaviour can also lead to studies in Sociology so look at that as well.
Maybe consider getting some independent professional career counselling so you consider existing pathways and alternatives.
I was going to say OP might be a run-of-the-mill accountant in a suburban firm, and that typically has less career progression and a lower salary ceiling than someone who works in a bigger firm or even corporate. Maybe a change of scenery within the field is all they need, not a career change that isn't guaranteed if things will improve.
You could pivot to a pricing analyst of some sorts earning 100-120k-ish…I think it might have more of the psychology and human behaviour part of commerce.
I say, you don't have to be crazy to work here but it helps.
As someone who's doing 4+2, working in the internship part of the psychology, I personally feel like you can be earning far more with the investments you make in terms of time, hours, energy. The area I am working in has a really high turnover rates, and frankly, I can see why.
What drew me into psychology was that sciency human behaviour parts, but when you get to see the gritty bits of the psychology, I really feel like you need something to keep you motivated. There will be something that resonates with you that hits you hard. There will be ethical dillemmas that no one has the answers to, that you have to be at peace with.
If you want to try what it is like, try volunteering at Lifeline, I found some of the things I've learnt from it very helpful. It is kinda at the extreme end, but it's in a short burst (a phone call that is one off vs a session that may become sessions).
I personally don't think it's worth the hassle if you are going in for pay related reasons. Even if you discount stress of university studies, money needed for additional training, you are trading in at least 6 years to start at the entry level in the field. You are not just paying for the courses, you are losing out on 6 years of work life. If I were a career advisor, I would say, why not look at something that can utilise your current qualification and training first?
Great advice and thank you so much!
You'd wanna think it through. I get depressed just thinking about how long it would take to become a shrink. Maybe i should talk through my feelings?
https://acpa.org.au/Web/Web/CP/What-is-a-Clinical-Psychologi…