crap! I'm confused as to what profession to enter.

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by nyvrem, Mar 5, 2015.

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  1. nyvrem

    nyvrem Active Member

    :laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

    Finishing my undergraduate degree end of the year, was starting to research on post-graduate fields to do. Was thinking about an MSW because I've been working in the social service field for the last 6 years, but saw the cost and 60 credits for that amount of $$ with low pay is crappy.

    Then I thought go Law school, but cost of it in US was so high, i thought maybe go UK for an LLB and do an LLM in the US, although there's a bottleneck of laws right now.

    Now i'm thinking go Nursing or PA school.

    So confused !

    :laugh2::laugh2::laugh2:

    But I did notice, all the 'areas' in which I want to work in relates to helping people (Even in Law, i was looking at the area of advocacy)
     
  2. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    The only advice I can really offer is that the path you choose now may evolve over time anyway.

    My wife is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She works as an executive director of a non-profit. LMHC is not a direct pathway to being an executive director. She worked private practice for a while. Then she did some counseling on a volunteer basis. That led to a board membership. There she learned how to write grants. Then another board wanted her to help them out. Then, when an ED job came up, she applied. She makes significantly more than she did was a counselor in private practice.

    I asked her just yesterday if she regretted becoming a counselor. It would have probably saved time, money and effort had she earned an MPA instead of an MS in Counseling. She doesn't regret it. The journey was interesting.

    I started out as a Substance Abuse Counselor at a residential treatment center. My goal was simple: go to school part-time and either become a Clinical Social Worker or a Psychologist. Then one day, my car died. I had no way to get to work. I had no money to repair it (counselors get paid diddly). I was desperate. So I joined the Navy. I figured I would be a Hospital Corpsman. Then when I got out, I could go back to school and maybe pursue mental health work via the R.N. path. Sounds like a workable solution, right?

    There were no spaces available in H.M. school. I had two choices if I went with the Navy: 1) go to personnelman school 2) go to the fleet as a deck seaman. I needed money. Something had to give. I chose the former. While I was in I earned a degree in business administration because the courses were plentiful on-base and online. I earned my Professional in Human Resources (PHR) just before I got out. I got a job in HR and I haven't really looked back.

    I never would have thought I would be an HR guy. But I like it. There are times when I have to mediate workplace disputes. There are times when I have to work with an employee with a drug problem to try to keep him on the job. I do a lot of the things I envisioned myself doing as a social worker (or miscellaneous MH professional). I get paid more. Would I be happier as an MHC? An LSCW? It's hard to say. The idea of having a private practice sounds appealing to me. But I've lived the reality of those finances through my wife. She spent a significant amount of time arguing with insurance companies rather than actually counseling people.

    So my advice? Relax.

    Start looking at jobs in organizations you really support. Places where you can really embrace the mission. Any of them sound appealing? If you meet the requirements now, apply and give it a shot. If you don't, see if there is a credential you are lacking to get you where you want to be. You may find that after a year of working as a Program Assistant that the "good" job you aspire to is actually not all that appealing up close. You may find yourself attracted to a job that you NEVER thought you would be interested in. And most of all, you may find out that your way of helping people isn't as obvious as you thought it would be.

    And if you choose an MSW, your path may be winding. You may be working as an executive director in a decade. Or maybe something else. That's OK too.

    The journey is all we have. Don't try to plan around it. Embrace it.
     
  3. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    Let me simplify this for you. In the economy we are currently in...

    Law school = Low chance of employment in the field of law plus graduating with a high debt load that must be repaid

    Nursing school = Strong chance of employment after graduation earning a good salary
     
  4. rebel100

    rebel100 New Member

    While I don't think nursing is as strong as it once was, I do believe nursing and related healthcare work will remain strong for the foreseeable future.

    I met an interesting person a few weeks back, she is part of our legal team for the hospital where I work. She is both a licensed RN and a brand new lawyer, she related having no trouble at all finding work in the healthcare legal field for obvious reasons. You can become a nurse in just a couple years (or so, depending), don't necessarily need a bachelors in nursing to work as one.
     
  5. Michelle

    Michelle Member

    What about becoming a mental health nurse practitioner? I thought you had to be an RN first, but there was a recent thread that had a link to np programs that did not require being an RN first.

    If you decide to go the msw route, this program seems really affordable: Social Work - BSW and MSW
     

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