I didn't think that it would feel this good to be done... but 3 years, 68 credits, and almost 1,300 internship hours later I am VERY glad to have school out of the way for now. DL wasn't a part of this degree, but it was definitely important to the journey... and I'm sure that it may be again in the future. I start my new job, finally getting paid for doing counseling, on Wednesday.
Congratulations! I feel your pain in every category....3 years, 63 credits, and 1,220 hours of internships for me!
Bruce, the degree that you are working on seems very interesting. What do you plan to do with it when you are done. I'd love to hear about your future plans and get some insight into the program that you are in. You should start a thread to let us all know about it.
If you mean the Forensic Psychology degree, I finished that last June, I'm working on a doctorate now. Info on the Forensic degree is here; Forensic Psychology Masters Program – MSPP, The Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, Boston, Massachusetts What's interesting about that program is that it theoretically could be completed via DL, as long as you don't mind some trips to Boston, and arranging an internship in your local area. All coursework is done in a blended format, with most of it online, plus dispersed weekend residencies.
Forensic Psychology seems like it would be very interesting. I'd hate to be interrogated by a guy with 20 years of law enforcement experience and education to get inside of my mind, lol. Nope, no thanks.
Well, for now I am going to start working on licensure... which I will be able to apply for if I stay at this job for 2 years. I am also planning to start a small psychotherapy practice on the side, here in Vermont (more about that later since it kind of relates to this website). As for a doctorate... it is without a doubt always on my mind. I'm a certified degree addict! I am having trouble rationalizing how I would use it though... since I am not interested ion doing assessments or anything related to clinical psychology. I do want to teach, but the pay for most college instructors and the cost of a doctorate don't really seem to even out. We'll see though. I am looking into a few affordable, dissertation only doc programs.
Thanks Bruce! I'm glad the be here in New England where the LMHC standards tend to be more strict than in other states. It's my opinion that it creates better counselors and psychotherapists. For instance, counseling colleagues of mine in Texas graduate from their masters degree with ZERO practical experience doing the work. They then do their internship after graduating (often unpaid, without being able to live off student loans) and apply for licensing immediately after it. I can't imagine doing pre-licensing hours without having significant experience while doing the academic work. Are you on linkedin? If so, let's be connected since we seem to be local. I am working in western Mass beginning tomorrow, so we may even be colleagues. I'm at Anthony S. Parmenter | LinkedIn if you're interested.