MSc Speech Therapy vs Psychology Conversion

Hi guys,

I'm currently really struggling with what to do career-wise. I've just finished my BA degree in English Language and Linguistics with a 2:1 and I'm working as a Pharmacy Advisor at the moment (been doing it for 2 years throughout my degree.) I don't live in a great area for graduate employment, so theres not much around me other than teacher training and graduate management schemes etc. Not sure on the teaching front, I've heard bad things. My partner has a well-paid job though and we couldn't afford our house without it, so it's difficult for us to up and move but I suppose eventually we'll have to make it work, or 3 years of my life was wasted at uni.

I wanted to do something involving writing originally, as I love anything to do with writing, but quickly realised routes into content writing or journalism are hard to come by unless you can afford an unpaid internship in London.

So, thinking back to my time at uni, I really liked the Psycholinguistics module. I think I was more into the Psychology aspects than the linguistic side of it, and started to develop a tentative interest in it. I've bought a few uni-level Psychology books in the meantime and I am really getting into them. I know I can afford to do the 2 year distance conversion course and still work part-time, which would mean I wouldn't need to move and my finances would be stable. However, I know that becoming a Psychologist is insanely difficult, so I'm not sure if I'd be wasting my time. I know there are other roles available for Psych grads, but with not having any experience in this field at all, I'm unsure whether to totally change direction and pursue it.

My other option is going to do Speech Therapy, which would probably lead off from my degree better and I've shadowed an SLT before, and have the ability to shadow her again as much as I want. I did like the introductory module at uni and did well in it, but I don't find it anywhere near as fascinating as Psychology. However, I think career-wise it would be a more stable route. The problem is, I would have to move house (no courses nearby) and struggle financially for a couple years by taking this course as it is full time and I'd obviously have to leave my current job due to distance. I think I'd manage but, it would be hard work.

I find most of the work in my current job quite boring, and I am looking for a change. (and a wage increase!!) I like the parts in my job where I get to help people and give advice, so I think either of these careers might appeal to me.

Unfortunately, I have a lot of obstacles right now and I'm not sure which path to take. My other option is obviously, keep job hunting and hopefully eventually land a grad job but I was sort of hoping to at least attempt to find something I liked before I give up and just do it for the money haha..

So, any input you guys can give me would be great! Especially from current or aspiring psychs/slts! Or even people who have been in the same position with other courses/careers and feel it was all worth/not worth it

Thank you

xx

Hi guys,

I'm currently really struggling with what to do career-wise. I've just finished my BA degree in English Language and Linguistics with a 2:1 and I'm working as a Pharmacy Advisor at the moment (been doing it for 2 years throughout my degree.) I don't live in a great area for graduate employment, so theres not much around me other than teacher training and graduate management schemes etc. Not sure on the teaching front, I've heard bad things. My partner has a well-paid job though and we couldn't afford our house without it, so it's difficult for us to up and move but I suppose eventually we'll have to make it work, or 3 years of my life was wasted at uni.

I wanted to do something involving writing originally, as I love anything to do with writing, but quickly realised routes into content writing or journalism are hard to come by unless you can afford an unpaid internship in London.

So, thinking back to my time at uni, I really liked the Psycholinguistics module. I think I was more into the Psychology aspects than the linguistic side of it, and started to develop a tentative interest in it. I've bought a few uni-level Psychology books in the meantime and I am really getting into them. I know I can afford to do the 2 year distance conversion course and still work part-time, which would mean I wouldn't need to move and my finances would be stable. However, I know that becoming a Psychologist is insanely difficult, so I'm not sure if I'd be wasting my time. I know there are other roles available for Psych grads, but with not having any experience in this field at all, I'm unsure whether to totally change direction and pursue it.

My other option is going to do Speech Therapy, which would probably lead off from my degree better and I've shadowed an SLT before, and have the ability to shadow her again as much as I want. I did like the introductory module at uni and did well in it, but I don't find it anywhere near as fascinating as Psychology. However, I think career-wise it would be a more stable route. The problem is, I would have to move house (no courses nearby) and struggle financially for a couple years by taking this course as it is full time and I'd obviously have to leave my current job due to distance. I think I'd manage but, it would be hard work.

I find most of the work in my current job quite boring, and I am looking for a change. (and a wage increase!!) I like the parts in my job where I get to help people and give advice, so I think either of these careers might appeal to me.

Unfortunately, I have a lot of obstacles right now and I'm not sure which path to take. My other option is obviously, keep job hunting and hopefully eventually land a grad job but I was sort of hoping to at least attempt to find something I liked before I give up and just do it for the money haha..

So, any input you guys can give me would be great! Especially from current or aspiring psychs/slts! Or even people who have been in the same position with other courses/careers and feel it was all worth/not worth it

Thank you

xx