Change of Career: School Psychologist

amother

Burlywood

Wed, Aug 05 2015, 10:30 pm

I already have a degree and I've worked a bit in the field and really dont like it. I really think being a school psychologist would be something I enjoy.

Does anyone here in the know have any advice on if this is a good field these days? Is an online program (accredited obviously) be an acceptable option? Which degree is better MA is school psychology or school counseling, or do you really need a phd?

miami85

Thu, Aug 06 2015, 12:19 am

About school psychology,its hard to say b/c while there is definitely a "need" it's a bit like nursing--not enough places hiring, but that depends on where you live-- right now me and all my friends and fellow interns are all talking about the same five job posts, though I keep hearing rumors about the DOE hiring/lot of retiring, but also about budget cuts/lay offs, so hard to know. The field is also a little bit in flux right now--hard to know what the demand for Master's level will be in a few years, it's a big debate if its necessary, but with the DOE struggling and people wanting to bill insurance they want licensed--but a Doctorate is REALLY expensive compared to the payback--it goes back and forth. As for the program, it is a BIG commitment. Many programs are really full time for 3-4 years (its a 60 credit masters'), not to mention the 1 semsester part-time internsip+1 year long full-time internship which not all programs do placement and I dont' know if you are in NY, but you cannot intern in a NYC public school unless you are bilingual b/c its a special program--need to go to LI/Westchester/Rockland/NJ . Many programs are competitive and are not totally online--as you need access to the testing materials. You also need access to kids to do all the "guinea pig testing". It can be tedious to learn the testing and report writing. Not sure exactly where "school counseling" fits in, Is that like guidance counseling? social work? Ultimately you may need to decide whether you want to do it for the counseling aspect or the testing aspect--if you really like counseling and psychotherapy, don't go into school psychology (depending on the program your counseling exposure is rather "watered down"--which for school based counseling its sufficient, but not in a clinical setting which you need a PhD for). That said it is a cool field, and I thought I just graduated, I really enjoyed my internship--it was shame I wasn't getting paid b/c I would've continued. We were told that while it's a tight market most get hired eventually--have to be patient. If you have more questions I'd be happy to answer them.

marina

Fri, Aug 14 2015, 1:05 pm

amother wrote:

I'm not in the field, but I have several friends and relatives who are. There are NO jobs. 90% of the school psychologists that I know are not working in that field. They simply couldn't find work in their field. Very silly choice of a degree to currently pursue, if you are asking me...

depends where and when. I'm representing a district that is searching desperately...

amother

Pewter

Fri, Aug 14 2015, 1:28 pm

A family member of mine recently finished her MA and licensing and is working as school social work. she did find work for a private company servicing the public school system. It includes going into people's homes when school is not in session so you have to be okay with that. She had to find casework to do with in the school so that some of her hours were privately billable.
Her job is not testing. For example its presenting a certain number of presentations to students (drinking and driving, inappropriate touch, etc), to parents for similar topics, speak to a minimum number of students one on one (could just be saying "hello, how are you"), and counseling students and getting payed privately through their insurance.

It is not a high paying job.

(Maybe I'm referring to a school social worker?)

miami85

Fri, Aug 14 2015, 3:50 pm

amother wrote:

Quite possibly Social Work and School Psychologist are very different positions--with a little bit of overlap.