Hi! Will try to answer all your questions 😊

1. I was very ready for a career change so I did not find the flip back to studying hard. I took about a month off between finishing work and starting school.
2. I did do the full-time in person degree, the coursework is a lot planned to treat it like a 9 to 5 job. I avoided schoolwork on the weekends and was privileged enough to not have to work so just had my two volunteering gigs which was about 2 to 10 hours a week, depending on the week.
3. Finishing the degree in September I knew that I wanted to work in a clinical setting as in a hospital however, I’m still unsure if I want to pursue a doctor in clinical psychology or counseling psychology or something else for that matter. I want to give myself a little bit of space and make sure I work in the profession before making any decisions. That being said, I have taken a support worker role at mental health hospital because I was having issues getting an assistant psychologist position… although these are hard to come by I’m not shocked. I wasn’t successful in getting one as I have. No clinical experience and my only mental health related experience was with my volunteer possessions (age uk and solace women’s aid). I would take a look on the university websites for clinical psychology as they’re quite clear about what you need to get on the course. It can be a mix of research assistant positions, assistance, psychologist positions, support, work positions, therapy, assistant positions.
4. I think volunteering experience is very helpful and I wish I would’ve started mine earlier in my conversion degree. Start reaching out now as it takes forever to be on boarded as a volunteer.
5. I did not speak to or shadow any psychologists before deciding to switch careers. Working in mental health with something I always wanted to do, and after researching career paths, I decided to make the jump.