Advice - Keep Job/New Job/Back to school...

Graduate School
1

<p>I have been trying to figure out what to do for the past 2 months and still have no clue and running out of time. Here it goes.</p>

<p>I am 24 yrs old, graduated college December 2007 with a degree in Psychology. Worked full time during college in sales (IT) and briefly for an equipment financing firm. Was out of work for about a year and recently got a job at another equipment leasing firm in Downtown LA. (From Orange County)</p>

<p>So here is my dilema:</p>

<p>1) I'm making $40k base plus commision making cold calls everyday. Business isn't too bad as I am closing deals.</p>

<p>2) Got a job with Northwestern Mutual (supposed to start mid Sept) which is much more exciting but the downside, 100% commision and I feel like insurance is a very saturated industry in the LA/OC area.</p>

<p>3) Starting school in September to get my PsyD in forensic psychology.</p>

<p>If I keep my current job, my parents will help with a down payment (least amount possible) on a skyrise condo here in Downtown LA. </p>

<p>If I go to Northwestern, I have the potential to eventually make a decent living or crash and burn and end up with a ton of debt.</p>

<p>If I go back to school, I'm going to have to quit working full time and get a part-time job. Looking at $140k in debt by the time I finish. </p>

<p>I am very interested in psychology and enjoy the field very much. It is going to be a lot of work and I'm going to have to make a lot of sacrifices as I will be on my own. I am willing to put in the effort though. My understanding is once I finish, I will have a more stable career making a lot more money.</p>

<p>If I keep my current job, there really isn't much room for growth and I don't want to be a telemarketer for the rest of my life. Plus side I will have my own place and be able to rent out the second room.</p>

<p>I feel like I have the experience and expertise in sales to do extermely well at Northwestern but dont want to fall for their BS as they are sales people too. With 100% commision and having to pay rent on a cubicle and many other expenses associated with the job, all the financial risk falls on me. Northwestern has nothing to lose. </p>

<p>I appreciate any input, advice or criticism as I am very lost and am looking for direction from someone who has been in my shoes. Thanks for the help.</p>

2

<p>What grad school? Will you be funded? Why a PsyD as opposed to a PhD?</p>

3

<p>Alliant International. Going to get student loans. PsyD because I was interested in practice as opposed to research. My GPA wasn’t the greatest while attending UCI. Here is another question. Am I able to go to Alliant International my first two years and transfer out the last two to a UC if my grades are sufficient?</p>

4

<p>Is that a for-profit school?</p>

5

<p>Do you own one of their whole/universal/annuity policies.
Do you understand the concept of insurance?
Do you understand why insurance is also under the purview of the Federal Reserve?</p>

6

<p>yes it is a for-profit school</p>

<p>id stay away from alliant/argosy/cgspp</p>

7

<p>Honestly, I’d say that you’re in the best position of the three right now.</p>

8

<p>You currently work in a dead end job and are looking at the prospect of working at a place that treats you like a contractor but won’t pay a direct salary? You are concerned that you may have to give all this up to go to a proprietary school for an unrelated field.</p>

<p>If this were me, I would take a little time to explore what I really want to do with my career. You seem to like the human interaction that goes along with sales but don’t seem all that crazy about the deal making aspect of it. Do you think you want to keep a career in sales? Do you think you want a completely different career in forensic psychology? </p>

<p>I would suggest you strongly avoid proprietary schools, especially for a doctorate, as their graduates are never regarded like graduates from normal universities; they don’t network at conferences, they don’t gain acceptance by the community and at worst, they don’t even have an accredited degree.</p>

9

<p>
[QUOTE=Momwaitingfornew]
Is that a for-profit school?

[/QUOTE]

It is a private not-for-profit institution. </p>

<p>
[QUOTE=LongPrime]
Do you own one of their whole/universal/annuity policies.
Do you understand the concept of insurance?
Do you understand why insurance is also under the purview of the Federal Reserve?

[/QUOTE]

No I don’t have insurance myself.
Yes I understand the concept.
No I don’t understand why insurance is also under the purview of the Federal Reserve.</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=Oyama]
id stay away from alliant/argosy/cgspp

[/QUOTE]

Why? Seeing how my GPA isn’t competitive 2.4. Could I go here for 2 yrs and transfer out?</p>

<p>
[QUOTE=belevitt]
Do you think you want to keep a career in sales? Do you think you want a completely different career in forensic psychology?

[/QUOTE]

I enjoy sales and am very good at it. The reason I was looking to change careers is because I want the security and freedom that comes with being a psychologist. I have the potential to make over 6 figures at my current job in a good economy or get fired because companies aren’t spending.

[QUOTE=belevitt]
and at worst, they don’t even have an accredited degree.

[/QUOTE]
<br>
Alliant has all the accredidations other schools have as well.</p>

10

<p>From Alliant’s website:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>So it’s private and not-for-profit. And it is accredited:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Have you looked into job placement?</p>

11

<p>Then perhaps you should work on your own financial plan before you jump off into a new industry.</p>

12

<p>Oh L-rd, just don’t go to Alliant. Barring that you have some incredible, incredible luck, you’ll never be able to comfortably pay off that type of debt on a psychologist’s salary (60-80k per year). Plus, their internship match rates are awful, and their reputation is not good. At all.</p>

<p>The only UCs that have clinical psych programs are UCB and UCLA (UCSB has a combined clinical/counseling/school program), and they’re all VERY competitive and VERY research-focused PhD programs. If you really want to be a clinical psychologist, get research experience. Take post-bac courss. Do an MA/MS. Or look into licensure at another level (LPC [but not in CA], MSW/LCSW, MFT). But <em>please</em>, for your own sake, do some research on the field, on programs, etc. And don’t go to Alliant (or Argosy).</p>

13

<p>I am a person who likes security, and so the security of a $40,000 a year job looks way better to me than the uncertainty of a 100% commission job (especially since I am not very good at selling people things). Especially since you have to rent out a cubicle and pay all the expenses! I don’t think that sounds like a good deal. Before you take it I would investigate the success rate of their commission salespeople in your area.</p>

<p>I also believe that no one should pay for a Ph.D/Psy.D in psychology. That’s my field. What kind of job will you get with a PsyD from a program that is not funded that will allow you to pay back $140,000 in loans? Especially from Alliant. Alliant is not well-regarded in the field.</p>

<p>If you really love psychology, why don’t you try to find a psychology-related job in your area? You could work as a lab manager for a research lab at a nearby school to see if you love it enough to do graduate work in psychology. You could work in the office of a clinician to see if you love that enough to do 6 years of graduate work in order to practice. But do not go to Alliant, or Argosy. They are not respected in the field and you may have a hard time getting a clinical internship.</p>

<p>If you want to practice and you’re interested in law, a cheaper option for you could be getting an MSW and becoming an LCSW (licensed clinical social worker).</p>

14

<p>agreed with juillet</p>

<p>lcsw’s can work in various fields including populations affected by crime</p>

<p>and if you need more information, go to student doctor dot net forums and head into the psychology area. you can get more pertinent information there for psychology practice</p>

15

<p>Thanks for the advice guys. I know for a fact I want to go into forensic psychology and eventually start my own practice. I have done enough research and spoken with many ppl in regards to this. </p>

<p>As far as Alliant goes, thanks for the heads up but what else could I do? While I attended UCI, I worked full time in outside sales which prevented me from making it to every class and teachers were not as understanding as they were at my community college. My first year at UCI (transferred as a Junior) I was put on academic probation as I had a 1.45?? GPA. I ended up cutting hours at work and switching to inside sales part-time and was able to average out a 3.3 GPA my last year to get my cummulative GPA to a 2.4.</p>

<p>It’s not that I’m lazy or stupid, I truely didn’t have the time for both work and school like I thought I did and it has hurt me ever since. What can I do if I want to go back to school. No matter where I look (including Alliant), they all require a minimun 3.0 GPA. I have an appointment today with Alliant to see “If I’m good enough” to attent their institution. </p>

<p>What would you guys do in this situation? Where would you apply to? Can I go to Alliant and transfer after I get my grades up? What is my best bet? Thank you in advance.</p>