I want to build a career. I need to support my kids & myself. I want to show my kids that we can be anything we want to be. But I don't know what it is I want to be...
I have thought of psychology - grief counselling especially...
I have though to law.
I have thought of medicine - it's what I always wanted to do. But at 42 am I too old?
Be my career guidance officers. I have good people skills, I am intelligent. I have way too much life experience
Social work? There are community development etc type roles that you can access through the TAFE system, get you working in the field while you continue to study towards a degree. Your counselling and empathy type skills could be very useful in a clinical setting.
Well what drives you? What is the one thing where you can have a crappy day at work but still get out of bed to go the next day because you love it so much? Hun, you are talented at many things and have a passion for many more so I think you will be successful at whatever you turn your hand to, but I think you need to do something that really fuels your passion
I don't think you are ever too old to learn something new!
Med is very demanding and would take a lot of dedication and time...all the uni hours, study, placements. One of my friends is doing Med, 5 years of uni full time then a few more to specialise....phew! But hey if you have the time and patience it would be a very rewarding. I think a bit of life experience is a good thing to have on your side especially in the health care field.
I aslo think each of those choices would suit you. I also think teaching would be a good match for you.
My concern for you with medicine is also the amount of work involved. They are LONG days on placement, not like nursing where you just leave at the end of the shift. Plus the study associated with it. And then there is the intern year, all the over time, your holidays are picked for you, sick leave is almost non-existent (it's available to take but look out if you do!). Then there is specialising and EVERYTHING is a specialty - even General Practice. Depending on the speciality, your further training past internship can be 3 years up to 7 years... providing you get into a program and meet all the requirements to stay in the program. There are massive exams each year until you reach the level of a consultant. Once you are in a program, you could be working anywhere. Your main hospital might be (for example) St Vincent's but you may be required to do stints (anything from 6 months to a year) somewhere like Bendigo, Woolongong, Mildura, Sale... it just depends on where they need you... and you don't get a whole lot of say in it. I don't mean to put you off, just to make you really aware of what it will involve. If it is what you want to do, go for it! But you will need excellent supports.
I think you'd be a wonderful chiropractor They are on a very spiritual path and believe in intuition, everyone is connected, drug free pain relief and that your body can self heal, plus you would get all the medical training at university for the physical side of it, I think it's a 5-6 year course.
Osteopathy / chiropracty / physiotherapy
Real Estate if you're interested and willing to work wekends
ESL teacher
Financial planning
Create a shortlist and go talk to some professionals first to see what their career is really like - the good, the bad and the ugly. Then you can work out what you're prepared to sacrifice to get there.
GL. I also don't know what I want to do when I grow up.
If you want to do medicine I see you more as a traditional practitioner. There used to be a really in-depth Chinese medicine course somewhere in Fortitude valley.
If you are interesting in counselling and medicine, and you have a strong knowledge of NICU's etc, could you be a counsellor/support officer for mothers and fathers of Prem's providing the mental and emotional support that they need to help them travel the NICU rollercoaster.
They would also be receptive of your knowledge and understanding as you have travelled the road before and you always come across as being able to portray true empathy and understanding, which can often be lost in these environments with all the technical jargon and day to day of NICU life.
I think natural/complimentary medicine would be a good fit, but I don't see anything wrong with you going into traditional medicine, after all, you already know what that would mean.
While you'd make a lovely counsellor I would worry that you might find yourself being drained from the constant reminders of difficulties. Something positive, where you can make a difference but still have plenty of yourself left for you and the kids.
Why don't you try volunteering for something you are enthusiastic about and see if inspiration takes hold?
I don't know if it differs from Unis but when i was doing my social work degree you have to complete 2 pracs, each a semester long, full time hours which meant that i couldn't work while doing them. A lot of people found it hard because you can't really live off the student centrelink payments, unless they've gone up a lot since i was studying! (just something to look in to before you start the degree)
I've also done a year of psychology... and comparing the two.... psychology is less person focuseed, more theoretical, more clinical. I found social work more humanistic.
But if you have any issues you haven't dealt with, going in to these feilds is incredibly hard. You need to protect yourself emotionally. I found it so painful, because i couldn't just leave the things i saw behind me, i took it home every day and it made me miserable. You are constantly confronted with the bad in the world, and it brings up your own issues tenfold. Yes its rewarding to help people, but also frustrating because its completely under funded in the government sector and so much red tape. But that being said if you work as a private counsellor (mine has a social work degree) it can be flexible because you can work from home, earn good money.
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I need some ideas...
They are on a very spiritual path and believe in intuition, everyone is connected, drug free pain relief and that your body can self heal, plus you would get all the medical training at university for the physical side of it, I think it's a 5-6 year course.
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