modernity_mike

Hi folks, I'm a career changer interested in the field. I've been volunteering for a crisis hotline and at a psychiatric ward for the past year and am interested in doing something in the mental health field. Unfortunately, my local state school only offers a generalist degree and has next to no electives that relate to mental health. Additionally, I am interested in research and the school I'm looking at doesn't seem to have too much going on from a research perspective. With these goals in mind, should I look at other schools? The nice thing about the state school is that a) it's cheap and I wouldn't have to move. But again, it doesn't really seem to align with my goals. With that said, I'm continually seeing the argument being made that your classroom time is much less important that your field placements, as that's where the real learning is done. While I'm sure that's the case, I really like the classroom/theory/academia and would greatly enjoy classes that are relevant to my career goals. Is this enough to look take on additional debt?

Thanks for the reply, your advice sounds good. While it will cost me to take courses as a non-degree seeking student, I'd still be able to save some money, pay off my loans and increase my chances of getting into a solid MA program. Edit - The issue now is that many universities (especially those in the area I live) offer their courses during the day or early evening.

Hi folks, I'm looking for some advice regarding graduate work in philosophy. Background: I received my BS in engineering in '13. During my time as an undergrad I took two philosophy courses. Shortly after undergrad I took one graduate course at another institution. Considering my background, it seems best to shoot for the MA. But how do I go about this? It seems as though the folks applying to and getting accepted into these top notch MA programs are those that actually did their undergraduate work in philosophy and who want to use the MA to springboard to a solid PhD program. Given that, I'm up against some tough competition. I would obviously need to retake my GREs (in which I didn't score all that amazingly) and addition to making an old term paper into a writing sample. Having said this, are there any decent terminal MA programs that offer evening courses? I ask because one option for me would be to continue to work as an engineer while taking a course or two at night. The school where I took a graduate course only offers graduate courses at night, but they simply don't place folks that well. The other option is to quit work and do an MA full-time. In this situation I'd ideally not be paying tuition and at least get a stipend (though I'm assuming stipends at the MA level are few and far between). Hell, considering my background, it'd be surprised if I even got tuition reimbursement. Considering this, I think it'd be easier for me to go with the first option, in which I pay my way through the MA. I'm also assuming that if I say that I'll pay my way through school, it will be easier to get into a program. Are any of you folks getting your MA part-time (in which the program does indeed have evening courses)? Any other advice regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated.