Losing my passion

[slptobe92]

I graduated from college in May with a B.S. in Psychology. I was going to do grad school for SLP straight from undergrad but started questioning it and got way too stressed out so I decided to take this year to take the pre-req classes and apply for fall 2016. I took two classes over the summer and got A's in both and enjoyed them. Now I'm taking three classes and doing fairly well, but I find the course material to be insanely boring. I feel like I'm losing my passion for this field and I'm doubting if I ever even had passion to begin with. I used to think I wanted to work in pediatrics because I did a lot of babysitting as a teenager. Now I work part-time in a daycare and don't ever want to work with kids for a living. I don't want to work in a nursing home or hospital, either. Honestly I can't even tell you a legit reason why I really want to be an SLP other than the career stability and money. I know I know, it's bad. My question is this: do I push through and apply to school anyway or quit right now? The thing is, if I stop now I don't know what else I'll do. I'm living at home right now because my parents are paying for my schooling. I know they'll be disappointed if I quit because they've already put in a lot of money toward everything. Also, I have a B.S. in psychology so I'm not exactly qualified for many jobs. 

I have no idea what to do and I need serious help here

[jmk]

Have you thought of looking into other options like OT, audiology, PT (depending on your science backround), a Masters in counseling, or even teaching? I would finish out the semester you are doing and still apply if you are applying this cycle and have started the process, but also start considering other options. 

Have you tried job shadowing? I have always worked with children as well, but a few months of shadowing at a pediatric clinic made me realize that I wanted to explore other parts of therapy. I wouldn't knock any part of speech until you've shadowed the population, you might find interest somewhere! Job shadowing may really seal the deal for you if you are interested in pursuing the profession or not. Realistically, if you find out you really hate speech, don't waste $$ getting a Masters that you can't really do anything with other than therapy or lecturing. It will be worth it in the end to settle into a profession you are passionate about. Plus why attend grad school studying a subject you don't find interesting, haha. 

Also- have you thought of actually applying next cycle? A 3.0 GPA may limit your options until your GPA has come up a bit with the pre-reqs. 

If I were you: I would want to keep my options open so I would still apply, while looking into other careers. 

[hopefulspeechie16]

If you're applying for Fall 2016 have you thought of schools you want to apply too? Perhaps taking a year off to figure out what you really want to do, might be helpful.

[litesneeze]

Cmm28, I was in a relatively similar situation as you: I graduated with a B.S. in Biology with the intention of continuing my endeavors in research. Unfortunately, every time I applied for a job, I was never too excited about what I was getting myself into. To make matters worse, I couldn't even get a job since most research jobs at that time were not willing to pay.  After some reflecting, I realized that I didn't like lab work, something which I wanted to do since I was a child. I was even considering pursuing a PhD after a few years of work. I couldn't find a job with my degree and I started to feel like shit. For a year I thought back to all the things I did and all the professors I spoke to for advice. It was then I thought about speech-language pathology.

Since I couldn't find a job, I decided to volunteer at a non-profit org that helps school children. It's better than nothing. It really helped me clear my mind and also involved myself with staff who were familiar with SLPs. From their support, I was able to find what I want to do for the rest of my life. I also privately tutored in my neighborhood, particularly middle school aged children.

Based on my experience, if you really do not enjoy the classes (because of the material, not the professors), then being an SLP won't be that enjoyable. A part of the job of an SLP is to continually research and gain new knowledge about the latest therapy techniques. If you are feeling that this is not the direction for you, perhaps you could speak to one of your pre-req professors about it and see if being an SLP is part of your future. It really helps to speak to a member of academia about it; there are things which they can clarify for you that the internet or books can ever tell you. Plus, they usually want to help you because they want you to find a subject you truly enjoy. If your undergraduate was in psychology and you are still interested in that field, talk to someone in the psychology department (meaning faculty, not a student). I have a friend that went from biomedical engineering to psychology by speaking to someone in the psych department. Afterwards, she went on to business and now she is getting her phd in Marketing. She is now using her knowledge in psychology and business to develop her thesis. I spoke to a prof in the linguistics department and then decided to get a minor in linguistics. If I didn't do that, I probably wouldn't have decided to get into speech pathology. Take the leap and talk to someone!

In addition, shadowing or volunteering can help you gain better insight about the field or even another field you are curious about. Volunteers are always welcomed! At times, volunteering can lead to job opportunities If you can't find a job, try private tutoring (not work at a company -- they take commission). You can charge your own rates, pick your own times and best of all, you don't have be on the books! You could work with children, teenagers or adults on any subject. I know ppl that just takes the standardized tests like MCAT, GRE and GMAT and if you get a high score, you could charge like $100 an hour. Tutoring is also quite similar to speech pathology and it may give you a feel for the job. It's a great temporary job.

The most important thing is that you don't feel like your in the dumps. A lot of people go through with it after college and don't try to compare your position over others. Once you find what you like, it's all good.

I hope that helps!

[CBG321]

I say trust your instincts and feelings.  If you already feel you do not have a passion for it why put yourself through the strenuous and stressful graduate school application cycle when people that do feel passionately about the field still are not getting in.  Consider for instance sitting in an interview and explaining why you want to do this?  Right now it doesn't seem like there would be a favorable response.  

Take some time to explore other career options, go to a career counselor at your old school and really dig into what you want to do an why.  It is not fair to other applicants or YOURSELF to pursue something your heart isn't into.  That being said, I am 100% passionate about this field and know I want to do this, but find many of my classes to be boring.  I still find the majority of the information interesting/the application but feel that many comm disorders professors may be better at research than actual teaching and infusing fun and passion into their classes.  I notice this as a student from another background where classes were more engaging.  

I am super excited about graduate school in the future and really enjoy my internship and know what population I want to work with so if you aren't having fun in ANY area I feel like it might be time to look elsewhere.  Now is the perfect time!