Postbac programs for Psych?

[StartingtheProcess83298353]

I'm looking at a midlife career change to psychology, I double-majored in history and German Studies 25 years ago as an undergrad and am taking an intro to Psych course for credit right now at Hunter College in NYC, I've seen some postbac programs around online like at Columbia but also the American College in Greece which I might explore, or I might continue taking undergrad psych courses at Hunter for the next year or so (taking at least eight total, including all the regular ones required for most applications: intro, development, abnormal, stats/research, personality); is one path seen as better than the others? (are postbac courses taught differently than undergrad ones? It might be easier for me to be around adults seeking to just get their requirements met rather than being told to put their smartphones away, quizzed to help them develop their study habits and so on, but I don't know if I want the full-time study route right now that a certificate program would entail [I like the part-time study and part-time working balance]).

P.S. I'm only really interested in Duquesne and the University of West Georgia right now because of their openness to critical psychology and models of the mind not based solely on the biomedical model (but I don't know my end goal yet of being a therapist, researcher, psych instructor, etc.)

[thelionking]

I'm not in your field, but what came to mind after reading your post is that having a better idea of your end goal would enable you to find programs that give you more specific training and a specific skill set that would help you get the job you seek after graduation. For instance, an experimental psych program will be great if you want to be a researcher or teach one day. But if you want to get in counselling, not so much. What if you discovered part way or after completing such a masters program that you want to be a counsellor instead? Then you'd have to go back for a counselling degree.

If you have the opportunity to do some job shadowing, I'd highly recommend it. While there might be some limitations to shadow a counsellor due to privacy issues, you should be able to find opportunities in other psychology related professions. Volunteer work is also a fantastic way to make connections and try your hand at something new to help define your interests.

I wish you a successful search on your career path.