How helpful is my real-work experience?

[Kristyna]

Apologies if this has already been a topic in the past!

I have 11+ years of real-world experience working with families and youth.  I began working for non-profit organizations working with families and youth in a variety of capacities. I began to climb the leadership ladder at a young age and moved on to become a coordinator and a director in multiple non profits. I moved around to different types of family-youth non profits because I wanted more experience in different settings. I am currently wrapping up 3 years in Peru working for an NGO which provides social service programs to families and youth in an under developed region. I speak spanish and have had the opporitunity to learn and understand the community much more than I ever could in a classroom setting.That being said, I have recently realized my passion for working with families and youth, more specifically in a counseling setting. I hope to one day become a MFT or LPCC with a focus on developmental/child psychology + latinx population . Maybe one day following a PhD/PsyD route if my interests guide me in that direction. 

Unfortunately, as I begin my quest for finding a masters program that meet my interests I see that my previous education is not very helpful for applying to programs:

-As I was entering my university program (B.S in Business admin/project management) at 18 years of age I was not sure what my passion was yet, let alone what my skills/capacities were
-I was unprepared and had a lot going on in my personal life, thus leading to a poor graduating GPA.
-I had taken a handful of psych 101 and early childhood development courses however I do not think my grades at that time are reflective of what I understand at my age and maturity now. 

Question:  This process is intimidating! I was hoping someone in the field or "in-progress" could give me an idea for how useful my work experience will be upon admissions. Of course applications ask for more than school transcripts, like letters of recommendation, GRE scores, letters of intent etc.. But with low grades from my B.S and few psych courses on my transcript, I fear it will be challenging to find a decent program that will accept me. I want to strive for a challenging program as I feel my real work experience has given me the tools and context in which courses will be taught.

Thank you in advance for any feedback or suggestions! 

[_kita]

Check out the clinical health on here forum too. As you will have a lot of insight there. But your real world experience will be a huge benefit to a counseling program. 

[Clinapp2017]

My background in a non-profit tied to directly my research interests (and undergrad research) was definitely viewed well by the university which I now attend for clinical - a highly respected program. It all just depends on how you sell your experience/talk about it on apps and interviews. 

[_kita]

To elaborate, you're looking at a professional degree & career track. They prefer professional experience. In my MA Counseling program (CACREP accredited) everyone had at minimum 1-2 years professional experience. Most had 5+. They did not require the GRE because they were focused on application of principles over academic prowess. That sounds like the direction you're going, so professional experience is highly in your favor.

Edited September 28, 2017 by _kita