More and more adults are turning to a second profession later in life, and many are considering a career change to counseling. By this point in your career, you鈥檝e likely developed valuable transferable skills, gained life experience, and learned more about your strengths and what you want from your work.
So to answer your first question, yes, it is realistic.
In fact, it makes sense for a lot of people. It鈥檚 a funnel for your experience thus far, and you may be able to serve a unique community based on your first career.
Now, to examine the contractions before the birth of your second career, if everything鈥檚 been leading to this moment鈥� it鈥檚 time to craft a strong why for this next move.
Why get your master鈥檚 in Counseling?
One of the requirements for most master鈥檚 in Counseling programs will be some sort of essay submission, which often requires you to outline why exactly you鈥檙e making this career shift.
Master鈥檚 in Mental Health Counseling programs want to invest in students who use strong reasoning, don鈥檛 rely overly on emotion, but who are easily able to explain their calling 鈥� the why behind the career shift.
As you鈥檙e gearing up to change lanes in your career, it鈥檚 an invitation to pause in the transition. Do some soul searching on your way to finding the right program.
As you clarify your next move, ask yourself:
- What am I hoping to gain from a career in counseling?
- What experiences have shaped my desire to help others?
- What kind of work-life balance do I want in the future?
- Which parts of my current career feel most meaningful?
- What populations or communities do I feel drawn to serve?
Engaging in this kind of self-discovery can help strengthen your application materials and ensure you’re pursuing a career path that aligns with your values.
Take the next step toward a career in counseling with 51黑料网
As the field grows 鈥� and yes, it’s than other sectors鈥攇raduates of master鈥檚 in Mental Health Counseling and master鈥檚 in Counseling online programs find themselves with many interesting avenues of the field to explore, specialties, research, and more.
Experience is the best teacher: Transferable skills
Before you start worrying about whether you’re qualified to pursue a master’s in Counseling, take a step back and evaluate the skills you’ve already developed. Many adults considering becoming a therapist later in life underestimate how much professional experience they bring.
Think about your first career. Have you spent years communicating with customers, managing teams, solving problems, teaching, working in healthcare, supporting clients, or navigating difficult conversations? These experiences often build the same foundational skills counselors use every day.
Strong counselors draw on a variety of interpersonal and professional skills, including:
- Active listening
- Clear communication
- Critical thinking
- Cultural awareness and sensitivity
- Empathy and emotional intelligence
- Ethical decision-making
- Organization and documentation
- Professional boundary-setting
If that list sounds familiar, it should. Many professionals develop these skills long before they ever enroll in a master’s in Mental Health Counseling program.
Of course, counseling also requires specialized knowledge. Conducting assessments, understanding mental health conditions, utilizing evidence-based techniques, responding to crises, and following professional and legal standards are all skills you’ll develop through your master’s in Mental Health Counseling coursework, clinical experiences, and supervision.
Never forget, you’re not starting from scratch. As a career changer, you bring something incredibly valuable to the profession: life experience. The more clearly you understand your existing strengths, the easier it becomes to identify populations you want to serve, settings where you鈥檒l thrive, and opportunities to gain relevant experience before graduation.
You may be new to counseling, but you’re not new to being a professional. That’s an advantage worth recognizing.
Becoming a therapist later in life: Things to avoid
When you鈥檙e shifting to a new career, it鈥檚 common for insecurities to pop up.
Common doubts career changers face include:
- “I can’t balance graduate school with work and family.”
- “I don’t have the right background.”
- “I’m too old to go back to school.”
- “I’ve already invested too much in my first career.”
- “Everyone else will have more experience than I do.”
Fortunately, these concerns are often signs of growth rather than indicators that you’re making the wrong choice. Leave those doubts behind, and focus on finding the right master鈥檚 in Mental Health Counseling program to fit your life.
Master鈥檚 in Counseling online options: Work asynchonously
While some master鈥檚 in Mental Health Counseling programs are offered in person in traditional classroom settings, online options are growing, especially as more counseling takes place via telehealth. It鈥檚 only natural that future counselors would train online when services are increasingly online as well.
Plus, working asynchronously can shift and weave throughout every future phase of your life. So it鈥檚 a good idea to experience that from the get-go in this new career. Whether you later decide to work from home, part-time while traveling, or reduced hours when you鈥檙e retired from most other professional obligations. In counseling, you鈥檙e in control of your future.
Many counselors also work part-time or reduced hours, so programs are offered at various paces. You don鈥檛 have to stop your regular job and life to start making this change.
Master鈥檚 in Mental Health Counseling at 51黑料网
UB’s online, asynchronous master鈥檚 in Mental Health Counseling online program was created with the busy, task-juggling human in mind, and is definitely doable for someone already in the workforce.
Fully accredited with flexible programming to fit your lifestyle, if you鈥檙e ready to take the next step toward your new career, learn more or apply today.