MS in Counseling or jump ship?
As the title indicates, I will be graduating in May of 2018 with an M.S. in School Counseling while also taking the NCE to get my PPC eventually working toward an LPC. However, as I have grown in this program and developed financially (thanks to this sub and my amazing soon-to-be in-laws) I have grown more and more interested in pursuing finance. I really like the idea of financial freedom and making more money in life while also crunching numbers and using my strengths in my career. Counseling is great, but it doesn't tailor to my strengths and personality. Finance/banking/analyst work tailors to my personality and strengths to the T.
I wonder if any of you can offer any advice/suggestions/books/learning resources that I can begin to take advantage of while I finish this Master's degree and have the free time to begin pursing educational interests in my free time. I feel finishing this M.S. will be beneficial (as a first gen student) to allow me to at least find a steady job once I graduate and attempt to transition my career. I am looking at taking the CFA level 1 this December.
I appreciate your time and feedback. I still consider myself a newbie in this field but wish to learn whatever I can to ensure the future generations in my family (I come from a long line of alcoholics and addicts) are successful and have financial security moving forward.
I do ask one question - is it worth it to add another 20k in debt to finish this Master's degree or should I consider jumping ship, cutting my losses, and attempting to learn more about, and enter, a career in finance - I can apply for our MBA-finance program that would start this August and be a 2-year program. Or I can look at getting a second bachelor's degree in finance (my first is in Psychology). I really want to enter this career field because it tailors to the strengths of my personality and also my interests. Counseling is wonderful but my future in it is not one that I am certain of, nor is there much potential for growth or financial security.
Hey there! I'm someone who did the opposite - started in finance and moved to the counseling/psych world, so it's interesting to see your post.
If you're a year away from graduating with the MS in School Counseling, I would jump ship now. Ironically, I was halfway through an MS in Finance (I was trying to make the consulting -> BB IB switch) and left because I couldn't justify another 25k for a career path that I was never going to pursue. You not only have the remaining tuition, but all of the other stuff related with licensure - NCE, license fees for your state, LPC-I (or whatever your state's equivalent is) supervision costs/time, the 3000+ hours of provisional license work (often for shitty pay), etc. If your degree was specifically in School Counseling, you'll find that it is also much more difficult to establish private practice (vs. say, a clinical mental health counseling or MFT focused counselor). I'm not sure if that's where you would go with the degree, but School Counseling degree holders usually just end up.... working in School Counseling indefinitely.
I wouldn't say there isn't financial stability in school counseling - if you work for a public institution, you'll have state pension and a relatively decent salary for 10 months of work (first-year school counselors in my state earn about 55k, and I would say our state funding is fairly average).
However, if you're convinced that the counseling world isn't for you, then yes, I would jump ship now. If you're set on finance, what's the point of carrying around a masters degree in a completely unrelated area, and is almost completely useless if you don't accrue those 3000+ hours for full license?
I'm curious why you want your LPC when School Counseling licensure is a completely different process? Is there a reason you want the LPC? It's just additional work and another 2-3 years tacked on.
For resources, read Mergers & Inquisitions (the blog), use the courses from WSO and Breaking Into Wall Street, and buy yourself a copy of the Scoopbooks IB guide (this one: https://scoopbooks.com/products/the-practitioners-guide-to-investment-b…). Between all of those, you'll be set. Some people also like Rosenbaum & Pearl but I find it gets a little too "technical" (e.g. "this is how you would do this procedure in Excel") and isn't a good overview for those taking their first steps.
Check out TNA's site MSFHQ.com and search for masters in finance programs. You do NOT need a second bachelor's (seriously, don't do it). MFin programs are made for career changers. Ace your GRE/GMAT and you should be able to get in easily, given your grades have been good thus far and you can articulate carefully why you want to transition to finance.
I'm also just curious what kind of strengths and personality traits you've identified that would suit finance better than counseling. Usually people don't bounce between the two because they're so drastically different, so I'm always interested in those who make that switch.
Cheers!
Yeah, that's my problem is the though of working in a school indefinitely. The starting salaries are not too terrible (46-56k is a lot of money for 10 months of work) but the potential for bonus pay, career advancement, and potential growth doesn't excite me. I am also worried about getting burned out quickly. Just the schooling (2 year intense program for counseling) has left me emotionally drained. I can only imagine how hard it will be working day-in and day-out with people who require lots of support without bringing work home.
I look at taking the NCE after graduation because we can gain our direct client hours while employed as a school counselor and receive the LPC license and do private practice on the side, increasing earning potential.
I definitely have the same thoughts about jumping ship and cutting my losses.
My strengths are heavily tailored to more mathematical, concrete, analytical processing versus the interpersonal skills that are paramount in the counseling profession. I have developed great people skills both in my program and as an individual who understands the importance of navigating social situations with poise and grace. I was best at math in high school and prefer to crunch numbers, analyze data, search for patterns and areas of improvement. I also recently did some career assessments and my top 10 careers all had to deal with financial careers, banking, auditing, and other careers that deal heavily with creative problem solving in a technical manner.
I think this switch is good for me and I don't want to fall victim to the sunk-cost fallacy just because I've put one year and 20k into my MS. But if I won't be using the MS what is the point of spending another 20k and finishing out when I could either pursue a bachelors in finance (second bachelors so it would only take 1.5-2 years) or look at entering either an MBA-finance or MS in finance after. There are a lot of options and I'm not sure where to head since I didn't do my undergrad in accounting or finance.
I don't want to be overly critical of your journey, as you seem to have put some thought and effort into this, but it's probably worth your time to reach out to people to find out a full picture of what working in finance can be like as a career. You mentioned a few of the upsides (financial freedom that comes with higher comp, more interesting work, analytical skill set) but none of the downsides. If your current career path has you wary of burnout, intensity, work-life balance, or other aspects of mental and emotional health, then a transition into finance might not be as good of a fit as it appears on the surface.
I say "might not" because I don't know the whole picture. "Finance" means a lot of things and doesn't have to mean changing font sizes while someone screams at you at 2:30 AM, and industry segment / role / firm culture play a tremendous role in that. And I've never met you, and all I know about your interests and experience is a short blurb I read on the internet. But very rarely does somebody say that they pursued a career in finance to lower their stress levels.
I appreciate the reply.
The burnout isn't related to working hard or long - but moreso becoming emotionally invested in the outcome of counseling. The school side has me burned out because of how taxing it is on the emotions. I much prefer learning and applying than doing a lot of inteospective work and trying to sort out the emotional, relational, and other issues my clients have faced.
I am going the school counselor route and in my dealings with the school system, kids, and parents I have an overwhelming dislike for the type of work I've had to do. I still want to volunteer with BBBS or something similar but doing it day in and day out isn't something I forsee myself doing.
I know there are many downsides to the career field such as long work hours, intense pressure, and many other downfalls to the financial world but those sort of downsides are easier to cope with when I consider my personality and interests.
There's a lot to consider and no field will be perfect - my end goal is to be able to grow and work with number. The semantics of it all will become clearer as I progress through school but I'm open to a lot of fields and options post-graduation.
I really appreciate everyone's time on here. This site has been a major help. I've got a few friends in MBA programs and a few buddy's from my current grad program who know me well and who have questioned why I ever went the counseling route due to who I am. But In the end I don't regret a thing because I have learned a lot about myself and become a much better person and that is something I will always be grateful for.
Like I said, you've put thought and effort into this-- and you certainly don't have to convince me of anything, I'm just some guy on the internet. Glad you've gotten some utility from this site and I wish you the best of luck.
You're some guy on the internet willing to help a stranger slow down and not idolize a career option. I appreciate that sincerely.
Here's to the next steps in life!
Do you work in finance or accounting or anything?
Private equity. Middle-market, healthcare-focused.
A couple of quick things just from what you've written here and in your reply above:
I think possibly your jadedness comes from the public education system, which I can agree is horrible. Kids who need help who can't get it because they're not "bad enough" for a 504 or IEP. Parents who insist their kids absolutely are or aren't [insert common childhood problem here - ADD, bipolar, on the spectrum]. Teachers who give you the glare when you have to pull a kid out of class for their sessions.
That said, there are all sorts of stressors in the LPC/private practice route too.
From what you've written though, it seems like you're the type of person who does inadvertently "bring work home". I just want to caution you against the finance industry then, because not only will you bring work home, you'll bring home to work - the long hours, the incessant need to "stay a little longer in case something comes up", the requests at 2am that you'll scramble to finish before 5am...
I also just looked back and you didn't specify what area of finance you were interested in, which might colour my advice a little. Working in i-banking is certainly not the same as working FP&A in a tech corporation. Do you have an idea of what area you're interested in?
Maybe take a look at equity research - you'll be able to crunch numbers and analyze data all day xD I was initially going to suggest consulting but if you don't like the interpersonal aspect then definitely stay away haha.
Let me also reiterate: do NOT do a second bachelor's in finance, please. Don't waste your money. Do an MSF/MFin, which takes 1 year, and offers the support needed for career changers.
EDIT: Just saw your post below - yay! The first step is always the hardest and you took it, so here's to new adventures :)
Best of luck! Feel free to reach out via PM if you want to discuss anything further. What state are you located in?
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