We share advice on how professionals can use play and the arts in their practice to improve social and emotional skills.
Career Journey and Choosing a Degree
Hey everyone!
It's been a busy couple of weeks, I apologize that I haven't posted for awhile. I've been looking at degree programs and considering going to grad school. However there's so much I'm interested in and I have so many worries in terms how well going to school will prepare me for getting a job in the real world. It's hard to know which is the most practical and which I will enjoy the most and which I'll feel the most confident and myself in.
The degrees I've been thinking about are:
- Developmental Psychology
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Recreation, Parks, and Tourism
- Occupational Therapy
- American Sign Language Interpretation
- Expressive Art Therapy
- Drama Therapy
- Mind, Brain and Behavior Psychology
- Creative Writing
- Illustration
I am all over the place! I was wondering what's your career journey?
How did all of you decide on your degrees and what to do in terms of your career?
Or if you didn't go to school how did you get to where you are without a formal education?
Or if you are still struggling with deciding what to do what are all the lives and careers you are dreaming of and debating over? Maybe we can help by sharing what our personal experience is, whether it's our journey or if we have touched those dreams and lives you've been thinking of.
Looking forward to your responses!




Like you, I was all over the place. My initial major entering college was psychology because I absolutely wanted to be a developmental psychologist and experiment on people's brains. It was my passion and true love.
After my mother told me I'd never make money unless I became a psychiatrist, I flirted with the idea of teaching, so that I could focus on my writing in the summers. I think after talking to some of my friends who were teachers and how summer holidays are a complete farce, I settled on accounting.
My mother was an accountant and she'd always take me to work with her since I was very small, so I was well acquainted with professional environments and hierarchy. As I got older, I would work during the summers where ever she was at the time and gained experience that way. I figured, I'd always be all over the place and at least this way I'm going into something I'm mildly familiar with and will always have a job (and likely make decent money).
I always feel bad going so far as to say this was the worst decision of my life because a lot of good things came from it. But a lot of bad things too. I think it changed who I was tremendously, and if I'm super honest, probably beat me down and burned me out as a person. I used to be super confident, ambitious, artistic, organized, passionate...I don't know.
On the other hand, I look at my cousin who is doing what she loves and makes absolutely no money, and she is still equally stressed and constantly working (at a job she doesn't want to do). There's no win.
tl;dr Good luck! :D
(Was that too depressing?)
That was not depressing at all! It was very helpful life experience! What's depressing is how long it took me to reply. Not really doing a good job being a community leader, sorry! 😁
I can relate to your experience because when I was a kid I wanted to an artist and as a teenager I wanted to be a writer and a musician. As I got older I thought I wasn't good enough, that it's too competitive, there's no jobs, the pay is low, or it would be too commercial and not making the world a better place. So I thought a job that make an honest, positive difference would be jobs working directly with people which is why I switched to psychology.
My mom is a retired physical therapist/professor and influenced me that occupational therapy assistance would fit my interests and would guarantee me employment and a decent income. I wasn't interested in the medical field but I really loved psychology and creativity and working with people with developmental disabilities so I did that after undergrad.
After I graduated it seemed like most of jobs were in skilled nursing and was too fast paced and stressful for me so I quit that and started working at a nonprofit with adults with developmental disabilities but with really low pay and not working as an OTA.
I enjoy it but I'm still all over the place and feeling an existential crisis. I want to grow more and use my full potential. I want to have goals and be able to see how far I've gone.
I love working with people when there is strong reciprocal bond and respect for each other. It can be very rewarding, meaningful and heart warming. However part of me is also curious about research, projects, writing, and art. Sometimes I worry how long I can handle working directly with people because it can be draining to manage other people's emotions, challenges, behaviors and motivations. It's challenging to find opportunities like that though because I have no background in anything else besides working directly with people.
At the moment though I think I'm going to look for volunteer opportunities related to pediatric OT and possibly writing. I realized with the masters degrees I need to get more job experience and think about more specifically what job I would love to monogamously strive towards (whether it requires a degree or not). And I realized that though pediatric OTA jobs are hard to find and I have no experience with that field I need to see if I would love it or not becaus that's what I was interested originally when I went into the OTA program. I veered away after observing a pediatric OT for a week who seemed really stressed, a horrible experience working at an after school program where the kids bullied me, and my classmates saying it's the hardest field.
But it's the second highest field in demand in terms of OTA jobs (even if it doesn't look like it in my area) and is my string of hope that I may still want to continue on in the world of OT instead trying psychology, art, or another therapy path instead.
So that's where I'm at and what motivated me to post this post almost a month ago. 😅
Olive!! I swear I was just thinking about you and this comm when you replied! No worries on taking a long time to reply; I appreciate the need to come and go as you please, and making sure real life stays managed and such.
I'm glad my experience was not overly hopeless and is apparently relatable. This is where I'm at in my life as well. I'm working on trying to work from home, and that will allow me to focus more on growing myself and making me more happy.