Playing with career change idea

[Ronin82]

After struggling to get, and quickly losing, jobs in my chosen field of psychology, I've come to the conclusion that certain subjects in the psych field are an Aspie obsession, but nothing I can make a living doing. I'm just not wired to interact with people at the level necessary for real therapeutic progress. Which sucks, since I've spent over 10 years and almost 25K bucks getting my degree in psychology! In any case, now that I have a degree and no possible way to get and keep a job in this field, I'm thinking of something in the medical industry, but highly technical and will have me interacting with only one client at a time. Honestly, I'm thinking medical sonography or medical laboratory technician as possible options. I'm leaning more towards sonography since I love the physics behind it, I love running such tests on people, and I can be warm and personable if I'm dealing with just one person at a time. the pay is awesome, the certificate seems fairly easy to get, and I think I can be happy with the routine of running sonograms, but still have a diverse day interacting with just a few people at a time.

What do y'all think? Any Sonographers here who care to comment?

 

[Isadoorian]

I know Bolletje works as a Nurse, she might know someone who does what you're looking to do

@Bolletje

 

[Fino]

I wonder if you could elaborate on the statement "not wired to interact with people at the level necessary for real therapeutic progress" and be more specific about what exactly the problem is? I'm mostly just curious, I feel like it might relate to me. But it's okay if you'd rather not, seeing as it's not exactly the topic of your thread, I don't think.

 

[Ronin82]

I wonder if you could elaborate on the statement "not wired to interact with people at the level necessary for real therapeutic progress" and be more specific about what exactly the problem is? I'm mostly just curious, I feel like it might relate to me. But it's okay if you'd rather not, seeing as it's not exactly the topic of your thread, I don't think.

Therapeutic interaction requires a level of intuitive "reading" of others that I just realized I simply can't do. I don't notice those subtle shifts in body language that herald a significant change in thought or mood. I can't tell when people are being real, or being fake, or manipulating with emotions. Worst of all, even if I notice it, I don't know what to DO about it! I've spent 20 years studying the physiological effects of stress and trauma on the brain. I can recognize when someone is dissociating or having flashbacks. I know what to do when that happens. But I can't develop a relationship with another person deeply enough to heal psychological wounds. I've finally realized that I have another 5 years of therapy I need to go through before I can even THINK about getting into any kind of relationships with another person, let alone go traipsing through someone's psyche.

So, I'm gonna go the "trade school" route and go into the medical field. Its the best of both worlds. I'll be helping people heal, but in a way that I won't cause even more harm in my current state.

 

[Crossbreed]

Before you bail on psychology altogether, isn't there a behind-the-scenes position that might be more fitting (like medical records transcription for a psychologist or psychiatrist)?

 

[Ronin82]

Not that I know of. Those kinds of jobs are so freaking rare I just can't wait for one to show up. Have to go do something I have a chance of working in.

 

[TempeFan]

Sounds like a really smart plan. I wish I had known about my Asperger's limitations before I wasted all that time and money and effort on an education and unsustainable career. Good luck.

After struggling to get, and quickly losing, jobs in my chosen field, I've come to the conclusion that certain subjects in lots of fields are an Aspie obsession, but nothing I can make a living doing. I'm just not wired to interact with people at the level necessary for keeping a job. Which sucks, since I've spent over 40 years and over 25K bucks getting my degree and applying it! In any case, now that I have a degree and no possible way to get and keep a job in this field, I'm in forced retirement which has me interacting with only one client at a time and loving it.

PS: I borrowed some of your words to explain my situation in that last paragraph there.

 

[BraidedPony]

Pastoral counseling...in my mind....
Ok sheep, you guys go over to the far side of the pasture and graze but remember not to pull the grass out by the roots this time.
Cows, it’s your turn to get the shady area today so head on over towards the trees...

 

[Bolletje]

@Isadoorian I'm a doctor actually, but radiology is one of my special interests so thanks for tagging me anyway

@Ronin82 I’m not sure what the curriculum is like where you’re situated, but in my country there’s a 4-year education program required to become an ultrasonographer. It’s a broad training though, where you’ll learn to operate CT, MRI, X-ray, PET scans, ultrasound, radiotherapy and more. I was in this program for a while before I was admitted to med school. I can very much recommend it to people with technical and medical affinity.

The amount of independence you’ll have varied per hospital and per country. I know a few senior ultrasonographers that only get supervised by a radiologist when they ask for supervision, the rest of the day they just do their program on their own with a mandatory check at the end of the day. You’ll most likely always be under the supervision of a medical doctor, technically.

As for the healing aspect: well, you’ll only be doing that in the broadest sense of the word. There’s no actual healing going on in the radiology department, just diagnostics and interventions. If you want to treat people you might want to look into becoming a tech in radiotherapy.