why i became a therapist | quitting tech, leaving engineering ✌ my therapist career journey ch 4
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ย. 2024
- today I wanted to talk about why I quit my tech career to become a mental health therapist!
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Disclaimer: I am not providing health care, medical or therapy services, or attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any physical, mental or emotional condition.
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Oh my God, same boat. I doubled down and did my masters in software engineering ... started working and I quit recently. I've always loved psychology so I am looking into grad school now. I literally looked this up on TH-cam to see if someone else is in my shoes
Aww thanks for your comment, this makes me happy to know that there are others who are also going down this path🥰🥰
Girl 💯 hear you on ALL this. I’m also ready to say ✌️ to tech. After 16 years of tech sales I’m feeling hella burnt out and ready to find my next adventure outside of tech and I love listening to people, helping people, and supporting people so yes. To all you said!
:))) tech sales does sound exhausting (to me) I hope you're able to find some rest while you figure out what your next adventure might be! Maybe we'll be colleagues one day💪💞
One way I've put this is that tech work does not relate to the human condition.
I'm also looking to get out of tech
Hi! Nice to meet you :D Sorry for the late response! Yes, I totally agree with you on that statement. Are you also thinking about transitioning to becoming a therapist, or still just figuring out what you might want to do next?
I feel that too! This thing, to be a programmer, is only remotely close to study mathematics or physics or being a civil engineer (things that humans are doing for several centuries, actually more than 2000 years), and even more far than producing smart machines and tools. The creativity that it takes to design a new tool for a wood-worker for example, or to design a crane, a boat, or any of the other machines that people lie Archimedes were producing, is so much different than the un-human creativity that it takes to write a program in a coding language.
Hey! I've been a software developer for over 8 years. It's ultimately gotten me into a very depressing state. I am thinking of doing something similar to you. I am just not sure where to go from here. It's brave to do what you did.
Why are you depressed?
@@our.secret1130 burn out
Aww thank you for your comment, I'm wishing you the best in figuring out what career works best for you🌞
@@techtotherapy thank you, that means a lot:)
:D
Hope everything works the way you want! Didnt expect to find someone out there in the same kinda spot. Its always amazing when inside your bubble you think your issues are unique, but they are not. And thats also another beauty of being a therapist. As Yalom said the therapeutic relationship is between “fellow travelers”. 5 years engineering and 1.5 year MSc working in tech for nearly 3 years and now wanting to make this exact shift…
Thanks for your comment 🥰🥰 I'm also surprised with how many people have making this shift because I thought it was uncommon when I was trying to decide my next career move. If you don't mind me asking, I'm very curious where you are in your journey ✨
Wow, totally me right now
Heehee yay! Maybe another future therapist?
Feel this. Leaving as well.
Wishing you a smooth transition to your next thing ✨✨
I have left software engineering program because I noticed that it was an oversatured and underpaid career.
Yup things are definitely changing in the field!
Very inspiring, thanks a lot for sharing your story. You are super brave which I admired. After having a burn out in 2021 during my tech work, I learned a lot about physcology and find it more interesting. Recently I decided to quit that job and at the moment I dont know which path I will take but your story has inspired me a lot and also realized our common points. Thank you again and all the best in your therapist career 😊
Thanks for your comment! I was also in tech during the pandemic in 2021, and it was definitely a rough time for me too. I'm wishing you the best in your future career path~
Binging your videos because I'm looking to make more of an impact with the work I do. (Marketing & Communications)
Yayy!! Aww thanks for sharing💕 Lmk if there's anything in particular that would be helpful to know more about
I’m the same! Marketing for the past 4.5 years and super unmotivated :/
Will be graduating with my CS degree next year and currently deciding if tech is for me. I have been considering this exact shift so thank you for sharing your experience!
You should try and do some internships to see if you like it or not. Personally, I love tech and working as a software engineer, but it is definitely not for everyone
Awww yay!! Thanks for sharing 🌻
I’m not in tech but trying to leave my corporate gig to be in something more fulfilling and I’m interested in tech and or psychologist. But tech seems so volatile and another corporate situation I am over rn.
Thanks for commenting~~ Yeah I just shared my experience in tech, but I've also heard of some people who are able to find jobs that they really enjoy! Especially the people that find jobs that are in nonprofit and tech, that seems to be an interesting sector too if you're looking for a more fulfilling job that maybe is still more businesslike than psychology
Thank you i am on the same line of thoughts completed a short diploma recently and planning to start on it ❤
This is so awesome to hear!! Wishing you the best of luck!!
I've been a software developer for 6 years, recently I changed jobs, I'm still working in IT but in a different area. Software development wolrd is turning into a shithole. The managers, the clients, the constant client interviews for projects, the fact that nobody cares about making quality software and the only thing they want is to do stuff fast and for yesterday. It's a monkey job.
Thanks for sharing -- yes I also had a similar experience :(( it's really unfortunate because I think these jobs could be so fun if it was set up in a different way. For example, I enjoyed parts of the job, but it's the people and the expectations that really got to me at the end
@@techtotherapy absolutely.
You can do group therapy to have an impact on more people 😅
Yess I would love to one day!!
Thank you for making this video! How did you find your volunteer opportunity at the clinic as a peer counselor? I’m looking for similar opportunities in my area but I’m having a hard time finding anything. I’m also coming from tech and don’t have any prior experience in the mental health space
Thanks for the video! Could you share more about how your career transition to therapy looked like - did you straightaway resign from tech and start as a therapist, or was it more gradual? It's my first video here so if you have already made a video about this, would love to see it as well :)
Thanks for your comment and reaching out! I made a video awhile about finding a master's program here: th-cam.com/video/N2Msir8tNOc/w-d-xo.html and I think I talk about my criteria for finding a program, but in short I only looked for local programs that allowed me to continue working in tech because I didn't want to be so in debt and honestly I don't think I was ready to just 100% commit at that time! Hope that was helpful! Let me know if you have any more questions and thanks for watching my video!
Hi! I'm in the same boat completely, currently still in tech. What steps did you take to get into peer to peer counseling, and what other pre-grad experiences would you recommend to be sure counseling is the career for you?
Thanks for your question 💕💕 and I'm excited to hear you're also thinking about switching to becoming a therapist! I talk about my volunteer experience and what other opportunities could be useful in this video here! th-cam.com/video/sP9GxiZwVp8/w-d-xo.html
@@techtotherapy Thanks so much!!
No problem!
Hey there ! Hope you are doing great. Enjoyed your video and could totally relate to the feeling of "not worth the hard work" after every challenge in tech. Well, I'm myself considering quitting tech and shifting to counselling psychology. But the huge gap in earning prospects that could come from quitting tech, keeps me double guessing my decision. How did you come to terms with that ? Did you have similar concerns while starting out ? How do you feel about it now ?
Hi thank you so much for you comment!! Yes I also had a lot of doubt when it came to the finances of switching careers, especially the financial burden of going back to school and the poor pay of starting therapy positions. I knew pretty early on that if I were to become a therapist, I would want to go the private practice route both because I like the idea of running a business and it seemed more financial sustainable for me. (Community Mental Health pay is much lower, and case load is more, but impact can feel very high from what I hear) I did some research on how much I could potentially make if I were to have my own practice, and recently in school I was taught this formula to est my annual salary = ((session fee * # of working weeks * # of clients per week) - 10,000) / 1.3 . The 10k accounts for roughly part time office space cost in the San Francisco area and 1.3 accounts for taxes. From my experience, I hear most private practice therapists have around 15- 25 clients. Anyways I would encourage you to plug in numbers to see what you get, maybe check out session fees around your area. I heard you can also use a similar calculator on: www.thebadtherapist.coach/ Basically I realized if I chose the private practice route, I could make around the same amount I was in tech as a junior software engineer. I would say financial stress is definitely there for me during the transition right now -- as a graduate student, all of your clinical hours aren't usually paid, and the path to private practice is not as straight forward post graduation. My response is already pretty long, so I'll stop here for now, but let me know if you have any follow up questions! I hope this helps!
@@techtotherapy Thanks a lot for taking the time and replying to my query with such details. Just the fact that a fellow human being had gone through the same dilemma and figured a way to work things out, is such a relief and encouragement. Thanks again and best wishes on your new path in life 🌼
Sorry just seeing this now! Thanks for your support 🥰🥰
I've considered moving from tech (product management) into more of a counseling role. But tbh, I don't want to go back to school and usually therapists don't make too much money. I love helping people, but live in California. How did you work through these financial concerns?
The financial concern is very real during this transition, I'm definitely feeling it right now, but I'm still very happy with my career transition. I think when I was deciding if I should make this move I weighed having a career that is more meaningful more than a career that made "easier" money. Not that being a PM is easy, but there's just a lot more money being funneled into the tech industry. Again this is just from my experience and perspective so I would be curious where you're heads at right now.
@@techtotherapy similar position. My immediate need is to find a job, but longer term I'm exploring career options I might find fulfilling and also will pay a comparable salary. There's got to be something out there like that
Ya I feel you, it's really hard to find a career/job that meets both of those wants!! Wishing you good luck with your current job search process ✨
@@techtotherapy thanks!
Hope that was helpful! Lmk if you have any other qs! I'm considering making a video on the finances of this career transition inspired by your comment and similar ones!
Hello, therapy! So I guess tech is not therapeutic to you? I started w tech love, then I started a business, then it go too big! I’m going to get back to simple tech. I’m also love therapy so your path is interesting to me 🙏👍
Thanks, yeah I think people have a wide range of experiences working in tech, so if you're finding it therapeutic, that's amazing! I think it was the mix of working in the startup phase of companies and the people I worked with that made it stressful for me.
Good for you
I’m currently in tech and also looking for careers to transition to.
I hope you find what you're looking for, either in tech or elsewhere!
Tech also seems superficial for me after landing a plane.
Im transitioning to aviation.
I felt similarly too! Although I haven't landed a plane 😆
good video
Thank you!!
Could you please also tell us more about how you applied for grad school(psychology ) without a bachelor's degree in psychology? I am an engineer considering becoming a psychologist, but it seems complicated if I have no related academic or work experience.
Thanks for your comment!! I did some volunteer work as a peer counselor (basically acting as a free counselor to the community) for about six months before COVID hit and I think that helped me get some relevant experience. Although from what I know about my classmates backgrounds in my masters programs, most of them did a career shift too and they didn't have a psych degree or prior therapy work experience. Hope that was helpful!
@@techtotherapy Thanks for sharing!
Anytime~~
been in tech for decades, get out - it’s a dead end eventually.
I also felt that way at times while I was in the industry :(
Politically Incorrect, but you’re just reverting to what your dna wants.
Women like working with people, and men like working with things.
That's one perspective, thanks for sharing
Thank you for making this video! How did you find your volunteer opportunity at the clinic as a peer counselor? I’m looking for similar opportunities in my area but I’m having a hard time finding anything. I’m also coming from tech and don’t have any prior experience in the mental health space
Thank you for your question!! If you're having a hard time finding a local place that needs peer counselors I wonder if there could be some hotlines that take volunteers. There was a classmate that did that in my program!