Hello and welcome to this podcast ! Today we are going to meet two women who have made the choice to become psychologists. First of all, Magali.
V : Can you introduce yourself ?
M : Hello ! My name is Magali. I am fourty-four years old, I am married and I have two teenagers : an eighteen-year-old boy and a girl of fifteen years old. I graduated from the Nantes Business School more than twenty years ago, which is funny since it is right across the street from the psychology department. I had a career in large companies for more than twenty years, first as a sales product manager then as a communications specialist. Finally, I chose a job with less responsibility to take care of my children while they were young. Thus, I was an executive assistant for about ten years. I had a lot of fun in all these positions.
V : So why this reconversion ?
M : Indeed I had a great job, but it actually had gradually lost its meaning. Worse, I had less and less fun going to work. So I started thinking about it, and considered changing my professional path. I remembered that when I was younger, I always had wanted to work in the health and care sector. Also, my daughter is disabled. She has both autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. As a parent, I have experienced many struggles to find the right specialists and have my child cared for. In particular, it was difficult to find a psychologist specialised in those two disorders. So, after many thoughts, I finally decided to become a developmental psychologist, since it represented such a great opportunity to have a job that really makes sense.
V : Would you like to specialize in a particular field?
M : Yes ! I am planning to focus on young people and their parents. On one side, I have noticed that parents often lack self-confidence and can really benefit from professional guidance and reassurance, especially where their child is disabled. On another side, I really appreciate to work with children and teenagers, as they are totally authentic. If they do not like you, they will just tell you ! However, for me, that is what makes working with them both exciting and challenging. Therefore, I did my internships in institutions dedicated to young people. Last year, it took place in a special education and home care service, which was very formative. Next year, I will complete my internship with adolescents in a child welfare home, and I am really excited about it !
V : How do you manage to reconcile your life as a student and your family?
M : Well it is my sixth year of study and I must admit that it hasn’t been easy every day! First of all, I had to go back to distance learning, because it was financially impossible to just quit my job. So I registered at the distance learning institute at the University of Paris 8. I worked really hard for four years. In particular, I had neither weekends nor holidays. At the same time, I was lucky that my children were grown up and relatively independent. Also, my husband took care of a large part of the family organisation. Otherwise, I would never have been able to do it all at once. Nevertheless, I am tired and I confess that I can’t wait for the studies to finish!
V : Within a few months you will obtain your title of psychologist. Have you already had some contacts to make your professional project a reality?
M : Yes. Actually, even before I started my degree, I met several psychologists, to make sure that both the profession and the working conditions would be suitable for me. Luckily I was totally convinced! Currently, I continue to interview professionals, but my objective is quite different. I am trying to build a professional network to help me make myself known, to find future partners and to find out about setting up as a self-employed person. I must say that these meetings are extremely enlightening !
V : Finally, in 3 words how would you describe your adventure of reconversion?
M : Well, I would say that changing jobs is not a long, quiet river, but it’s definitely worth it !
M : Now, let’s listen to Virginie ! Can you introduce yourself ?
V : My name is Virginie. I’m thirty nine years old. I’m married and I have two daughters. They are twelve and nine years old. I graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and I am currently in Master 1 of developmental Psychology.
M : So why this reconversion ?
V : I’d been a nurse for 15 years. I had worked with various audiences: children, teenagers, adults . At hospital or within other associations. I have always preferred the relational dimension to the technical care. I was frustrated not to be invested more in the psychological dimension of patients. That’s why I wanted to become a psychologist. I find it exciting to work with children and teenagers.Also I think it’s important to interfere in to their developmental trajectory. It’s necessary to accompany and to support their parents as well.
M : Would you like to specialize in a particular field?
V : I don’t really want to specialize in a particular field because when I become a psychologist, I would like to work as a liberal. Then, I would like to train myself in different therapies (hypnosis, emdr, cognitive and behavioral therapy) in order to accompany my patients in the best possible way.
M : How do you manage to reconcile your life as a student and your family?
V : I think that my sense of organization as well as the understanding and support of my family in this reconversion helps me to move forward in my project.
M : Within a few months you will obtain your title of psychologist. Have you already had some contacts to make your professional project a reality?
V : Oh no, it’s much too early for me! I’m already going to validate my first year of master’s degree and I’ll be more successful in projecting myself afterwards…
M : Finally, in 3 words how would you describe your adventure of reconversion?
V : I would say exciting, enriching but sometimes exhausting