BootsnAll Travel Community

I have the opportunity to do something that I have always wanted to do...which is train to be a psychotherapist...

Trouble is that it will cost a fortune...and once I start down that route I can't really leave it, except for a few weeks out of the year...

The training will take approximately 5 years in total and will cost around £12,000 total I should think...

So with that money I could go on a RTW Trip for at least 18 months...but I would have to delay my training...

At the moment it's slightly a moot point as I don't have the money yet...but I can't decide whether to aim to save towards travelling or my training...I don't think I can save to do both...

Any idea's?

I have this same issue. It's really tough, especially early on, when you need more education or have student loans, to decide between poverty and travel and poverty and a career. Either way we'll both be broke for a while.

One solution I devised is to try and take breaks during your education -- either a year off where you can always go back to school easily (don't have to reapply) or look for study-abroad possibilities.

You have to do some field-work in your area of expertise right? Could you do that in another country? American, Australia, NZ, etc?

I am a big proponent of finishing up your education while you are still interested in it. Once you are out for a while, it is really hard to go back.

Think of it this way...you'll get your degree, then you'll be making money and can go on trips, and not necessarily on the cheap! And, you can take a year off and still have your training, and travel 'round.

It is a tough call, but if it is something you have always wanted to do, and the opportunity is there...why not take it?

As much as I would love to say to go on the 18 month RTW trip, if the school is something you have wanted to do, then it is worth it. Education is important (not saying that the education from traveling is not important as well) and if you are interested in the subject, then it is also an experience, if a different type of experience.

why not apply to grad school and then defer for a year to do a RTW trip?

I chose to travel then go to school then started travelling again. The biggest argument for schooling now versus even a year later is cost. The cost of education is high and keeps getting higher. Back in 1976 my first semester at the university was less than $200 dollars including textbooks. I dropped out after one year and went on the road. When I returned to the same university in 1984 my cost was over $2500 a semester. Take this into consideration.


Now all said in done. I would still do the same thing today knowing the consequences. Go with what feels right to you.

Thanks for all your advice...

Like I said this is something I've wanted to do for a long time...so I think I'll go for it...I can still take up to 4 weeks off at a time per year....and I can do a fair amount of things in that time...

Thanks again!!

Good for you! Grab the opportunity while it's there. I'm sure you won't regret it.

When it comes to education vs. travel I always side with travel. I agree it's a good idea to study while you're still interested in studying but I also think that taking a long term sort of trip can be a life changing experience and things you might have thought you wanted previously can be suddenly replaced with a new passion.

But this opinion comes from my personal experiences... I studied business straight out of high school for no good reason except that university was the logical next step. I only chose business because I couldn't cut it in computer science and it seemed like a safe backup plan. Having traveled a lot since, I really wish I would have held off on the studying because now I know exactly the sorts of things I'm interested in.

But you seem pretty set with your choice of career so travelling first might not be as big a help to you. I guess this advice is more for people who are heading to uni without being so sure about what they want to do with their degree.