I want to be a psychiatrist...?

Question

but have no qualifications in this area.

I am 20 years old and work full time.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can study and fit this around my work?

I also need to know what qualifications i need exactly.

Answer 1

To become a Psychiatrist, you first need a medical degree, then you need to study psychiatry as a specialism. Assuming you have the entry requirements to medical school it will take you around ten years to become fully qualified. It would be almost imossible to do this part time (at least, within the UK), so you would need to give your full time job up.

Maybe it`d be an idea for you to do clinical psychology, instead? Most UK universities offer part-time degrees, which you would need to have before doing either a PhD or diploma and getting registered with the BPS.

Answer 2

To become a psychiatrist, you need to obtain your M.D., and additional field work and training in mental health specifically.

To become a psychologist, you only need a Ph.D.  

Answer 3

you will need at least 9 years of university schooling to get your PhD...  

Answer 4

It would be a long haul.  You would need to start by getting an undergraduate degree - either a pre-med program or one of the sciences.  It might be possible to do this on a part-time basis, but it would take considerably longer.  If you don't already have some college credits, figure on four years to get a bachelor's degree, if you attend full time.

The next challenge is to get into medical school.  This is highly competitive.  You will need an excellent GPA, good scores on the MCATS and stellar references.  Here is more info on that piece: http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/ms...

You will not be able to attend medical school part-time.  You will have to complete your MD - a minimum of four years - and then specialize in psychiatry - an additional 2-4 years.

Good luck!