I’ve always wanted to be a psychologist. Throughout my educational career, my professional career, and my personal life, it quickly became clear that my path was going to be focused around children and young people.
Part of our special series of articles on transitions
It was following an inspiring and demanding role as a Family Support Worker in a primary school, and being fortunate enough to be trained as an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) with guidance from the LA EP Service (which was invaluable), that I began to seriously look at becoming an EP. Looking back, I didn’t realise how formative that moment was — not just in shaping my career, but in shaping how I see children, systems, and the role of psychology in education.
It was at this moment I decided that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to be an Educational Psychologist. I want to make a difference to the lives of children and young people. I want to ensure that, no matter their background, their needs, or their experiences, they have access to the same education and opportunities as their peers. A personal value that has been instilled in me from a very early age is that education sets you free. In my first role in education, I quickly learnt that experiences and access to education were far from equal for all children and young people.
Applying for the doctorate
I remember going home one day after an ELSA training session, to do research into how to become an EP. There is plenty of information accessible on this, including elsewhere on edpsy and on the AEP website.
Whilst working in the world of SEND, I took a chance and submitted my first application for the Doctorate Programme in 2025. I was fortunate that my ELSA supervising EP was able to look over my personal statement for me and provide constructive feedback. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be that year, as I wasn’t selected for an interview. This was the first major knockback I experienced on my journey to becoming an EP. Whilst it was devastating, I quickly learnt that this was the norm in the field I was entering and I couldn’t give up.
I felt I had a lot of experience working within education, with children and young people with additional needs and disabilities, delivering interventions grounded in psychological research, as well as the academic experience of my BSc and MSc. When I didn’t get an interview for the doctorate, I had a wave of thoughts rushing through my mind. “Maybe I don’t have enough experience,” or “maybe I do have enough experience, I just didn’t get it across well enough.”
The word limit on the doctorate personal statement was tough. I understand the need to be concise, however it felt like I had to miss things out and I couldn’t help but think, if I’d have included those, would the outcome have been different? I only applied to one University; was I limiting myself by doing this? If I’d have included a few more, would I have got an interview?
It’s easy to think like this in hindsight and, following the decision of ‘no interview’, there was a hint of dread at the thought of having to wait another year to apply. But I decided that, instead of wallowing, I needed to turn it into something useful. So I thought to myself, “what can I do in the next year, to make sure I get an interview for the doctorate in 12 months’ time?”
Becoming an assistant EP
Maybe somewhat naively, I thought, “okay, I’ll just become an Assistant Educational Psychologist.” Let me tell you, it wasn’t that easy. If the doctorate felt like a distant mountain, the Assistant EP roles felt like stepping stones — but even those stepping stones were hard to reach.
I continued to work in SEND, gaining as much experience and CPD as I could. When March came, I was ready and waiting to apply to become an Assistant EP. I applied to be an Assistant EP for five Local Authorities and one Private EP service. I was selected for an interview for four out of five of the LAs. The interviews were all different, and required a lot of preparation. Some required presentations. Some included a task of looking through EP advice to determine outcomes and provisions within an EHCP, or looking through scores from an SDQ questionnaire to determine next steps. In prepping for the interviews, I learnt so much about the field, my own opinions and values, and life itself.
I felt my previous work experience, particularly Family Support Work, gave me a solid foundation for providing examples of using interventions and psychological theories in practice, to support positive outcomes for children and young people. In particular, I could draw on the work I had done as an ELSA, honing in on lived examples, such as supporting children who had experienced the bereavement of a parent. I had a good working knowledge of EHCPs, and the law that surrounds them, from my time at the SEND Information, Advice, and Support Service. I’d lived through the pressures schools face in supporting SEND children. I’d also seen the immense pressure Local Authorities are under. I felt I had a strong overall picture that would support me in interviews. However, trying to remember all of this experience, and include it in the answers to interview questions, wasn’t easy.
Following each interview, I was called, and despite positive feedback, along with some constructive feedback to help me improve moving forward, I wasn’t offered a job for any of the four roles I’d interviewed for. For each LA who interviewed me, I was told that they had over 150 applications for each role, and some only interviewed as few as 5 people for the job. Across four interviews, I heard variations of the same message: ‘You were close.’ Close enough to be next in line, close enough to be offered the job if there had been one more post, close enough to keep going, but not quite close enough to secure it.
I was learning very quickly that the path I’d chosen to walk was brutal. The profession was so competitive, and there are so many incredible people, with the right qualifications, experience and knowledge to do the job, and not enough jobs for them all. Tears were shed. There were lots of questions. Had I made the right decision to go on this path? How long would I be walking on the path? Would I ever reach my destination? At times, if it wasn’t for my family, friends, and colleagues, I probably would’ve taken some turns off the path I was on.
It was in this period of intense questioning of my life choices, two months after my initial interview, that I was called by the Principal EP for one of the LAs. One of the individuals they had offered a job to had withdrawn, and I was next in line. The job was mine if I still wanted it. Of course I did. I was ecstatic. I was back on the path to becoming an EP.
Along the way, linking in with colleagues and professionals on LinkedIn has been extremely valuable. I reached out to an EP through edpsy’s Mentoring directory, who gave me invaluable insight into the profession and my own progression as an aspiring EP. I religiously listen to The Educated Guess Podcast with Dr Dan O’Hare and Dr Cora Sargent (as someone who loves learning, I can’t recommend this podcast enough), and the Trauma Informed Conversations Podcast hosted by Jessica Parker, which offers reflective discussions and grounded insights to support anyone working with people.
What have I learnt so far?
As I reflect on my journey so far, I can’t help but ask, what does my experience say about the accessibility of the profession? I think what struck me most is how opaque the pathway can feel from the outside. It is clear that the profession is full of passionate, values-driven people, but for those of us trying to access the field, it can feel like a marathon. It requires stamina, financial stability, extreme resilience, and the ability to tolerate uncertainty and rejection. Each interview demanded hours of preparation, reflective writing, and emotional investment, and doing that repeatedly, especially when you come “second” more than once, can be draining in a way that isn’t always acknowledged.
What stood out most to me is how much of the process relies on resilience, not just competence. You need to be able to absorb rejection, reinterpret feedback, and keep showing up with the same enthusiasm, even when the journey feels heavy. That’s a barrier in itself. Not everyone has the emotional bandwidth to keep going, and that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t make brilliant Educational Psychologists.
At the same time, my experience showed me that accessibility isn’t just about recruitment criteria, it’s about how the profession supports people before they get through the door. When EPs take time to explain the role, offer mentoring, or share honest reflections about their own journeys, the pathway becomes less intimidating. It highlighted that improving access to the profession includes recognising the very real barriers that exist and finding ways to soften them. If we want a profession that reflects the diversity of the children and families we serve, then the journey into it needs to feel possible for more people, not just those who can withstand the longest climb.
In such a short period of time, I learnt so much about myself and about the field and career I had chosen. These weren’t the first hurdles I’d faced and I know they won’t be the last. I imagine there will be some more tears along the way, but if I’ve learnt anything in the last two years, it’s that no matter how many times you get knocked back, you can keep going forward. Don’t give up on your dreams and remember that everything happens for a reason. A change of direction in someone else’s journey meant a step forward in mine towards my dream role.
Moving forward
I start my new role as an Assistant EP this month (September 2026)! I am beyond excited to meet new people, learn new things, and continue my long and winding journey to becoming an EP. I’m particularly looking forward to the insight and knowledge I will learn from my colleagues, as well as having a hands-on, positive impact on the children and young people the service supports.
One thing in particular I am looking forward to is contributing to the development of the teaching workforce in their understanding and delivery of psychological interventions such as Emotion Coaching. I’ve been on the receiving end of impactful training that you can really use to make a difference in schools, so to be on the side delivering the training will be a new and rewarding experience.
As with any new role, imposter syndrome begins to creep in. Am I really good enough for this? What if I get things wrong? But, in answer to my own doubtful questions, I’m entering a new role as an Assistant EP. There is no expectation for me to know everything. I’m only human so I will get things wrong, but that’s how we learn. I will use every opportunity I can to become the best version of myself and learn as much as I can from those around me. I will never forget or take for granted how hard it was to get here. I hope that my own journey offers some realistic insight and reassurance for those navigating their own path into the profession.
