u/incandescentgloww

I have finished my masters last year 2025, and before I even finished my last semester, I have been working. I started as a school counselor and now I WFH for a pvt organization as a therapist. My shift is 9 hrs long and for 5 days and I have started my preparation for UGC net a few weeks ago.

PhD has always been my long term goal but I also don’t want to stop working while i prepare for it. I have only given the December 2025 attempt and I went into with literally zero prep just to see where I stand and scored around 170. I think this also can be attributed to luck only and also did not clear any cut off.

With the coming December attempt I have been trying a lot more and it’s quite challenging. And ofc I know this will be harder and slower process but how do I even go about it.

I have analyzed the question papers and will ofc prioritize the ones with more weightage but I still think I don’t have enough time. For context, I am studying directly from books. I don’t really have faith in studying from others notes that’s not something that would work for me. But the syllabus is sooo exhaustive. Every sub unit is like a 20 something page chapter and I am also one of those people who writes a lot while studying even tho I’m trying to keep that to a minimum.

I really am unable to give more than 3-4 hours on working days and that usually stretches me out a lot. And on top of it I am not able to make any significant dent in the syllabus and I fear I am not retaining much also. Idk. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

hi everyone!

I finished my masters last year with clinical specialization. I’ve been studying psychology since my 11th std and was pretty clear I want to work directly with people.

A few months before I finished my degree I got accepted for a school counselor and teaching psychology job with decent pay compared to industry standards.

I did that for one year but it felt quite isolating. Learning opportunities also seemed limited because I didn’t have any guidance or supervision.

I was also contemplating PhD at this time. After one year of this I was applying again and got a WFH position for a prominent online counseling platform. Again salary was fine, although after my experience I was expecting more. But everytime I would be reminded of how brutal this industry is in India in terms of employment and salaries.

Also I got to move back to my hometown so I knew my expenses would be minimized by a lot. This position also allowed me to work with other professionals, get supervision, learn more and gave me access to a huge variety of clients. I have been doing this for 4 months now approx and something still feels missing.

I still struggle with my practice, difficulty finding a niche and perfecting it I also haven’t done any additional training or course. Although I’m doing well with most of my clients I still find my struggling a lot in the middle of practice

Along with this I have been delaying my net preparation. I am so used to having an income now that no part of me wants to leave it. And I always thought I wanted to work with clients one on one but I have moments of extreme self doubt especially while I am conducting sessions.

I know this isn’t articulated super well but if any of you have also been in similar boats I would like to hear your experiences and what helped you get out such slump.