Psychology-Education question

[bdng09]

I had a question about education...kind of a concern about my path. I am currently an MSW student and wanting to work with the seriously and perstently mentally ill....and also possible trauma and/or grief patients. I am also very much interested in diagnostics.

Currently, I am in a clinical MSW program and have clinical internships and have learned quite a lot about mental health issues, and a plethora of other issues as well. I am finishing my education next year and have a couple of paths that I am thinking about taking, i.e. I can either get a job and in two years get my LICSW, or I can continue my education in a PsyD program. I chose the PsyD program, as opposed to PhD. in that I have no desire to teach or do research. I want to work in direct practice, i.e. therapy, assessments, evals, and also provide supervision, and program development (these are all options). I can do most of this with a LICSW, but the MSW program hasn't prepared me as much as I would like for providing therapy.

However, recently I have become concerned about being in school for 7 years (2 for master's and five for the doctorate). My concern is that when I come out, there will be a 7 year gap in employment. I have been working part-time, but not full-time. Of course, I will also have been interning the whole time in various clinical settings, but I am worried that I will be 37 by the time I get out of the doctorate and so far down on the employment scale. I know that I plan on continuing my education to the doctorate level at some point in my life, but I wonder if I should wait? What is more beneficial career-wise? Should I just go straight into the doctorate and get it all done? Or should I wait, work as a clinical social worker, develop more skills, see where that leads, then go to a doctorate program?

I wonder if anyone has been in this boat before (I'm sure they have) and what have they done?