Pay Scale for Psychologists
If you enjoy studying people and their behavior, then you're probably interested in a career as a psychologist. Some people tend to think of psychologists as one group, but there are many different types of psychologists, and there are many different salary ranges that accompany each kind of psychologist. Your potential salary as a psychologist is dictated by the type of psychologist you are, who you work for and how many years you have under your belt.
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Job Overview
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A minimum of a master's degree is required to become a psychologist, and clinical psychologists must acquire a doctorate degree. Psychologist are grouped together in three main groups: group one is clinical, counseling and school psychologists, group two is industrial-organizational psychologists and group three is comprised of other psychologists, which typically are employed by the federal government. Industrial-organizational psychologists typically work in businesses or for a business as a consultant. Clinical, counseling and school psychologists work with people and attempt to diagnose and treat mental conditions. All clinical, counseling and school psychologists must pass a state-certified test and acquire a license.
Type of Psychologist
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The biggest deciding factor in your range of salary as a psychologist is the type of psychologist you choose to start a career as. The lowest 10 percent of clinical, counseling and school psychologists earned less than $37,270, while the highest 10 percent earned over $109,470, and half earned $66,040. Conversely, the lowest 10 percent of industrial-organizational psychologists earned less than $44,570, the highest 10 percent earned $121,780 and half earned an average of $83,260. The lowest 10 percent of all other psychologists earned an average of $41,070, the highest 10 percent earned $117,470 and the middle half earned an average of $86,540. All figures are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, and are as of May 2009.
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Self-Employed
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As of May 2009, about 34 percent of psychologists are self-employed, according to the BLS; mostly as clinical, counseling and school psychologists. Self-employment can greatly affect your potential salary, in a positive and negative way. Choosing self-employment means that you must either start a private practice, or in the case of many school psychologists operate on the basis of a consultant. Either way, your salary is not guaranteed and you must build up a client base before you can begin earning money. If you build up a large client base, then your salary will reflect that.
Experience
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Your range of salary is going to increase as you gain experience in the psychological field. Someone who has been a psychologist for ten years is going to earn more than someone who has only been in the field for two years. For example, as of December 2010, clinical psychologists with one to four years of experience earned an average of $44,859 to $70,412, while clinical psychologists with five to nine years of experience earned an average of $51,600 to $78,836, according to PayScale's website.
Outlook
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You shouldn't have too much trouble if you want to get into the psychological field through 2018, as the BLS predicts psychologist employment is expected to grow by 12 percent through that time, which is average for all occupations.
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