When I joined the forum, there wasn't much activity. The general zeitgeist seemed to be psyd = clinical and phd = research and good and bad clinicians come from both psyd and phd programs. Money was glossed over. I don't think that's a helpful environment. There's a lot going on in our field, some good, some not so good. Job market is one thing that is critical to most of us. In general, as someone interested in the success of the field, I have opinions on how it should work. Included amongst those opinions is that the PsyD, in present format, should go away. All internships should be APA accredited. Postdocs and internships should be paid experiences. Everyone should seek board certification.
In general, as compared to a funded PhD, PsyD = lower GPA, lower GRE, less arduous scientific training, fewer clinical hours, dramatically higher debt, and dramatically lower probability of completing an APA approved internship.
Debt with the available average income streams = delays in saving for retirement, delays in marriage, limiting of potential marital partners (many people would not marry someone with that kind of debt - - I wouldn't), and lower standard of living.
The numbers of PsyD graduates impacts specific markets quite heavily, making it harder to get a job where one wishes and harder to negotiate for better income/benefit packages.
Overall, the PsyD in current form is bad for the field, bad for the students, and bad for patients. It benefits a few groups.
A) The faculty at the PsyD programs.
B) The administration at the PsyD programs
C) Stock holders in the companies that own the psyd programs
D) employers who wish low cost doctoral level employees to be interchangeable with social workers
Frankly, in my opinion, the model is exploitative of students and actively damaging to professionals in the field. This has nothing to do with elitism, narcissism, being mean, bad therapy skills, or snarkiness. Rather, in my opinon, it is quite the opposite.