How is the job market for Neuropsychologists?

[pjfooeve09]

I got my bachelors in Psychology, and I am interested in applying for Psy.D in Neuropsychology. Is it easy for graduates to find a job in this field?

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[WisNeuro]

If you go to a good program, get a good accredited internship, and do a HCG consistent postdoc, pretty easy to get a job, depending on where you limit yourself to. Also, why a PsyD and not a PhD? Research experience is generally more important for neuropsychologists, so I wouldn't write that one off.

 

[pjfooeve09]

If you go to a good program, get a good accredited internship, and do a HCG consistent postdoc, pretty easy to get a job, depending on where you limit yourself to. Also, why a PsyD and not a PhD? Research experience is generally more important for neuropsychologists, so I wouldn't write that one off.

Thanks for the response. Although I am ok with doing research, I prefer to work in a clinical setting with patients directly, and hopefully open my own private practice.

 

[WisNeuro]

Most of us do work in a clinical setting with patients directly. Contrary to the perpetuated myth, the PhD is not a research degree. The vast majority of PhD grads go onto clinical careers. By all means apply to both, I would just caution against automatically discounting dozens of fully funded programs which will give you the same level, if not better training in clinical work.

 

[pjfooeve09]

Most of us do work in a clinical setting with patients directly. Contrary to the perpetuated myth, the PhD is not a research degree. The vast majority of PhD grads go onto clinical careers. By all means apply to both, I would just caution against automatically discounting dozens of fully funded programs which will give you the same level, if not better training in clinical work.

Hmm, ok. I will definitely look into this. I looked into the accredited schools in California and noticed that they just listed "Clinical Psychology" (Psy.D/PhD) as a graduate program (I did not see the word Neuropsychology anywhere). Is "Neuropsychology" the same as Clinical Psychology, or its just clinical psychology where doctors do not deal with the neuro aspects? Also, how is the salary in this field? I did some research and found out that Neuropsychologists make an average of 70,000 - 80,000K.

 

[WisNeuro]

We are clinical psychologists first, neuropsychologists second. I would recommend doing a thread search here and reading up a little bit. There are a few that detail how one goes about becoming a neuropsychologist. Salary in the field is good, but varied wildly. I, personally, wouldn't have considered anything as low as the 70-80k range when I took my first job.

 

[psych.meout]

I second WisNeuro's suggestion that you search for some of the neuropsych threads here, but you should also read others about clinical psych in general, because you seem to have some the common misconceptions about grad school and careers in clinical psych and neuropsych, e.g. PhDs are not simply research degrees, you don't have to go to a program with a neuropsych track to get good training in neuro.

 

[Pragma]

70-80k is low - check out the 2015 salary survey published in The Clinical Neuropsychologist.

Job outlook is particularly good for pediatric neuropsychologists.

 

[WisNeuro]

70-80k is low - check out the 2015 salary survey published in The Clinical Neuropsychologist.

Job outlook is particularly good for pediatric neuropsychologists.

Yeah, I was just perusing the other day in a few areas, definitely a lot of peds jobs opening. Additionally, I've been seeing more positions looking for "lifespan" individuals. It's hard to balance the training demands to be a peds and adult person. But, it makes you pretty marketable if you can swing it.

 

[PsyDr]

Most of us do work in a clinical setting with patients directly. Contrary to the perpetuated myth, the PhD is not a research degree. The vast majority of PhD grads go onto clinical careers. By all means apply to both, I would just caution against automatically discounting dozens of fully funded programs which will give you the same level, if not better training in clinical work.

In comparison to my friend who attended an awesome PhD program, I do more research.

I think that 80k BS comes from some salary website. I've had people offer that to me pretty regularly from unsolicited offers. I usually ask what should do in the other 5 days per week on that salary. Doesn't go too well.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Agree that 70-80 is crap. 80K was my target for my very first job as a licensed psychologist and it is what I obtained. A board-certified neuropsychologist should expect a little more because of their specialization.