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I'd add "strong technical skills" to the mix as well, maybe even trumping "knowledge." Without good practicum experiences and strong individualized supervision, many students graduate without the technical skills needed to be quality clinicians (though they may be real knowledgeable about psychology and therapy, they just can't apply that knowledge). That can contribute to poor career advancement and lack of satisfaction.
Great points. I actually started to write more...but I didn't have the time so I just hacked it down to those two. Knowledge definitely falls short without mentorship because the information needs to be understood in context, synthesized, and then applied through various interventions.
I see so many shoot for R1 positions and no one tells them things like you are better off getting more teaching experience because that is what many smaller institutions are more interested in.
I have definitely seen more than a handful of people do "R1 or Bust", and most of them didn't focus on teaching because it got in the way of publishing. It is definitely a different mindset. Sadly, at the best R1s.....research productivity and grant $$ are king, and everything else is somewhat negotiable. I'm at a Top 10 R1, and the faculty members are constantly chasing $'s and trying to meet/exceed the productivity standards because the tenture track is SO competitive. I think only 1-2 of our faculty members actually teach with any regularity, though the responsibilities of med school faculty are a bit different than in a psych dept....so YMMV.
I just don't see many students or early career people in the field who have really done market analysis and know what job prospects and salaries to expect.
*raises hand*
I've been tracking the numbers for the past 5 years, though it was pretty difficult in the beginning to get good data because so few people actually talked about salary...let alone total compensation. It is important to differentiate between salary and total compensation because psychologists often work multiple jobs and have a lot more opportunity for soft money than the typical therapist. I was looking at a position at Virginia (or Virginia Tech?) awhile back, and they actually had a 'compensation calculator' that told you exactly how much your compensation package would be at a given salary and position (staff v. faculty, etc). A $75k position quickly jumped to $110k+ when you factored in healthcare coverage, paid vacation, licensure fees, etc.
...and other who are disappointed in the salaries of their chosen area of the field (mostly those in college counseling centers and those working with children/families in community mental health). Those that chose a path more similar to mine seem happier in the field (VA employees, health psych people, neuropsych people, medical school/center academics).
There are admittedly HUGE gaps in salary (and overall compensation) across job settings within psychology, though "Happier" is a bit of a harder thing to quantify. Everyone would love to make $200k+ & work at a job they love, but the reality is that there will almost always be some compromise...the trick is finding a job where there is a good balance for you.