2012-2013 Chronicles of Higher Ed Salary Survey

[Therapist4Chnge]

I thought this might be of interest to people.

http://chronicle.com/article/2013-aaup-survey-table/138291

A couple of large caveats:

1. Not psych specific. I think the salaries are higher than average for a typical Psych Dept., though they are more in line with what I've seen in academic med. for R1 universities. I didn't look at the methods, so I'm not sure if professional degrees (e.g. JD, MD, etc) are also included in the tables.

2. Not all positions are created equal. Academia can vary greatly in salary because of things like outside funding, if you can have a private practice in addition to your academic duties, etc.

3. Students interested in the field…do *not* use this as what should be expected. Academic positions are difficult to secure, usually require quite a bit of work, and vary greatly by region and mix of work. The top earners are at top-notch programs and beat out hundreds (if not more) of other applicants by the time they get a shot at a Full Professor position. By definition the best paying positions are not the norm.

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[eowyne]

I thought this might be of interest to people.

http://chronicle.com/article/2013-aaup-survey-table/138291

A couple of large caveats:

1. Not psych specific. I think the salaries are higher than average for a typical Psych Dept., though they are more in line with what I've seen in academic med. for R1 universities. I didn't look at the methods, so I'm not sure if professional degrees (e.g. JD, MD, etc) are also included in the tables.

2. Not all positions are created equal. Academia can vary greatly in salary because of things like outside funding, if you can have a private practice in addition to your academic duties, etc.

3. Students interested in the field…do *not* use this as what should be expected. Academic positions are difficult to secure, usually require quite a bit of work, and vary greatly by region and mix of work. The top earners are at top-notch programs and beat out hundreds (if not more) of other applicants by the time they get a shot at a Full Professor position. By definition the best paying positions are not the norm.

Completely agree, these are not representative of faculty salaries in psychology. Here's a more accurate survey:
http://www.apa.org/workforce/publications/12-fac-sal/

 

[MCParent]

Also--almost every public university publishes the salaries of everyone who works there. It can sometimes be a pain to find, and it might be a year or two old, but you can get pretty specific estimates for salary negotiations off those.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Also--almost every public university publishes the salaries of everyone who works there. It can sometimes be a pain to find, and it might be a year or two old, but you can get pretty specific estimates for salary negotiations off those.

For a base number this can be helpful, but those data usually don't account for outside revenue streams like private practice. The APA data are straight up depressing. Even the NAN data aren't that great when you think about how much work it takes.

 

[eowyne]

For a base number this can be helpful, but those data usually don't account for outside revenue streams like private practice. The APA data are straight up depressing. Even the NAN data aren't that great when you think about how much work it takes.

Not to be even more depressing, but I think the APA numbers are accurate representations of base salaries in expensive areas of the country. Many salaries in less expensive areas of the country are lower than that. So yes, there are plenty of junior faculty in expensive cities making $60-70k base salary. Summer grant income, extra teaching, consulting, and private practice can supplement the base salary. But then, with the exception of grants, it's challenging to find time to engage in additional work on top of the research, teaching, and service expected for tenure. Also, some universities frown upon or outright prohibit too many hours of outside work. Not trying to be discouraging here, but academic psychology is not very financially lucrative.

 

[DynamicDidactic]

the average Assistant Professor salaries seem to be about 10% higher than the starting salary for psych professors in the universities I am familiar with.

 

[sameas]

I noticed that lecturers and adjuncts were grossly underrepresented in the APA survey. Also, I haven't seen data about un- or underemployment rates of new graduates. One of the reasons I was deterred from academia was knowing that tenure-track positions are hard to come by. But there is hope in that there are other options aside from academia including industry, government, nonprofit, private practice, and consulting.