Clinical Psychologist Professor

[Psych-Researcher]

Are clinical psychologists, who are newly licensed and fresh out of their post docs often hired as professors or do they usually need experience?

J.

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[Pragma]

Sometimes they are hired without a postdoc. Sometimes they are hired without a license. Just depends on the department, their research record, and whether they are going to be doing clinical supervision. I'd say a postdoc makes you more competitive in most cases - I was hired as a professor after a postdoc and licensure.

 

[erg923]

I was hired as faculty at a small college (visisting assistant professor) without post-doc or independent license.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Yep, it's going to depend on the situation and the hiree in question, as has been mentioned. If it's an R1 and/or if research will be a big part of your job, then they're likely going to want to see a decent scholastic record and well-defined area of interest. Conversely, if it's perhaps a small liberal arts college where teaching is going to be emphasized, then prior teaching experience will likely trump having a staggering list of pubs.

You also have to factor in the area of the country and your particular niche (you could luck out and be one of a very few number of folks in your research area looking in that geographic region, for example). But by and large, faculty positions are pretty competitive. As Pragma mentioned, a postdoc is likely going to make you more competitive, but as erg pointed out, it's certainly not necessary in all cases.