Helpful and useless professional costs

[Shiori]

I'm a couple of months from being licensed, and I have been gently nudged to do things like bank my credentials and get specialty certifications. Since we've been talking about money, I figured it might be beneficial to hear from others about what has been worth the money and what would be a waste. I don't want to miss out on important things, but also don't want to fall for the professional equivalent of the innumerable national honor societies that target students and do next to nothing.

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[summerbabe]

I have not done any of those things and have not experienced any difficulties or regret (early career, just renewed my license about half a year ago with no issues).

With banking, I have a ton of confidence that my APA accredited PhD, internship and postdoc locations will continue to maintain their status and as a generalist, I don't see a lot of appeal in getting a ABPPed in clinical psych.

 

[R. Matey]

I haven't done anything like that either and I've been licensed for about a year. The only thing I could see a certificate doing is proving to some court somewhere that you have speciality training in whatever thing you do. But, it's more my experience that these are cash cows for the trainers more than anything else.

 

[WisNeuro]

If you ever want to do PSYPACT, bank your credentials. If you have aspirations of IME/legal work, the IPC stuff can be pretty beneficial as you can quickly get temporary licenses in a variety of states.

 

[PsychPhDone]

I'm a couple of months from being licensed, and I have been gently nudged to do things like bank my credentials and get specialty certifications. Since we've been talking about money, I figured it might be beneficial to hear from others about what has been worth the money and what would be a waste. I don't want to miss out on important things, but also don't want to fall for the professional equivalent of the innumerable national honor societies that target students and do next to nothing.

I would wait on the specialty certifications if you're starting at the VA (if I'm remembering correctly?). You may be eligible for step increases to your salary with certain certifications/achievements.

 

[Shiori]

I would wait on the specialty certifications if you're starting at the VA (if I'm remembering correctly?). You may be eligible for step increases to your salary with certain certifications/achievements.

I am! That is good to know.

 

[R. Matey]

If you ever want to do PSYPACT, bank your credentials. If you have aspirations of IME/legal work, the IPC stuff can be pretty beneficial as you can quickly get temporary licenses in a variety of states.

You would say the fees are worth it?

 

[WisNeuro]

You would say the fees are worth it?

For me, yes. I do work across state lines occasionally at the moment, and with some new things, it will be much more often. This streamlines things quite a bit. If someone is pretty sure they're just going to practice in-state and likely to be there for some time, probably not worth it. Though, if you are not good at organizing and keeping things for long periods of time, the credential bank can also be useful in case you ever move and need to relicense in the future.

 

[JeyRo]

I'd say ABPP is worth the investment.......

....... but I work for the VA.

 

[Justanothergrad]

I'd say ABPP is worth the investment.......

....... but I work for the VA.

As an FYI for others who may not know, this may/will vary by VISN/VA/etc as with all things VA - some wont value these things for step increases... oddly.

 

[Shiori]

I plan on asking whether these are a good investment before I take the leap. Individually, these don't seem too expensive, but it would be easy to accumulate a lot of income drains if I'm not careful. I'm trying to decide on a couple of professional orgs too. I'm thinking the state org and ISTSS.

 

[PsyDr]

In no particular order

1) One of the credential banking things is worth it. It is a weird call on which one to choose. CPQ is better integrated with many jurisdictions, and the psypact whatever. National register is weirdly integrated into some state laws and has "free" CEs on demand. ABPP has some portability in some states and will get you some pay raises in the VA. All of these things will offer you the first year for free. It's not an accomplishment.
2) If you are buying your own malpractice, get cheap stuff your first year. You don't have assets, and you don't need a tail. Upgrade your second year. Pay for the legal assistance. It's a deal.
3) uptodate= worth it. audiodigest=not really.
4) Conference expenses are a business deduction. Unless you have a specific subject that you want to learn about, prioritize based upon where you want to vacation.
5) Snapscan is worth every cent.
6) APA membership can get you discounts on auto insurance. Some insurance companies will give you a discount if you own a single share of stock in their company.
7) Immediately get a Roth IRA, and put something in it. If you make money, those become harder to get.
8) Sci-hub

 

[neurotic_cow]

Somewhat tangentially related - I am currently licensed in two states, one that I'm moving to in a few months to practice and the one where I currently live for postdoc. Is it worth it to maintain both licenses or is that a waste of money?

 

[Sanman]

Somewhat tangentially related - I am currently licensed in two states, one that I'm moving to in a few months to practice and the one where I currently live for postdoc. Is it worth it to maintain both licenses or is that a waste of money?

Depends on what you are doing and how much of a headache it is. I keep two as a VA psychologist since if there is an issue with either one, I can still work. This was easier in previous years as only one state had CE requirements, but is still worth it now. It also depends on if the state has an inactive option rather than giving up the license if you are not using it.

 

[WisNeuro]

In no particular order

1) One of the credential banking things is worth it. It is a weird call on which one to choose. CPQ is better integrated with many jurisdictions, and the psypact whatever. National register is weirdly integrated into some state laws and has "free" CEs on demand. ABPP has some portability in some states and will get you some pay raises in the VA. All of these things will offer you the first year for free. It's not an accomplishment.
2) If you are buying your own malpractice, get cheap stuff your first year. You don't have assets, and you don't need a tail. Upgrade your second year. Pay for the legal assistance. It's a deal.
3) uptodate= worth it. audiodigest=not really.
4) Conference expenses are a business deduction. Unless you have a specific subject that you want to learn about, prioritize based upon where you want to vacation.
5) Snapscan is worth every cent.
6) APA membership can get you discounts on auto insurance. Some insurance companies will give you a discount if you own a single share of stock in their company.
7) Immediately get a Roth IRA, and put something in it. If you make money, those become harder to get.
8) Sci-hub

Can confirm.

 

[JeyRo]

In no particular order


7) Immediately get a Roth IRA, and put something in it. If you make money, those become harder to get.

Ermigerd you are so right about #7

If you're early career, intern, postdoc whatever - if you have an income, get on the Roth IRA train now, and immediately max that f***er out.

 

[Shiori]

Oh! What about trainings? Dropping $400 on a two-day "advanced training" seems like a gamble based on the ones I've seen at discounted student rates. Do they count for much other than CEs? The VA provides access to a lot of CEs. Are the others worth investing in too?

 

[summerbabe]

Oh! What about trainings? Dropping $400 on a two-day "advanced training" seems like a gamble based on the ones I've seen at discounted student rates. Do they count for much other than CEs? The VA provides access to a lot of CEs. Are the others worth investing in too?

Since it’s so easy and free to get CEUs in the VA, I’d focus more on whatever intrinsic value a training could provide (general learning, wanting to work towards providing that treatment in the future, gaining advanced skills for a particular interest or specialty, etc)

 

[foreverbull]

Somewhat tangentially related - I am currently licensed in two states, one that I'm moving to in a few months to practice and the one where I currently live for postdoc. Is it worth it to maintain both licenses or is that a waste of money?

Do you want the option to do telehealth in the state you’re leaving? That would answer it for me.

 

[foreverbull]

Oh! What about trainings? Dropping $400 on a two-day "advanced training" seems like a gamble based on the ones I've seen at discounted student rates. Do they count for much other than CEs? The VA provides access to a lot of CEs. Are the others worth investing in too?

From what I’ve experienced the past few licensure cycles, CEs are usually a waste of money. I dropped a fair amount on a day long workshop on chronic anxiety and was very disappointed that the speaker was overselling the value of his information and how effective it would be. His info was not groundbreaking at all and the few “new” ways he framed things and encouraged people to frame anxiety had no effect on my clients at the time.

I also attended a racial trauma course that I honestly can’t remember a single thing about even though I was very interested in taking it. It also didn’t talk about how to treat it, just assessing (this is true for 95% of the courses I’ve taken).

Hence why I now spend as little as possible on CEs and don’t consider them to be practically useful. They spend the whole day talking background/intro/research, theory and assessment of x problem and ignore how to treat it and don’t provide clinically practical tools. If they do, they save only about 10 minutes for that part.

I think the real value in post-licensure training is in courses or trainings that require consultation or are ongoing (like EFT for couples therapy, Gestalt training for a year, DBT, etc.), but that is very involved and expensive and doesn’t even provide CEs.

 

[neurotic_cow]

Do you want the option to do telehealth in the state you’re leaving? That would answer it for me.

Nope. I do neuropsych assessment exclusively and don't do any telework. If necessary, the state I'm leaving is part of Psypact so I could always go that route I guess if something drastically changes and I suddenly decide that therapy is my calling

 

[Shiori]

Thank you all for helping me save money! I can spend more on my cat.

 

[calimich]

Thank you all for helping me save money! I can spend more on my cat.

Likey a greater ROI with the cat compared to many CEs I’ve taken.

 

[Sanman]

Likey a greater ROI with the cat compared to many CEs I’ve taken.

Depends on the cat. Some of them can be mean.

 

[Shiori]

Depends on the cat. Some of them can be mean.

This is true. My cat is a sweet baby though. Honestly, she just likes to chase springs and ignores all of her other toys. I still insist on buying them just in case.

 

[borne_before]

This is true. My cat is a sweet baby though. Honestly, she just likes to chase springs and ignores all of her other toys. I still insist on buying them just in case.

I demand that users Shiori and Sanman get a profile pic.

 

[Sanman]

I demand that users Shiori and Sanman get a profile pic.

Just because you asked @borne_before

 

[Shiori]

Same!

 

[Pragma]

Too many professional orgs in neuropsychology. Almost just have to pick one or two. I stick with APA since that’s where the action is.

Never pay for CEs when you can get them for free…TMS in VA or endless free GRs in academic medicine. I have always way overshot without paying.

 

[quickpsych]

I have not done any of those things and have not experienced any difficulties or regret (early career, just renewed my license about half a year ago with no issues).

With banking, I have a ton of confidence that my APA accredited PhD, internship and postdoc locations will continue to maintain their status and as a generalist, I don't see a lot of appeal in getting a ABPPed in clinical psych.

Agree with this.

As far as board certifications go, their main value is in proving competency in a specific speciality. For example a forensic psychologist benefits greatly from board certification especially when I imagine they get challenged quite often on their expertise and authority. Also if you're promoting yourself as what many would consider a "specialist" (i.e. neuropsychologist, forensic psychologist, etc) you better be able to back that claim up with relevant experience and training competencies, which a board certification definitely would show. That said I'm not aware of any licensing boards that regulate specialities or claims to a speciality beyond the standard "licensed psychologist.” However, of course, most would recommend careful consideration and consult to determine if you're operating in or advertising yourself as what one would consider as being within the scope of your training and experience if providing speciality services or promoting yourself as a specialist.

Aside from that I imagine most "certificates" and "certifications" beyond state license required ones might offer some additional financial benefits if you're someone who teaches or runs courses/CE courses, speaking engagements, public appearances, etc; but at the end of the day probably for the average clinical psychologist money spent on those things is probably better spent on private practice costs (if doing that) or just saved $$$.

The most important "professional" cost is maintaining an active license to practice.

 

[AbnormalPsych]

I'm going to try the APA thing this year at the convention where you pay a flat rate for as many CEs as you want. I'm just going to float around and check stuff out. We will see if its a good investment of time/money for CEs compared to the usual one-offs I've typically done.