Psych Careers MEGA CHART

[Dre42]

Hi all, I have been planning on going to grad school in psych for a master's or a doctorate degree. However, when deciding what program to choose, I was pretty overwhelmed by all the degree types and career paths in psychology as well as the mental health field as a whole. So, I made a visual chart that depicts various career paths, their degree requirements, and their relevant pay grades (income based on 2021 US Bureau of Labor Statistics data as well as Glassdoor & Zip Recruiter averages).

I want to share it with y'all in case there's someone else trying to decide what career to pursue in the helping field:

PSYCH CAREERS MEGACHART

B.S / B.A PSYCHOLOGY Mental Health Specialist $40,000 ABA Technician $25,000 COUNSELING TRACK SOCIAL WORK TRACK $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $20,000 B.S. SOCIAL WORK MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK (MSW) MASTER OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS Registered Behavioral Technician Licence (RBT) Behavioral Anal...

docs.google.com

Use "CTRL" + "SHIFT" + "+/--" to zoom in and out
Hold "SHIFT" to scroll left or right

P.S. If anyone spots any inaccuracies/mistakes, please let me know, I would love to fix them.
Dre

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[R. Matey]

Wow, nice Dre! Thanks for putting this all together and posting. A few things that jumped right out at me:

1. Where do your salary figures come from?
2. You could probably draw a direct line between a BA/BS in psych and at least a Psy.D.
3. You could add educator doctoral specialties for the mid-level professions (social work, counselor educator, DMFT etc.)
4. I don't believe QMHP is a thing in all states. It's also not really a license, more of a designation to bill Medicaid with.

 

[Dre42]

Hi R. Matey, thank you for your input!

1. The majority of the salaries are pre-tax national averages taken directly from US Bureau of Labor Statistics: May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. However, if I couldn't find salaries on there, I used Glassdoor and/or Ziprecruiter data.
2. That's a great point. I wasn't sure if someone with just a Psych Degree can get into a Ph.D program with no prior research experience, but someone with just a B.S./B.A. in Psychology could possibly get into a Psy.D program straight out of school.
3. Indeed, adding some right now.
4. Ok, noted. I deleted it.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

Hi R. Matey, thank you for your input!

1. The majority of the salaries are pre-tax national averages taken directly from US Bureau of Labor Statistics: May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. However, if I couldn't find salaries on there, I used Glassdoor and/or Ziprecruiter data.
2. That's a great point. I wasn't sure if someone with just a Psych Degree can get into a Ph.D program with no prior research experience, but someone with just a B.S./B.A. in Psychology could possibly get into a Psy.D program straight out of school.
3. Indeed, adding some right now.
4. Ok, noted. I deleted it.

That's a lot of work. Kudos to you.

RE: point number 2, folks definitely get into funded Ph.D. programs directly from a bachelor's degree program; they've usually just gotten research experience while in undergrad. I don't know if it's the majority, but it's probably close. I definitely think an arrow straight from BA/BS to Ph.D. is warranted. Although if you wanted to create a separate BA/BS box or some kind of sub-box that specifically included getting research experience in undergrad, that would certainly make sense.

RE: the occupation for psychologist, I know you don't want to get too far into all the various types of practicing psychologists out there, but I might use the term "Licensed Psychologist" rather than "Therapist as Psychologist"

Also, if you're curious, the APA puts out salary surveys. Their most recent was in 2015 and can be found here: 2015 salaries in psychology

There's also a separate, long-running salary survey for neuropsychologists put out by AACN, NAN, and SCN, most recently from 2020: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13854046.2020.1849803

 

[WisNeuro]

I'll echo that plenty of people get into a PhD without years off. At my first program, I'd say that about 40% of the students were direct from undergrad. One in the year lower than me was direct after graduating early from college. She was legal to drink until the end of her first grad school year. This was in a research heavy program. As AA said, these people did well for themselves in undergrad.

 

[thebalmofhurtminds]

I did go straight from undergrad to PhD, but it was becoming rarer and rarer by the time I graduated. Still deserves a line, but I'd say it's trending downward relatively quickly.

 

[R. Matey]

I did go straight from undergrad to PhD, but it was becoming rarer and rarer by the time I graduated. Still deserves a line, but I'd say it's trending downward relatively quickly.

This was my exp of both the clinical and counseling programs at my alma matar--some folks came straight in, but the majority did not.

 

[R. Matey]

1. The majority of the salaries are pre-tax national averages taken directly from US Bureau of Labor Statistics: May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates. However, if I couldn't find salaries on there, I used Glassdoor and/or Ziprecruiter data.

One other place to look would be the various salary surveys of professional orgs (ACA, APA, NASW etc) if you can find them. APA is pretty transparent, but I don't know about others. For mental health counselors, for instance, the BLS has taken to lumping them with substance use counselors and other paraprofessionals, which may skew the figure downward a bit.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Great work!
FYI- School Psychologist can be licensed at the masters level in some jurisdictions.

 

[R. Matey]

Great work!
FYI- School Psychologist can be licensed at the masters level in some jurisdictions.

As psychologists?

 

[WisNeuro]

As psychologists?

As school psychologists. I believe it's a master's degree here. Master's level used to be able to be licensed here, but that ended in the 90's, but whomever was already licensed was grandfathered in.

 

[R. Matey]

As school psychologists. I believe it's a master's degree here. Master's level used to be able to be licensed here, but that ended in the 90's, but whomever was already licensed was grandfathered in.

Yeah, it's like a specialty certification here, but administrative rules forbid practice outside of the school.

 

[WisNeuro]

Yeah, it's like a specialty certification here, but administrative rules forbid practice outside of the school.

Yeah, our statutes clearly define scope in different areas.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Yeah, it's like a specialty certification here, but administrative rules forbid practice outside of the school.

exactly- pretty much limited to work in schools. Primarily doing academic testing, but I do see them tend to stray in behavioral treatment and psych assessment (both marginally to totally outside the scope of practice/competence).

 

[futureapppsy2]

Great work!
FYI- School Psychologist can be licensed at the masters level in some jurisdictions.

School psych is usually a specialist degree in most states (usually an EdS or Master's+CAGS), if you aren't going the PhD route.

 

[R. Matey]

exactly- pretty much limited to work in schools. Primarily doing academic testing, but I do see them tend to stray in behavioral treatment and psych assessment (both marginally to totally outside the scope of practice/competence).

Outside the schools, I've seen them work as psychometrists in neuropsych offices.

 

[ThatPsyGuy]

This is a cool tool for students looking into the field.

I would probably add a line from Master's in Counseling/Psychology to the Psychology Ph.D. path.

I've seen Counseling Psychology programs that won't take you into their PhD programs unless you have achieved a MA in a psych-related field. It's also not uncommon to see students go from a BA to an MA program to make up for a lower undergrad GPA & to receive research experience/pubs before applying to PhD programs.

 

[R. Matey]

I've seen Counseling Psychology programs that won't take you into their PhD programs unless you have achieved a MA in a psych-related field. It's also not uncommon to see students go from a BA to an MA program to make up for a lower undergrad GPA & to receive research experience/pubs before applying to PhD programs.

I'd wager this is not so for the modal counseling psychology doctoral program. Most that I am familiar with either have paths for both routes or primarily accept B.A./B.S. admits. There are some that prefer M.A./M.S., but their numbers are dwindling.

 

[borne_before]

Bravo - this is an awesome level of systematization. You could muddy the water more by talking about school psychology in the context being certified through the state dept of ed - which usually takes a master +cert or a degree called an eds.

 

[Dre42]

That's a lot of work. Kudos to you.

RE: point number 2, folks definitely get into funded Ph.D. programs directly from a bachelor's degree program; they've usually just gotten research experience while in undergrad. I don't know if it's the majority, but it's probably close. I definitely think an arrow straight from BA/BS to Ph.D. is warranted. Although if you wanted to create a separate BA/BS box or some kind of sub-box that specifically included getting research experience in undergrad, that would certainly make sense.

RE: the occupation for psychologist, I know you don't want to get too far into all the various types of practicing psychologists out there, but I might use the term "Licensed Psychologist" rather than "Therapist as Psychologist"

Also, if you're curious, the APA puts out salary surveys. Their most recent was in 2015 and can be found here: 2015 salaries in psychology

There's also a separate, long-running salary survey for neuropsychologists put out by AACN, NAN, and SCN, most recently from 2020: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13854046.2020.1849803

Thank you for the feedback AcronymAllergy.

I added an arrow from psych undergrad directly to phd in psych to honor those who made the most of their undergrad years, as WisNeuro said. 🙂

Also thanks for providing the APA data on salaries. This source definitely looks credible to use when US Bureau of Statistics data is absent or is not detailed enough.

One other place to look would be the various salary surveys of professional orgs (ACA, APA, NASW etc) if you can find them. APA is pretty transparent, but I don't know about others. For mental health counselors, for instance, the BLS has taken to lumping them with substance use counselors and other paraprofessionals, which may skew the figure downward a bit.

R. Matey thanks for the additional input, I will definitely consider looking into professional surveys of professional orgs, I haven't thought of that. I think it would make the chart more accurate indeed

Great work!
FYI- School Psychologist can be licensed at the masters level in some jurisdictions.

Thanks ClinicalABA, I will make a separate pathway for school psycholoigst with a masters route

School psych is usually a specialist degree in most states (usually an EdS or Master's+CAGS), if you aren't going the PhD route.

Noted, thanks.

This is a cool tool for students looking into the field.

I would probably add a line from Master's in Counseling/Psychology to the Psychology Ph.D. path.

I've seen Counseling Psychology programs that won't take you into their PhD programs unless you have achieved a MA in a psych-related field. It's also not uncommon to see students go from a BA to an MA program to make up for a lower undergrad GPA & to receive research experience/pubs before applying to PhD programs.

ThatPsyGuy, that's actually a good point, I haven't considered that path. I added a line from Masters in Counseling to Ph.D in psych to reflect that scenario. Thank you!

Bravo - this is an awesome level of systematization. You could muddy the water more by talking about school psychology in the context being certified through the state dept of ed - which usually takes a master +cert or a degree called an eds.

borne_before, thank you for your input, I'll look into that 🙂

 

[Dre42]

Hello y'all. A little update on the chart: getting accurate salary estimates has been a problem. Offical BLS data on wage estimates is from 2021, pre inflation. APA data is even older—2019, pre COIVD... (archaic, really). I decided that the best way to get representative average salary estimates it is to combine offical BLS salary data with averages from user self report data on Glassdoor and Zip Recruitter webistes (taken in 2023). Fortunately, the data between the all these sources ended up being fairy similar. For example, Substance Abuse average salary from BLS is $53,000 and Zip Recruiter/Glassdoor average yields $51,000.

All in all, the chart is more or less done at this point. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[WisNeuro]

Why are licensed therapist as psychologist and professor the only offshoots from a PhD/PsyD? Neuropsychologist is a pretty common path, and it even has its own comprehensive salary survey to use.

 

[Dre42]

Why are licensed therapist as psychologist and professor the only offshoots from a PhD/PsyD? Neuropsychologist is a pretty common path, and it even has its own comprehensive salary survey to use.

Added! Also added forensic psychology, and i/o psych

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

Hello friends, thank you for this list. I did just want to point out that at least in my state (virginia), basic RBT training does not require any degree. it's a month or two of training and then taking the exam A lot of workplaces will actually provide the training for you well you start working there. Certain employers will of course want you to have had some higher education especially if you're coming in at the higher end of the pay range or having multiple responsibilities.

Considering that the starting wages around my area (which is pretty low / average cost of living) is around $20.00 an hour It's a great opportunity for people who want to dip their toes into the field or non-trads who are working their way through.

not sure if this is a N equal 1 out of 50 states or not but I thought I would mention it 🙂

 

[Dre42]

Hello friends, thank you for this list. I did just want to point out that at least in my state (virginia), basic RBT training does not require any degree. it's a month or two of training and then taking the exam A lot of workplaces will actually provide the training for you well you start working there. Certain employers will of course want you to have had some higher education especially if you're coming in at the higher end of the pay range or having multiple responsibilities.

Considering that the starting wages around my area (which is pretty low / average cost of living) is around $20.00 an hour It's a great opportunity for people who want to dip their toes into the field or non-trads who are working their way through.

not sure if this is a N equal 1 out of 50 states or not but I thought I would mention it 🙂

Thanks Fluidity of Movement, I added an arrow from high school to RBT certification to reflect the path you described. Also, the $20 dollar/hr you mentioned would equate to about $38,400/yr of full time employment, which is not too far from the $35,000 Zip recruiter & Glassdoor average for this postion. 👍

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

Thanks Fluidity of Movement, I added an arrow from high school to RBT certification to reflect the path you described. Also, the $20 dollar/hr you mentioned would equate to about $38,400/yr of full time employment, which is not too far from the $35,000 Zip recruiter & Glassdoor average for this postion. 👍

it's closer to 41-42k a year. A good number of these positions are $25/hr but those would generally be bachelor's level / not entry level.


The median salary (by state) is at least ~38k/yr, with the top 20 states being over 40.

https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/What-Is-the-Average-Registered-Behavior-Technician-Salary-by-State

Thanks!

 

[chicandtoughness]

(Everyone else has already made useful comments. I just wanted to say good job, this is super organized and I can see it being super helpful for indecisive folks! Quick errata - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a DO, not a DMD (that's a dentist!)

 

[Fluidity of Movement]

(Everyone else has already made useful comments. I just wanted to say good job, this is super organized and I can see it being super helpful for indecisive folks! Quick errata - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a DO, not a DMD (that's a dentist!)

I saw that too but it didn't click!!!

But also now that I'm looking that section over, psychiatric aides / techs are also not requiring a BS degree. Anyone can work in a psych ward as long as they have the required BLS / CPR whatever the hospital / state requires.

Fun fact, my local ward puts in their primary job descriptions "Military or other martial arts preferred, must be able to restrain patients as needed"

XD XD XD

Here's my dd214 and my black belt, that should be worth at least an extra dollar per hour each right?? Hahaha

 

[Dre42]

(Everyone else has already made useful comments. I just wanted to say good job, this is super organized and I can see it being super helpful for indecisive folks! Quick errata - Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is a DO, not a DMD (that's a dentist!)

Fixed! (Sorry, still ironing out the typos)

Fun fact, my local ward puts in their primary job descriptions "Military or other martial arts preferred, must be able to restrain patients as needed"

Here's my dd214 and my black belt, that should be worth at least an extra dollar per hour each right?? Hahaha

Talk about transferable skills! 🙂

 

[ThatPsyGuy]

There's also the Psychiatric Physician Assistant route. I was thinking of pursuing this one for a bit before getting accepted into a grad school program lol.

 

[WisNeuro]

Thanks, spam link ChatGPT bot!