Psychology #10 in top ten fields to go into

[jerseygrl]

10. Psychologist

Why it's great
Feel stressed or anxious? So do a lot of people. That and the decreasing stigma attached to seeking help have fueled demand for psychological services. The pay is good, the hours are flexible, and it's pretty hard to top the psychological benefit that comes with bringing relief to a troubled mind. Greater awareness of how mental health and behavior issues affect learning makes school psychology a particularly fast-growing specialty.

What's cool
Shrinks are four times as likely to be self-employed as other professionals.

What's not
Years of training; stiff competition for slots in graduate programs; insurers.

Top-paying job
Clinical and counseling psychologists can earn $95,000-plus.

Education
Ph.D. and one-year internship; to be a school psychologist, three years of graduate study and a one-year internship.

the others that made the list
1 Software engineer 46.07% Base Pay
2 College professor 31.39% Base Pay
3 Financial advisor 25.92% Base Pay
4 Human resources manager 23.47% Base Pay
5 Physician assistant 49.65% Base Pay
6 Market research analyst 20.19% Base Pay
7 Computer/IT analyst 36.10% Base Pay
8 Real estate appraiser 22.78% Base Pay
9 Pharmacist 24.57% Base Pay
10 Psychologist 19.14% Base Pay
Source: Salary.com / CNN Money April 2006

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[jwtaylor]

i just got done reading that and was getting ready to post on here about it. that is so incredibly odd to see because of all the dooms-day prophecies here concerning doctoral level psychologists. i leave this board feeling like psychology is a waste of a career, then i read things like this survey and get super confused. what is REALLY going on?

 

[PublicHealth]

Psychologists are bunch of f*cking whiners. They tend to spend way too much time "processing" and way too little time "doing."

 

[PsyDRxPnow]

Psychologists are bunch of f*cking whiners. They tend to spend way too much time "processing" and way too little time "doing."

What happened to the cool and collected PH that I have come to read?

 

[PublicHealth]

What happened to the cool and collected PH that I have come to read?

This is the sentiment in the American Psychological Association Division 55 listserv. It was offered as one of the explanations why RxP is such a slow process. Psychologists tend to whine, take time to "process," and wait for others to act instead of investing their time, energy, and money into their state's RxP effort (lobbying, advocacy, education, etc).

What have you done to push the RxP agenda in your state?

Exactly.

 

[PsyDRxPnow]

This is the sentiment in the American Psychological Association Division 55 listserv. It was offered as one of the explanations why RxP is such a slow process. Psychologists tend to whine, take time to "process," and wait for others to act instead of investing their time, energy, and money into their state's RxP effort (lobbying, advocacy, education, etc).

What have you done to push the RxP agenda in your state?

Exactly.

More then you assume.

 

[PublicHealth]

More then you assume.

Do tell.

 

[PsyDRxPnow]

Do tell.

Maybe some other time b/c now I have to ACT on my finals not PROCESS my efforts on RxP.

 

[PublicHealth]

Maybe some other time b/c now I have to ACT on my finals not PROCESS my efforts on RxP.

Looking forward to it. Good luck on finals.

 

[PsychEval]

Psychologists are bunch of f*cking whiners. They tend to spend way too much time "processing" and way too little time "doing."

I agree. This observation is one of the things I hate about psychologists as a group.

It has been said that psychologists appear lost in thought, while psychiatrists are lost in action.

Cognitive differences between clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.
by Kingsbury, Steven J.
from American Psychologist. 1987 Feb Vol 42(2) 152-156

Differences in perspective about psychopathology and its treatment may create many of the difficulties in communication between clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. These differences, engendered by different training experiences, include how the professions view science, diagnosis, clinical experience, other disciplines, and the hierarchical nature of organizations. Some ways these differences may adversely affect communications between psychiatrists and clinical psychologists are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)

 

[Psyclops]

I agree. This observation is one of the things I hate about psychologists as a group.

It has been said that psychologists appear lost in thought, while psychiatrists are lost in action.

Cognitive differences between clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.
by Kingsbury, Steven J.
from American Psychologist. 1987 Feb Vol 42(2) 152-156

Differences in perspective about psychopathology and its treatment may create many of the difficulties in communication between clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. These differences, engendered by different training experiences, include how the professions view science, diagnosis, clinical experience, other disciplines, and the hierarchical nature of organizations. Some ways these differences may adversely affect communications between psychiatrists and clinical psychologists are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)

Sounds vaguely like republican vs democrat or rightwing vs liberal. I think that as time goes on, there may be a lag still, this will be less and less of a complaint PH. My reasoning is this, that students I know competing for spots in PhD programs are highly motivated workaholics who I have a hard time imagining are going to sit by and have their futures decided for them (in terms of policy and advocacy). With this competition comes a more motivated product, somehting that might not have been there before. I could be wrong though.

 

[PublicHealth]

Sounds vaguely like republican vs democrat or rightwing vs liberal. I think that as time goes on, there may be a lag still, this will be less and less of a complaint PH. My reasoning is this, that students I know competing for spots in PhD programs are highly motivated workaholics who I have a hard time imagining are going to sit by and have their futures decided for them (in terms of policy and advocacy). With this competition comes a more motivated product, somehting that might not have been there before. I could be wrong though.

Problem is that most PhD students are absconded in the "ivory tower" and have no clear idea of what it's like to be a clinical psychologist in 2006.

RxP is essential to scope of practice expansion. Psychologists are great researchers, but if they want to play a role in behavioral healthcare in the future, an increase in scope of practice is necessary. If psychology does not do it, then social work and mid-levels will. PhD/PsyD students need to be more active politically...this is YOUR future!