I'm a sophomore psychology student, so there's still time for me to figure things out but I want to be as competitive as possible so I want to make sure I'm thinking through all my options. I know this question has been asked quite a few times, and most lean towards PhD, but there are some things about PhDs that have me leaning towards PsyDs.
I'm really lucky that cost isn't as big of a burden to me because I'm on track to have a 150k scholarship for grad school, that can go towards any school for four years. Cost seems to be one of the biggest things people consider when it comes to considering PhDs over PsyDs considering the vast majority of PhDs are funded.
The length of time I take to finish my degree is also important because I want to get out into the workforce as soon as possible to earn and save money because I ideally want to have children in my early thirties. Considering on average, according to the internet, PsyD programs take an average 4-6 years, and Phds 5-8 years, I'm leaning more towards a shorter program.
I've seen less information on this, so any information would be really helpful, but salary is also a concern. Is there a dramatic salary difference between PsyDs and PhDs? Or does it depend on what I choose to do with my degree/how competitive I am (ex: how good of a school I go to and what my resume looks like) and factors that would be more dependent on me over the degree?
Another huge factor is how competitive PhD programs seem to be in comparison to PsyD programs. The sub 5% acceptance rates and extensive research experience that PhDs seem to require is extremely intimidating to me. I'm a good student, but I feel like the difference between "good student" and "clinical psychology PhD" level student seems to be a lot.
Overall, my goals with a doctorate level clinical psychology degree would be to do clinical work (I've seen evaluations can be really lucrative) and potentially trauma-focused private practice. I also envision primarily doing telehealth given I want to have children later on, but I've seen that there're a lot of people with either degree that can do that.
Thank you in advance for any help and advice you can give!
I'm really lucky that cost isn't as big of a burden to me because I'm on track to have a 150k scholarship for grad school, that can go towards any school for four years. Cost seems to be one of the biggest things people consider when it comes to considering PhDs over PsyDs considering the vast majority of PhDs are funded.
The length of time I take to finish my degree is also important because I want to get out into the workforce as soon as possible to earn and save money because I ideally want to have children in my early thirties. Considering on average, according to the internet, PsyD programs take an average 4-6 years, and Phds 5-8 years, I'm leaning more towards a shorter program.
I've seen less information on this, so any information would be really helpful, but salary is also a concern. Is there a dramatic salary difference between PsyDs and PhDs? Or does it depend on what I choose to do with my degree/how competitive I am (ex: how good of a school I go to and what my resume looks like) and factors that would be more dependent on me over the degree?
Another huge factor is how competitive PhD programs seem to be in comparison to PsyD programs. The sub 5% acceptance rates and extensive research experience that PhDs seem to require is extremely intimidating to me. I'm a good student, but I feel like the difference between "good student" and "clinical psychology PhD" level student seems to be a lot.
Overall, my goals with a doctorate level clinical psychology degree would be to do clinical work (I've seen evaluations can be really lucrative) and potentially trauma-focused private practice. I also envision primarily doing telehealth given I want to have children later on, but I've seen that there're a lot of people with either degree that can do that.
Thank you in advance for any help and advice you can give!