Tell me about your job

[anon4this]

Student finishing PhD here. I come from a research-focused program and up until now thought I wanted a career in research, but I am having second thoughts. I love research but I find clinical work more meaningful. I also see it as an "easier" lifestyle where I could potentially work part-time and spend time with family, leave work at work, not stress about grants. But I am also afraid that after a decade of doing just clinical work I would get bored.

So, to do those of you who are willing to share, I would be curious about the following. I realize some of this information may be a bit personal so if you are only to willing some or give a range for pay, that would be helpful, too.

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?
2. How many hours a week do you work?
3. How stressful do you find this job?
4. How many years have you been doing this job?
5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?
6. What is your pay?

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[PhDPlz2011]

1) I'm a TT faculty member in a university psychology department.
2) 35-40 hours/week. Aside from times that I am teaching and faculty meetings, I make my own schedule, which is awesome for me as a working parent. I am very efficient during my work hours, which allows me to keep my hours reasonable.
3) Not particularly stressful. The most stressful part, for me, is the uncertainty of the work (will X grant come through, will Y manuscript be accepted, etc.). There is a lot of rejection and a lot of waiting to deal with in academia. On the other hand, I do not have to deal with the uncertainties that I found stressful when I did clinical work (will X client show up? will Y client be in crisis?). I'm good at leaving work at work, and I think that makes academia much less stressful for me than it is for some academics.
4) 1 year (but did a research postdoc before that and a research-oriented internship before that...so I've been committed to the academia game for awhile longer)
5) I do (but I'm new). My days are varied and include teaching, mentoring, service work/meetings, and research. I have a lot of flexibility both in terms of what I teach and what I study, and I could make time for clinical work (probably 1 day/week or so without having to stretch myself too much) if I wanted to, so I am fairly optimistic about staying interested in this job for the long term.
6) I don't want to say my exact salary, but the range I was offered for similar positions (TT in PhD-granting programs with a strong emphasis on research, but not top tier programs) was 65k-85k. The pay is a downside of university-based positions. The upside is that I have a 9-month contract and an extremely flexible work schedule. If I needed to, I could easily build in time for additional income-generating activities. I don't need to because my spouse is in a high-earning field, so I choose to have a fairly relaxed work life and spend lots of time with my kid, spouse, and friends. I think work-life balance in academia can be fantastic if you are efficient and organized, if you are the kind of person who is able to set boundaries on your work even though the work is never really done (because research is never really done), and if you are careful about the institution and department you join.

 

[PsyDr]

1) private practice in forensic and medical neuropsych. Median staff of between 1-5.

2) 30-100hrs/week.

3) Moderately to Extremely. Most of this is trait neuroticism.

4) 5-10 years

5)

a. Interesting: 85% of the time=no. 15%= yes. Mostly this is due to finding new subject matter. As your career progresses you hopefully master more subjects. Either you find more areas to explore or stagnate. Which is probably an interaction between being too stressed out to be creative and finding such mental space. Three years old ago I was bored as hell. Last year I ran into a new line of inquiry and that has been continuing to date. There’s literally 3-4 ft of books stacked in my office for my reading list . Today’s schedule had staff creating a 9 page bibliography. While I wrote 26 double spaced pages of reports. And fielded faxes, emails, etc.

b. Fullfiling: not really. Forensically the best situation is dragging opposing counseling out so that they yell at me for longer. Or they settle after I did the work. Clinically Best case in neuropsych is that someone is lying. Next base case is that person is suffering from a psychiatric illness, so that sucks. Next best case in neuropsych is that the person is dying. Last case is that they are dying slowly while driving everyone they love away from them. Wait: worst is telling parents their kids is dying.

Liking: wrong person to ask. Bukowski had a quote that said something like find what you love and let it kill you.


6) My annual income has never been lower than the median pay for a psychiatrist and never been higher than the upper echelon of orthopedic surgeons.

 

[Justanothergrad]

1) I'm a TT faculty member in a university psychology department.
2) 35-40 hours/week. Aside from times that I am teaching and faculty meetings, I make my own schedule, which is awesome for me as a working parent. I am very efficient during my work hours, which allows me to keep my hours reasonable.
3) Not particularly stressful. The most stressful part, for me, is the uncertainty of the work (will X grant come through, will Y manuscript be accepted, etc.). There is a lot of rejection and a lot of waiting to deal with in academia. On the other hand, I do not have to deal with the uncertainties that I found stressful when I did clinical work (will X client show up? will Y client be in crisis?). I'm good at leaving work at work, and I think that makes academia much less stressful for me than it is for some academics.
4) 1 year (but did a research postdoc before that and a research-oriented internship before that...so I've been committed to the academia game for awhile longer)
5) I do (but I'm new). My days are varied and include teaching, mentoring, service work/meetings, and research. I have a lot of flexibility both in terms of what I teach and what I study, and I could make time for clinical work (probably 1 day/week or so without having to stretch myself too much) if I wanted to, so I am fairly optimistic about staying interested in this job for the long term.
6) I don't want to say my exact salary, but the range I was offered for similar positions (TT in PhD-granting programs with a strong emphasis on research, but not top tier programs) was 65k-85k. The pay is a downside of university-based positions. The upside is that I have a 9-month contract and an extremely flexible work schedule. If I needed to, I could easily build in time for additional income-generating activities. I don't need to because my spouse is in a high-earning field, so I choose to have a fairly relaxed work life and spend lots of time with my kid, spouse, and friends. I think work-life balance in academia can be fantastic if you are efficient and organized, if you are the kind of person who is able to set boundaries on your work even though the work is never really done (because research is never really done), and if you are careful about the institution and department you join.

I'll echo all of this except I'm in my 2nd year.

I specialize in assessment and so part of my financial plan is to have a side gig doing that some throughout the year to boost my income. I'm aware I can make more money outside of academia but I enjoy my work/life (read: flexibility and independence) and so opt to stay with academia as my primary means.

 

[roryportman]

Just wanted to say that this is an amazing post. I'm in the early years of my PhD program so this is hugely helpful, especially as I am currently debating what kind of practicums to pursue. I hope that more psychologists are able to share their responses Thank you to OP & responders!

 

[forcefive17]

Student finishing PhD here. I come from a research-focused program and up until now thought I wanted a career in research, but I am having second thoughts. I love research but I find clinical work more meaningful. I also see it as an "easier" lifestyle where I could potentially work part-time and spend time with family, leave work at work, not stress about grants. But I am also afraid that after a decade of doing just clinical work I would get bored.

So, to do those of you who are willing to share, I would be curious about the following. I realize some of this information may be a bit personal so if you are only to willing some or give a range for pay, that would be helpful, too.

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?
2. How many hours a week do you work?
3. How stressful do you find this job?
4. How many years have you been doing this job?
5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?
6. What is your pay?

1. Military Psychologist working at a Military Treatment Facility
2. 40-50.
3. Depends on a variety of factors. The job includes consulting with commanders, and therefore, having a direct impact on the mission of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. Dealing with uninformed civilians, and other practices having supervisory authority over behavioral health can be demoralizing. Uniformed providers are expected to take on a lot more responsibility than civilian providers. A few of my peers have become Chiefs/Clinic Directors of large behavioral health clinics immediately following internship. Plus the whole deployment thing.
4. 3
5. Love it. Days are always varied and I found a love for consulting. Prior to this job, I had been more interested in the traditional psychotherapy/assessment/research realms of practice. The job also varies based on rank, where you're geographically located, and who your target population is. I'd say the variety keeps it very interesting.You also get to wear a few nifty uniforms.

6. Don't mind sharing since it's public knowledge. High 80's base salary (before bonuses). There are retention bonuses, to the tune of 35k/year if one signs a 6 year contract. Plus student loan repayment options for 40-100K and bonuses for licensure/ABPP (5k/year). All uniformed personnel receive an annual pay raise as well (2.6% this year). EPPP and materials are paid for if you do a post-doc. Retirement, plus the TSP with matching contribution of up to 5%. Tax free shopping. Theoretically, 3 years removed from internship, one could make 130-140K, depending on duty location, and be debt free. There's a reason it's called "serving" the country, though.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?
Neuropsychologist in private practice.

2. How many hours a week do you work?
It depends. I try and stick to 40-45hr/wk, though some weeks creep up to 50-55hr. This is way down from when I was faculty at AMCs, where I regularly worked 55-65+hr wks...which included 0.5-1.0 on Sat or Sun. to do report writing.

In regard to private practice, I spend the vast majority of my working hours doing billable work, but I usually spend at least 1 evening after work per week doing drinks/dinner/networking related stuff. Even with a busy practice, it’s important to keep your referrers happy and not be too dependent on 1-2 referral sources. I’m an introvert, so this is by far my least favorite thing, but it’s necessary.

3. How stressful do you find this job?
It’s as stressful as you want to make it. When I decided to transition to PP I did it primarily for lifestyle reasons; my work-life balance is much better now. I miss aspects of working at AMCs (e.g. academic talks all over the place, access to great resources, mentoring fellows, etc), but it stopped being fun awhile ago. I thought I wanted a long career at an AMC, first as a clinician and later as a hospital administrator, but a lot has changed in the past 5-10 years in the AMC world to make that path far less appealing.

Now my stress is mostly self-imposed. It took me some time to get established (I don’t take commercial insurance/MC/MA and I limit the types of referrals i’m willing to take), but now I have a busy practice and I work as much or little as I want. I’m working towards a 4-4.5 day work week with Fridays being off or work at home. My practice now has bankers hours and on weekends I travel i’m out by noon on Fridays.

4. How many years have you been doing this job?
I finished my fellowship in 2012. 5 years at another AMC and 1.5 years in full-time PP.

5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?
On most days I genuinely enjoy my work. I am 95% assessment and consultation, though I keep a handful of cases for follow-up. I provide mostly short-term behavioral interventions and education about neurologic injury, so it’s not traditional therapy. I have counseling staff to handle all of the therapy cases (mostly adjustment following injury and skills training). I refer out most/all of the cases w complex pre-existing psych bc I don’t have the patience nor desire to deal with them. I purposely setup my practice to be assessment only (for new referrals), though I offer f/u treatment and counseling to most patients I evaluate who equire follow-up services. I lost some early referrers bc they wanted to send treatment only cases, but this drastically cut down on the nightmare cases bc I can screen out those cases following the assessment.

6. What is your pay?
I made $90k-$110k as an assistant professor in PM&R (midwest city) and a lot more in private practice. I have a practice within a niche physician practice, so it’s a bit different than hanging a shingle. My rates are high and i’m increasing the % of legal cases, so i’m not a typical psych practice. The flip side is my top referrers have and use my cell # and I get patients in on short notice, when needed.

I have a solid biz background and I know my value, so that helped a great deal when negotiating/justifying rates. I’d say my income is in line with psychiatrists/neurologists and higher (due to the legal work). This isn’t typical and students/ECPs shouldn’t assume this is easily attainable, but it is possible in some instances.

 

[Sanman]

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?
Currently VA psychologist, prior to that private practice clinician - mostly geriatrics with a little general practice thrown in.
2. How many hours a week do you work?
Currently about 40hrs/wk, prior jobs ranged from 40-80hrs/wk
3. How stressful do you find this job?
Very low stress currently; moderate stress previously as a clinician; higher stress as a manager/clinician
4. How many years have you been doing this job?
Started my post-doc job in 2012 and have been in geriatrics since that time.
5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?
Yes and no; my current job is a bit more boring and repetitive than my previous one, but more stable with fewer hours/emergencies. I do enjoy geriatric work overall though. I did my post-doc and first staff position for a large regional geriatrics/behavioral health company with 200+ employees as a psychologist in a rehab facilities and nursing homes from 2012-2014. I also dabbled in a private practice on the side (cash only) 2 days/wk. I left that area in 2014 to work at a similar start-up group/company of 4-5 clinicians that grew to 30+ clinicians and was still expanding when I left in 2017. I now work in a VA position in geriatrics/ home based primary care in a suburban/rural area. It's nice, but the pace is much slower and I got to do more consultation previously as a manager to 10 other clinicians with interesting/oddball cases.
6. What is your pay?
Is has ranged from $80k to low six figures as a licensed clinician.

 

[ClinicalABA]

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?

Psychologist/Behavior Analyst in a large group practice (Assessment Center attached to an ABA service provider)
Adjunct Faculty in ABA Masters Program

2. How many hours a week do you work?

30-80 (I have a lot of flexibility in arranging my owns schedule- I can hit my minimum billable requirements with ~30 hours per week). I averaged 140% productivity and still made it to all of my son's HS soccer games this fall, so it can't be too bad!

3. How stressful do you find this job?

Not stressful at all! I moved to this primarily clinical position after spending 10+ years in primarily administrative positions where stress levels were VERY high.

4. How many years have you been doing this job?

5 years

5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?

I love my job. I literally play with 2 year-olds all day. They think I'm hilarious and laugh at all my jokes (like putting something on my head and pretending to sneeze and making it fall off). Interesting? It can be a little repetitive, and it's a relatively straightforward clinical population, but development (and developmental delays) fascinate me, so it keeps me interested. I could expand to see older kids and do different tests, but I find I'm not to interested in that and the little ones (under 3) keep me pretty entertained. I keep a couple of home-based BCBA cases just to keep me on my toes with treatment and get me out of the office. Job is fulfilling in that I'm get to offer these families an explanation for what they are seeing and am often the starting point to drastically increased services and exponential improvement.

I really enjoy teaching, but find that I am increasingly discouraged by students inability to write/communicate clearly and concisely. I hate correcting papers.

I do miss some of the action of admin, as well as the OBM and program development stuff. It was weird at first not to be in charge of agency-wide things.

6. What is your pay?

Low 100Ks. I made a little more in admin positions, but worked a HELL OF A LOT MORE doing a lot of miserable stuff (e.g., dealing with crappy employees). I have opportunities for bonuses and extra consult work/pay if I want.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

@ClinicalABA, from reading your posts over the years, you seem to have found a great career that fits you well....something that can be quite hard to find these day. Congrats.

ps. I can totally relate to the admin shift too, I did upper-management in my prior career and it was soul-sucking and the stress was completely not worth the salary.

 

[Seven_Costanza]

If at all possible, I’d be interested in hearing from DCTs! I love the mentoring relationship and am considering this for a potential career down the road. Thanks so much!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[calimich]

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?
TT faculty in a psychology department and owner of small private practice.

2. How many hours a week do you work?
Varies greatly. I'm on campus MWF 8 months of the year and at my practice pretty much year round 1/2 day Tues and all day Thurs. Academic year ~35-45hrs/wk, summer and winter breaks ~15hrs/wk

3. How stressful do you find this job?
moderate. I'm pre-tenure so finding balance between "doing all the things" and saying "no" has been a continual growth area.

4. How many years have you been doing this job?
midway through 3rd year at TT job, midway through 1st year of private practice

5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?
yes. Very fulfilling working with students and I missed clinical work just enough that ~10hrs/week is perfect.

6. What is your pay?
$120-140K

 

[deleted343839]

1. Non-tenure track AMC faculty (~75% clinical plus some teaching and research)
2. 40-50 hrs/week
3. The actual job itself can be stressful at times, but the stress level is manageable. In general, I find the system/administrative factors that are out of my control more stressful than I do my actual day-to-day responsibilities. A lot of the stress that is directly related to my job is a result of overcommitment. Some of my work (leadership roles in national orgs, editorial boards, etc.) is "extracurricular" and uncompensated.
4. I'm in my 9th year of a career as an AMC faculty member (wow I feel old)
5. I find my job moderately fulfilling and interesting. I enjoy working with niche medical populations who might not be served well in a general mental health setting. I think I could have been at least as happy in other professions but overall I'm pretty satisfied.
6. ~120K, sometimes more if I am freelancing

 

[MCParent]

1. What's your job?
TT faculty at an R1. I also have a (very small) private practice.

2. How many hours a week do you work?
I have so much trouble answering this question. My job is so fun that rarely feel like I'm "working."
I guess like 30-60 hours a week, usually about 50.

3. How stressful do you find this job?
90% of the time, not at all. If the worst thing that happens to me in a week is mild annoyance at Reviewer 2, it's hardly worth complaining about.
I will say that academia is sort of a weird job because there are no end points. Publish a paper? OK, publish another one. Get a grant? OK, get another one. Became a world-renowned expert in a topic? OK, pick a second topic. So, sometimes when I think about the literally endless amount of work I could do, it can feel stressful.
PP is not stressful because of the niche I work in. Even insurance on boarding was fine (not nearly the nightmare it had been made out to be in some of the things I read).

4. How many years have you been doing this job?
Straight from grad school to first TT job, had that for four years, now in second year at second TT job.
PP - less than a year.

5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?
Yes. I have very little grind-work time (TAs grade for me, meetings where I am are generally run very efficiently). Great colleagues. Great students. Malleable schedule that gives me time to do my stuff, too.

6. What is your pay?
Higher than average for my years post-grad.

 

[NeuroTrope]

1. What is your job (e.g., clinician at Private Practice, professor at AMC, tenure-track professor at university, etc)?

Private practice neuropsychologist.

2. How many hours a week do you work?

30-70, it really depends. I can cut it down to 0 a week if I really want to (minus phone calls/emails) although I won't be earning anything.

3. How stressful do you find this job?

Mild to moderate. I tend to be pretty calm though.

4. How many years have you been doing this job?

Four years.

5. Do you still find your job fulfilling / interesting / do you like it?

Yes I do. I hope this keeps up but I see other folks posting here saying it may not.

6. What is your pay?

Mid six figures.