Where are all the psychology jobs

[edieb]

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-locum+tenens-psychologist/pn-3

If you look for a locum tenens psychology job, there are absolutely none. However, there are are tons of psychiatrist and psychi NP jobs....very scary

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[MBellows]

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-locum+tenens-psychologist/pn-3

If you look for a locum tenens psychology job, there are absolutely none. However, there are are tons of psychiatrist and psychi NP jobs....very scary

Visit your university career center. They will discuss with you how to use your psychology degree. For the most part it's about networking and getting unlisted jobs, making jobs for yourself, or if you don't have an advanced degree selling your coursework as being useful in a certain career field. Most of the listed jobs on those sites are from places that either have a ****ty turn-around or too poor of working conditions to get personal reference hires, or they already have the position "filled" but policy of some type or another dictates that they list the position publicly.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I don't know that locum tenens positions would necessarily lend themselves well to what psychologists typically do...? That, and we've of course not historically made attempts to advertise such positions. Who knows, though, perhaps that could be an area of growth for the field.

At least on my end, I receive at least one or two emails daily referencing available positions. Of course, they're scattered about the country, so finding something local could be more difficult. Although as has been mentioned on these boards before, often times psychology jobs seem to be had more by word-of-mouth than a formal advertisement/listing.

 

[Psychadelic2012]

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobs/list/q-locum+tenens-psychologist/pn-3

If you look for a locum tenens psychology job, there are absolutely none. However, there are are tons of psychiatrist and psychi NP jobs....very scary

Um, maybe because organizations that hire psychologists aren't looking for "locum tenens" psychologists? Our field is totally different than psychiatry or advanced practice nursing.

 

[PHD12]

I think Edieb is right though. In general there are very few psychologist positions if you want to work in a hospital and do clinical work. When I do a job search in my location at any given time there are may be 5-10 postings that don't really fit my specialization. Through my networking groups, I heard about 1 opportunity in a highly specialized area.

We have over 5000 people graduating each year from PHD and PsyD programs and very few places that hire psychologists anymore. VA's have few openings at any given time, counseling centers are shrinking and don't have funding, hospitals tend to hire LCSW/MFTs, and community mental health centers no longer hire psychologists.

The APA's solution is for us to "create our own jobs."

 

[Pragma]

I think Edieb is right though. In general there are very few psychologist positions if you want to work in a hospital and do clinical work. When I do a job search in my location at any given time there are may be 5-10 postings that don't really fit my specialization. Through my networking groups, I heard about 1 opportunity in a highly specialized area.

We have over 5000 people graduating each year from PHD and PsyD programs and very few places that hire psychologists anymore. VA's have few openings at any given time, counseling centers are shrinking and don't have funding, hospitals tend to hire LCSW/MFTs, and community mental health centers no longer hire psychologists.

The APA's solution is for us to "create our own jobs."

Generally speaking I am also one of the people with more complaints about the field and job prospects than others, but this part did jump out at me. Really?

CMHCs do hire psychologists and hospitals also hire psychologists. What are you talking about? Now there may be some trends for hiring more master's level people, but there are also trends for hiring doctoral providers for cheaper (which IS bad but better than no jobs). Also - and someone an correct me if I am wrong - one must be a doctoral level provider (licensed that way) at most hospitals to get credentialed/hospital privileges.

I definitely agree that there is some serious mid-level encroachment. But it is also important to qualify what kind of work you are talking about. For example, hospitals and health care systems in general seem to be hiring relevant specialties a fair amount. I see a fair amount of job postings for clinical jobs in my area in health psych or neuropsych, or generalists integrated with primary care at hospitals. Specializing helps on the market these days.

But really, the entire industry for being a clinician is changing. I am not sure I would recommend the field to anyone who just wanted to be a general therapist these days because of some of the issues you mention. That's why I went the academic route - clinical work really is only a small part of my life that I do voluntarily for extra money.

Side note - WTF is "locum tenens"? Just searchin google and APA should show you some of the jobs out there.

 

[PHD12]

Generally speaking I am also one of the people with more complaints about the field and job prospects than others, but this part did jump out at me. Really?

CMHCs do hire psychologists and hospitals also hire psychologists. What are you talking about? Now there may be some trends for hiring more master's level people, but there are also trends for hiring doctoral providers for cheaper (which IS bad but better than no jobs). Also - and someone an correct me if I am wrong - one must be a doctoral level provider (licensed that way) at most hospitals to get credentialed/hospital privileges.

I definitely agree that there is some serious mid-level encroachment. But it is also important to qualify what kind of work you are talking about. For example, hospitals and health care systems in general seem to be hiring relevant specialties a fair amount. I see a fair amount of job postings for clinical jobs in my area in health psych or neuropsych, or generalists integrated with primary care at hospitals. Specializing helps on the market these days.

But really, the entire industry for being a clinician is changing. I am not sure I would recommend the field to anyone who just wanted to be a general therapist these days because of some of the issues you mention. That's why I went the academic route - clinical work really is only a small part of my life that I do voluntarily for extra money.

Side note - WTF is "locum tenens"? Just searchin google and APA should show you some of the jobs out there.

I know a psychologist at a community mental health center and he is the only doctoral level provider (in a director role). In my location, they typically only hire LCSW/MFTs so that they can pay them 30K. Hospitals do hire psychologists, but each hospital only has several psychologists on staff and at any given time there is 1 opening, if any at all. There are some hospitals that only have a staff of 3-5 psychologists total so its not like they are hiring tons of psychologists. If you are looking for a job at a VA within a 50 mile radius of your location, how many openings are there really? maybe 1 or 2 and they may not be in your area of specialty. The people that i know that landed VA positions were in the exact same position as Jey Ro. They worked for 5 years in another position or had to go to another VA location and waited years for a spot to open up in their preferred locations.

 

[Pragma]

I know a psychologist at a community mental health center and he is the only doctoral level provider (in a director role).

Okay. it just seemed a leap to say "community mental health enters no longer hire psychologists."

I am not sure where you live, but it doesn't sound like a very great place for psychologists.

 

[JeyRo]

I know a psychologist at a community mental health center and he is the only doctoral level provider (in a director role). In my location, they typically only hire LCSW/MFTs so that they can pay them 30K. Hospitals do hire psychologists, but each hospital only has several psychologists on staff and at any given time there is 1 opening, if any at all. There are some hospitals that only have a staff of 3-5 psychologists total so its not like they are hiring tons of psychologists. If you are looking for a job at a VA within a 50 mile radius of your location, how many openings are there really? maybe 1 or 2 and they may not be in your area of specialty. The people that i know that landed VA positions were in the exact same position as Jey Ro. They worked for 5 years in another position or had to go to another VA location and waited years for a spot to open up in their preferred locations.

I waited for one year - I get the feeling I was pretty lucky.

 

[Sanman]

I waited for one year - I get the feeling I was pretty lucky.

I know some that got VA jobs directly out of internship/post-doc and others that have waited years. At the end of the day, it really depends on a combination of luck, need for your specialization/specializations, and your willingness to be flexible for a good job. Though, I feel like that goes for most any career. It really depends on your interests. While the OP was about locum tenens positions, I find that idea a bit silly as most areas that require locum tenens are less than popular and there are likely a good number of permanent positions in those areas. Where trouble sets in is wanting to stay in areas that are popular (and, thus, flooded with providers). However, I have seen physicians struggle for positions as well in these areas. At end of the day, no one hands a person in any field a nice cushy position just because they earned a shiny piece of paper.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Are locum tenens really that desirable, though? I mean, they're better than nothing, but offer no benefits, are by their nature short-term, and require a great deal of continuing geographic mobility. Not exactly a stable bet.

counseling centers are shrinking and don't have funding,

I'm curious about this--given recent high profile events concerning mental health and students, aren't university counseling centers receiving more public and administrative attention as an important campus resource? For a number of reasons, the last thing a university wants is to shut down or significantly downsize their counseling center and then have a mental health-related crisis at or connected to the university.

 

[PHD12]

I'm curious about this--given recent high profile events concerning mental health and students, aren't university counseling centers receiving more public and administrative attention as an important campus resource? For a number of reasons, the last thing a university wants is to shut down or significantly downsize their counseling center and then have a mental health-related crisis at or connected to the university.

In my state due to significant budget cuts, some counseling centers have eliminated their internship and post-doc slots while others have cut down on positions. Several counseling centers have also started only offering students 5-6 individual sessions (some require a co-pay now) so that they don't have to hire additional staff. Therapy is usually the first thing that is cut from the budget.