There is a wide range of high paying jobs in the psychology field. It is one of the few professions that have a large distinction between the salaries for jobs that fall into the same profession. It is very common for students to choose their major after considering various essential factors, and salary is one such factor.
There are a lot of high paying jobs with a psychology degree, and the average salary of the highest paying psychologist career is about $167,000.This figure shall, in no way, be deemed to be the maximum limit. The actual salary may depend on a variety of factors like years of experience, educational background, sector of employment, and geographic location.
Today, we will be looking at some of those psychology jobs that offer the highest salaries, along with the educational qualifications required for these respective jobs.
Related: Top 10 Highest Paying Computer Science Jobs In 2020
So, without further ado, let’s get to it.
Psychiatrist
Average salary: $216,090 per year
Education Qualifications: It is typically treated as a medical career where psychology is studied and applied. Post-Undergraduate Study of about eight years is required. Aspiring psychiatrists must, after completing their graduate degree, must take up medical school and later achieve a four-year residency.
If you are looking for the highest paying psychology jobs, psychiatry is typically the field. Actual salaries may differ from one job to another based on the types of work, where you are employed, and your specialty area.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologist
Average salary: $102,530 per year
Educational Qualifications: The minimum qualification for this career is typically a master’s degree in psychology. However, if you become the holder of a doctorate degree, you are more likely to land a higher paying job as you will have an advantage over others.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologist is responsible for tackling various psychology-related workplace issues. This profession is in a lot of demand right now as workplace stress has increased massively, which can potentially hamper the employees’ productivity. These professionals use their knowledge of psychology to lower the work-stress of the workforce.
Neuropsychologist
Average salary: $90,460 per year
Educational Qualifications: In order to get a job in this field, you would need a doctorate degree in neuropsychology or clinical neuropsychology.
People in this profession are experts in the study of cognitive stress and the brain. They specialize in performing cognitive tests, studying the impact of drugs on the nervous system, assessing people suffering from brain trauma, and running brain scans. They typically work at pharmaceutical labs, mental health clinics, hospitals, universities, and colleges.
Clinical Psychologist
Average salary: $81,330 per year
Educational Qualifications: In order to become a clinical psychologist, you would require a doctorate degree in psychology. In addition to this, you would also need to finish one to two years of supervised residency. Finally, to begin practicing as a certified clinical psychologist, you would need to pass the state licensing exams.
If you have a psychology degree, you can get a high salary by practicing as a Clinical Psychologist. Clinical Psychologists are specialized in the treatment, prevention, diagnosis, assessment of mental illness. This is also the area of psychology that has the largest number of job opportunities.
Engineering Psychologist
Average salary: $79,818 per year
Educational Qualifications: If you are looking to land high-position and high-salary jobs in this work field, having a doctorate with a master’s degree would be the best for you. However, only a master’s degree is required for entry-level positions.
This sector of psychology is comparatively newer, but it has some of the highest paying psychology jobs. Engineering Psychologists are responsible for enhancing the equipment, operations, and systems in order to minimize injury, improve productivity, and increase efficiency. Like any other specialty area in psychology, the actual salary may differ according to the job position and employment role.
Counseling Psychologist
Average salary: $72,540 per year
Educational Qualifications: Ed.D., PsyD, or a Ph.D. degree is enough to work as a counseling psychologist
As the name suggests, counseling psychologists specialize in counseling people suffering from different types of mental illness. A major part of their job profile is similar to that of clinical psychologists, like mental health treatment and psychotherapy. There are a lot of job opportunities in this sector, but most people usually opt out t conduct research and teach university courses.
Forensic Psychologist
Average salary: $59,440 per year
Educational Qualifications: Most jobs in counseling, clinical, or forensic psychology would typically require a doctorate degree. However, there are a few jobs in this field that would only require a master’s degree.
These experts tackle the psychological issues linked to the law and police. A major part of the job profile constitutes, offering training to law enforcement, preparing witnesses to testify, providing expert testimony, investigating child abuse, tackling child custody issues, and building the criminals’ psychological profile.
School Psychologist
Average salary: $58,360 per year
Educational Qualifications: The actual requirements may differ from state to state. Typically, a 60-credit school psychology specialist program is required, which provides an EdS or master’s degree. Moreover, about 32% of school psychologists hold an EdD, PsyD, Ph.D. degree.
You must already be aware of this profession as your school may also have one or two school psychologists. These professionals play a great role in maintaining the mental health of children. They typically work with other school authorities to create a more open and comfortable environment for kids to approach them.
Sports Psychologist
Average salary: $55,000 per year
Educational Qualifications: A doctorate or master’s degree in sports psychology or other related areas like counseling or clinical psychology is required for most jobs.
These professionals are responsible for keeping the players motivated to enhance athletic performance. Sports psychologists specialize in providing psychological assistance to the injured players in order to help them get fit quicker.
Concluding Thoughts
It is natural for students to determine and compare the salaries of various psychology degree jobs. Psychology also has a wide range of job opportunities in different fields. All of these psychology fields may have different salary prospects. There are also different educational qualifications required for different types of psychology jobs.
You must keep in mind that the actual salary may differ widely due to various implicating factors like years of experience, educational background, employment sector, and geographic location.
We hope the article was helpful to you. Feel free to use the comments section below to share your thoughts and views.
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