MASTERS IN PSYCH VS. PHD/PSYD-does one make more money? (bachelors, skills)

[wrestlerman202]

i am currently deciding whether to get a masters or phd or pysd to become a psychologist. i really dont love school, do not want to do research and really dont think i wanna write a dissertation. i just want to be a psychologist and make enough money to live in san diego. wud i have to get a phd or psyd to make more money? What are the advantages of gettin one of these and not the ma? Please help!

[sean98125]

If you don't like knowledge, learning and research, stick with the master's level. You'll never get a doctorate if you have to do all the things you don't want to do.

You'll make more money with a doctorate, but that's because it takes a lot more effort to get it. Less effort = less money.

The biggest advantage of a doctorate is that you simply have more skills, more knowledge and more training than someone with a master's degree.

[CTR36]

You are not going to make much with a master's. Believe me, my undergrad major was psychology and I ended up as an accountant. I looked into the whole PhD program, and I was told I wasn't going to make much anyways. If I were you I would look into another field. Right out of college I was offered a job at $23k when my friends with engineering and IT majors and accountants were getting in the mid 30's to low 40k's.
I think if you really, really want to help people, then you are going to have to work for peanuts because anything involving social services is a low paying job. Sad but true.

[bhcompy]

phd will get you bucks.. but its a hard road. my brother in law has a masters in psychology and hes a manager at best buy. started with a bachelors there at near min wage and worked from the bottom up. good pay now, but years of terrible pay and tuition on top in the mean time.

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by CTR36

I think if you really, really want to help people, then you are going to have to work for peanuts because anything involving social services is a low paying job. Sad but true.

Psychologists do pretty well. My wife is a research psychologist and she makes around $100K. Her friend is a clinical psychologist in private practice and she makes about the same. Both of them are less than 10 years out of school.

[CMMom]

If you want to do clinical work/therapy independently (e.g., not work under someone else's supervision), you most likely need to be doctoral level. There are a few states that license masters' level "psychologists," but most states require you to have a doctorate (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in order to call yourself a "psychologist." In Georgia (where I live), you must have a doctorate in order to be licensed. California, I believe, is very strict about licensing because they have such an abundance of mental health professionals. I've heard that the state/oral portion of the Psychology licensing exam is very difficult, and that many people fail.

BTW, generally speaking, Psy.D. programs are less research-based than Ph.D. programs. There are exceptions, but most Psy.D. programs require a "major project" in place of a dissertation. This can generally be more like a lengthy term paper as opposed to a piece of empirical research.

Having said that, you can certainly practice independently with an MSW. Those programs are much shortly (2 or possibly 3 years) and focus more exclusively on clinical work as opposed to practice.

[CMMom]

I also wanted to comment on the pay. You can make money as a psychologist, but you have to be willing to work your a** off. Be prepared to work long hours. Most patients want to come after hours (6 PM or later) or on weekends. If you're like me and want to have a personal life and occasionally see your family, you sacrifice in terms of money. I don't know much about the market in San Diego, but in Georgia, at least, managed care is king, and that means that you agree to accept a large (40% of more) cut in your hourly rate in order to get people in the door. So, it really depends on your work ethic. There are certain niches within psychology (e.g., neuropsychology, forensic psychology) that command more money, but these require EXTRA training on top of the doctorate. Sorry, just want to give you a realistic picture. Most practicing clinical psychologists are not rolling in the dough, and most have SIGNIFICANT debt from student loans, etc...

[K-Luv]

First off, there is a difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Psychiatrists are doctors while psychologists are scientists. You don't need a PhD to become a scientist, but the vast majority of psychologists have them. Without one, you will more then likely work as a research assistant or technician and you will be lucky if you ever make over 50,000 a year. Basically, without the PhD, you'll spend your days entering data and setting up the lab to run tests.

[Prettygyrl777]

In some areas, you can go into private practice with a masters alone (licensed). Sure you won't make as much as a Psychologist so just be sure you're in it for the job and not just the money. Otherwise be prepared for a serious burnout. Those that make it to the end (and who still have their sanity intact) were in it because they had a genuine passion for it. I have two friends who were in a doctorate program at my grad school- both had to quit their day jobs in order to dedicate their time to the research required for their schooling. I think alot of people would've taken the 'shorter' route but they both worked on something that they had an interest in (autistic children) and so the sleepless nights, lack of pay for several years and all the hard work that was put into those stellar dissertations was worth it for them.

[K-Luv]

Even with a PhD you will probably start around 40,000 (or less) but at least you will have the potential to eventually make 2x or 3x that amount.