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I keep hearing the same story. I'm glad I didn't pursue it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FarNorthDallas
I was a School Psychology PhD student for a bit. It was during the Psychiatric Institute of America craziness. Total racket taking place. Some of my classmates got messed up with it. I don't think there has been a lot of money in the psych field since then and that was fraud.
School Psy is better. Some states require a masters and some a PhD. You might look into that. I ended up dropping out real quick so disgusted with the field because of the scam, even though the scam was more in the Counseling Psy area and not School.
Good PhD programs are extremely difficult to get into. The people I know with psych undergrad majors are now unemployed, working in sales, or getting their Master's degree since they didn't get into a PhD program. My ex is in a Master's in School Counseling program. He feels pretty confident he'll get a job, but he knows there's not much money there.
I am a Clinical Psychologist and love my work. It was a long committment and there are several things that I would do over including choice of career. I had dreamed of working in a private practice but you need to be able to market yourself and network with other professionals to get your referrals. Security is limited. I currently work for the federal governemnt and like I said, love my work but hate the work climate. However, due to the economy and my desire for security, I will probably end up retiring from government service. Private practice would require you to live in a fairly cosmopoitan area where people seek such servies, otherwise, community mental health centers and non-profit agencies would be your best bet. Perhaps a licensed clinical social worker degree would be more helpful and increases the number of work settings availabe to you. Good luck!
I was a School Psychology PhD student for a bit. It was during the Psychiatric Institute of America craziness. Total racket taking place. Some of my classmates got messed up with it. I don't think there has been a lot of money in the psych field since then and that was fraud.
School Psy is better. Some states require a masters and some a PhD. You might look into that. I ended up dropping out real quick so disgusted with the field because of the scam, even though the scam was more in the Counseling Psy area and not School.
Can you explain more FarNorthDallas, what do you mean there was a scam in school and counseling psychology departments? I actually left after the first semester of my masters program in school psychology (too assessment focused and I wanted to diversify my options) and am now looking at counseling PhD programs.
Can you explain more FarNorthDallas, what do you mean there was a scam in school and counseling psychology departments? I actually left after the first semester of my masters program in school psychology (too assessment focused and I wanted to diversify my options) and am now looking at counseling PhD programs.
AmoraLee, my Ph.D. is in Counseling Psych and I can assure you that I have never been even remotely close to being involved in anything scam-like. APA-accredited programs in Counseling Psych are the ones to explore...I am happy to answer any specific questions you have. My colleagues from my graduate program now work in universities, community mental health agencies, hospitals, for-profit corporations, and private practice. None of have been involved in any scams, either.
My mother is a PhD psychologist, but embarrassingly I'm not sure what her specialization degree was. I know after her degree she did mostly juvenile work.
She tried private practice for a while, but gave up due to the administrative headaches. The insurance companies pretty regularly screwed her over. She said if it was going to be viable at all she would have to hire someone full time to deal w/ that sort of thing, and that would cut her already meager profit in half.
She ended up working in prisons, and she retired recently thank god (it was extremely stressful). She would probably say don't do it unless you can stand being broke and stress for decades of your life due to money issues. I'm not sure how much she makes now (or made at the time of her retirement), but it wasn't much, certainly not in line with a PhD and 10+ years experience. I'd hazard a guess at 80k, but I don't know.
I do know it was a pretty rough haul for all of us, the long term schooling, the licensing exams (she failed once then passed). She is one of the brightest and hard working people I know though, she really tried everything she could do to make it work. In the end the prison system was the most stable job she could find.
I also have a PhD and am changing my field from biomedical science. If it's one thing I would say to people is that do not think that education and letters after your name are going to mean anything in the real world, and if you get such letters it is no guarantee of some magical job where you are paid what you are worth. You are a commodity, and if your degree is over-populated like psych and bio, then the job market is going to be horrible and low paying. This is just speaking generally. Sure you can do anything with anything, but nowadays...
I'm not sure any degree is a golden ticket to any sort of secure and even decent paying job. That's just how it is nowadays. Everyone is degreed and certified in this that and the other thing. The people who make it are the people who put in 10-20 years in the field and their heart and soul, developing strong networks, strong expertise, and evolve with the field.
Sorry, but unless your question is "If i get a RN degree/cert", any of these "if i get degree/cert x will I get a job" the answer is probably not. Its not the piece of paper, its what you do with it and who you know.
Sadly, I have to say I agree with everyone here. I am a recent graduate with a MA in Psychology. All the jobs I have applied for are low paying. In addition I can't get any type of licensure. I tried to get approval to sit for our state MFT examination & was informed I was not eligible because I had not done a practicum or internship at the graduate level & the one at the bachelors level didn't qualify. There advice to me was to go back for a Masters in MFT & that possibly many of my courses would transfer. The thing of it is is that most MFTs in my state only start around forty thousand. So that being said, I am back to my original plan. I like you pursued my Masters in Psychology because of my passion. My passion is community outreach. I am in the process of forming my own 501c3 & it is taxing, but I'm going to do it. I have met with several local foundations & I pretty much know the direction I need to take as far as grant seeking is concerned. In the mean time I will continue to substitute teach & pursue some type of pharmaceutical or medical sales job because frankly I need the money. After all I have student loans to pay. Whats funny is I applied for a community advocate position at a local university & they were only paying 14.82 an hour with no benefits & required a Masters degree. I only applied because I thought it would look nice to have a university on my resume, but then I thought - what! I actually make more than that working as a sub & we have some benefits & if nothing else lots of flexibility. My problem is my student loans. But I'm going to keep working my plan & complete my 501c3 & go from there. What's funny is the one thing in my life other than my kids & my personal relationship with Christ & that sort of thing that I am most proud of is my accomplishment of obtaining my Masters in Psychology. I think it means so much to me because I never thought I could do it and guess what...I DID IT! Too bad its only worth pennies today, but I guess that's the part I have to change. I was always told growing up that education was the key & now reality is telling me that education is not the key, but it certainly is a tool. Now....how am I going to use it? For me going back to school is not an option. I don't even want to, but I do want to work in my passion so...here I go. So for you --- good luck in what ever direction you choose to go.
I work in a psych hospital as an RN.
The idea of setting up a private practice is a pipe dream. You cannot just hang out a sign and expect to begin a practice. If you want to do therapy, and MSW or LICSW might make more sense. The PhD is likely to be more research-focused. There is no money in it. I don't mean big money, I mean any.
Do remember I live near Boston, where everyone has all sorts of useless master's and PhDs in Counseling Psych and Dance Therapy and stuff. Might well be good information and good work can be done, but no one can or will pay for it.
I work in a psych hospital as an RN.
The idea of setting up a private practice is a pipe dream. You cannot just hang out a sign and expect to begin a practice. If you want to do therapy, and MSW or LICSW might make more sense. The PhD is likely to be more research-focused. There is no money in it. I don't mean big money, I mean any.
Do remember I live near Boston, where everyone has all sorts of useless master's and PhDs in Counseling Psych and Dance Therapy and stuff. Might well be good information and good work can be done, but no one can or will pay for it.
Maybe this is true in Boston, but not for everywhere. I'm a psychologist and most of my friends are in private practice. I was in private practice for 10 years before starting work at a university and my income was quite good after the first year of building it.
All of my colleagues in private practice are currently earning good money...most of them are earning $100K+/yr. and one with a specialty niche is grossing $250K/yr. My colleagues are in the Pacific Northwest, Texas, and the East Coast.
All it takes is learning some marketing skills to go with the clinical service delivery skills. It isn't rocket science...basic marketing skills are sufficient so that you can differentiate yourself from all the generalist therapists out there.
Last edited by Topaz; 07-06-2010 at 11:04 PM..
Reason: Edited to allow for geographic differences.
Hi. I thought that I would just participate a little. AFAIK, there are other areas of Psychology that you can branch out into. I/O, for instance. A buddy of mine was saying how one of his professors developed some sort of test and became a millionaire through that. So if you look at alternate ways, maybe there is big money to be made. Come to think of it, you know the TV show "Lie to me", well the real life Psychologist that is based on has his own consultancy (Dr Paul Ekman) and is very well know for his work. I'm sure he isn't hurting for cash.
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Private Practice for Psychologists
