Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Trying to decide which would be better for job outlook....masters degree in counseling with emphasis on mental health or school psychologist? Anyone have either of these degrees or know which degree is better for more job options?
When you say school psychologist do you mean you want to get a PhD? I don't know if there are masters in school psychology. I may be wrong though.
Yes, there are Masters in School Psychology. Someone we worked with resigned with us and is doing a local program full time. In order to practice, you'll need to get licensed and complete a practicum/internship.
yes there are masters degree for school psychologist and some of them you do the licensing right then and there with the program, like a two in one thing. Just not sure which I want to pursue. I've looked into both but dont know about the job outlook, thats the only thing.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, originally from SF Bay Area
42,541 posts, read 77,270,000 times
Reputation: 53981
I can only speak about what's happening here in WA state.
A minimum of a Masters is required for psychologist licensing. Schools are suffering financially these days and while the need may be high, the cost of paying school psychologists is considered "extra" services that can be reduced. At our district the number has been reduced, so that much less time is spent at each school.
For other newly licensed psychologists the job outlook is similar in that the most jobs are in social services at the state, county and city levels, and they too are making big budget cuts and eliminating services. In the private industry, hospitals, lawyers and clinical offices are not as likely to hire inexperienced people.
Hopefully whatever you choose, the economic environment is much better by the time you are ready to apply for a job.
I would look more into detail the Master's of Mental Health but also look into getting your LPC licensure. The license would give you lots of options. The Mental Health area would have more areas where you can work in (government, non profit, hospital, clinic, etc.) where the school psych. would be limited to a school setting. Schools still use LPCs in a social service type of setting. Some school have a liaison that helps students and families find services in the community, provide short term counseling, etc.
Can't you get both? I would think that the coursework would be so similar that you could get both. If not, I would go with the counseling degree vs the school psych degree. The counseling degree gives you a lot more flexibility for jobs. I know in rural areas these jobs are in very high demand. Our oldest was thinking about going this route in college but has since changed his mind.
Trying to decide which would be better for job outlook....masters degree in counseling with emphasis on mental health or school psychologist? Anyone have either of these degrees or know which degree is better for more job options?
It depends on what you want to do careerwise. if you want to practice psychotherapy, a school psychology degree is not sufficient. In the state of VA, as a school psychologist, you either get a limited license, or full license. However, neither license qualifies you to practice psychotherapy. The full license only allows you to perform psychological testing ( IQ and academc testing), in a setting other than in the school. You are limited to educational testing only. No psychotherapy, unless you have an LCSW, LPC, Ph.D ( in psychology), or Psy.D.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
