Clinical Psychology Salary

How Rewarding Is A Clinical Psychology Salary

Did you know that you make more than a decent living as a clinical psychologist? Yes, the clinical psychology salary is one of the more lucrative and if you happen to be practicing in states where they pay the highest, then all the years of education and experience would have been good investments.

If you complete any of the clinical psychology graduate programs, then you can look forward to various opportunities that will test your mettle and develop the kind of expertise that is becoming more in demand.  
What kind of pay are we looking at?

Many licensed clinical psychologists are into private or individual practice. The keyword is licensed, for which you need a minimum of a doctorate in clinical psychology. That's like five to six years of studies, the culmination of which is a thesis. But the good news is acceptance at a university for a psychology graduate program usually means going on to complete a doctorate even without a masters degree. Some schools do have a co-terminal masters program.

With a masters in psychology degree, you will be eligible to work as clinical psychologist in a group practice, although under the supervision of a licensed clinician. Group counseling clinics are gaining popularity because managed health care organizations and insurance companies prefer these professionals for lower cost coverage.

Still, you can expect to make an annual clinical psychology salary of $63,000 in this set up. If you want to increase your pay, then you can explore the clinical psychology salary in California, the state which pays its professionals the highest.

State Which Pays The Most

How high are we talking about? Depending on the location of your practice, you can earn a low of $58,326 (low range in San Diego) to as much as $109,044 in Sacramento (high range). In fact, there are five cities in California that made it to the top 10 cities paying the highest clinical psychology salary: San Francisco (No. 1), Sacramento, San Diego, Palo Alto and Pasadena. Los Angeles is within the top 20 cities, with salaries ranging from $50,336 to $90,000.    

The clinical psychology salary in Texas, which range from $49,928 to $83,114, is also rewarding. Houston also made it to the top 10, with its salary scales from $55,000 to $95,476.

Surprisingly, New York doesn't even make it the top 20 cities, but the clinical psychology salary in NY is also nothing to sneeze at: between $56,193 and $81,400. In New York City, you can earn from a low of $57,203 to a high of $82,709.

Education And Training

A two-year masters in clinical psychology program is sufficient to get you started on a successful career in counseling. That's because counseling does not require diagnosis and treatment of mental health disorders. Rather, your job is to help people facing normal problems in relationships, family, work or school by listening and guiding them towards understanding themselves and deciding how to overcome these challenges. 

But if you're bent on going into practice, taking on patients for one-on-one treatment of problems in mental health, you need to have completed any of the clinical psychology PhD programs.  

With this degree on hand, you really can boost your clinical psychology salary to very comfortable levels, especially once you've established your reputation.

Otherwise, you can focus on research or teaching and with years of experience can expect to make beyond $150,000, depending on your work place and position in the organization.

Beyond universities and clinics, licensed clinical psychologists find work in hospitals, federal and local government agencies, rehabilitation centers, community mental health centers and the criminal justice system.

If you have any specializations, your market value increases two- or three-fold, and so does your clinical psychology salary.

Clinical Psychology Phd Programs >