How Much Money Do Psychologists Earn In The United States Of America?
The profession of psychologist has been increasingly valued and better paid, thanks to the fact that governments have begun to raise awareness and give greater importance to mental health. However, in many countries the situation is not very favorable for our employment and many young people are considering migrating.
Some consider going to other European or Latin American countries, due to cultural and geographical proximity, but many consider going to North America. But, How much money do psychologists earn in the United States of America? This is the question that we are going to resolve below, providing data extracted from the US census itself.
In recent years, society and governments have become more aware of the importance of mental health, increasingly valuing the figure of the psychologist and understanding that it is a very useful and necessary profession for all types of areas. Clinical, educational, organizational psychologists, neuropsychologists, and many more branches of behavioral science are becoming increasingly important. in endless areas.
But, unfortunately, this does not mean that there is a significant percentage of psychologists who have just completed their studies who face a job outlook that is unfavorable to them, in which either they are not hired because they do not yet have the necessary experience or Well, they are given work, but very poorly paid and not in what they wanted to work on. In a situation like this, it is inevitable to consider the possibility of going abroad to try your luck.
Apart from Europe and Latin America, one of the places where many Spaniards and Latin Americans consider traveling to see if they can find employment is the United States. With its good things and its bad things, The Stars and Stripes nation seems to be one of the places where psychologists are best paid., although it should also be said that it is a country in which the salaries of university students are higher and the standard of living is also more expensive. Be that as it may, it seems that the work of psychologists is well rewarded there.
What does it mean to be a psychologist in the United States of America?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a psychologist in the United States is a professional who must have sufficient training and licensing to carry out the following actions:
Likewise, according to the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP), In the country there are more than 15 recognized specialties in the field of psychology. Among the most demanded we have:
As in any other country, in the United States An arduous academic training is required to practice psychology, applying for a bachelor’s degree in psychology, specialization and postgraduate studies.. Most states require a license to practice psychology. In some fields, such as working as a clinical psychologist, a doctorate in psychology, an internship of between one and two years of supervised professional experience, and passing the professional practice exam in psychology are required.
How much do they earn exactly? Psychologist remuneration in the USA
On average, psychologists in the United States earn about $39.51 per hour and about $82,180 per year, although this can vary depending on many variables. The salary will depend, among other things, on the field of psychology to which the professional dedicates himself, the type of service, the treatments, the institution in which he works, the degree of prestige of the professional himself and, even, in which state of the 48 that make up the country work.
1. According to years of experience
Psychologists who have just completed their studies and enter the workforce have an income of $50,000 per year. Those who have already had between 1 and 4 years of experience have higher salaries, earning $60,000 annually, and those who have been working between 5 and 9 years earn $70,000.
Those with between 10 and 19 years of experience receive annual earnings of $88,000. Finally, those who have 20 years of experience practicing the profession of psychologist have average earnings of $92,000 per year.
2. According to specialization
According to data obtained by BLS, The annual salary for clinical and school psychologists was $89,290 in May 2020 with an hourly average of $42.93. Psychologists who were in the 10th percentile (the 10% that earned the least) had hourly earnings of $22.31 and annual earnings of $46,410, while those in the 90th percentile earned hourly earnings of $66.61 and $46,410 per hour. 138,550 annually.
In the case of industrial psychologists, they earned an average of $54.18 per hour and $112,690 annually. Those in the 10th percentile earned $27.61 per hour and $57,440 per year, while those in the 90th percentile earned $92.69 per hour and $192,800 per year.
3. According to regions
The United States is a very large country and this means that there is a big difference in terms of opportunities depending on the state we end up in. According to the BLS itself, the states where there is the highest employment rate among clinical and school psychologists are California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Florida, while for industrial and organizational psychologists the places with the highest employment are California, Virginia , Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
However, if we focus on compensation and taking data from the BLS collected in May 2020 (last update), the places to work in the field of clinical and school psychology where these professions pay better are:
California ($55.69 per hour; $115,830 per year)
Hawaii ($53.26 per hour; $110,780 per year)
Louisiana ($52.49 per hour; $109,180 per year)
Oregon ($51.92 per hour; $108,000 per year)
District of Columbia ($51.41 per hour; $106,920 per year)
The five states where the profession of organizational psychologist pays the best are:
California ($57.26 per hour; $119,100 per year)
New Jersey ($51.24 per hour; $106,570 per year)
Ohio ($47.49 per hour; $98,770 per year)
Pennsylvania ($45.68 per hour; $95,000 per year)
Texas ($31.17 per hour; $64,820 per year)
Spinning finer and going through metropolitan areaswe have the places where clinical and educational psychologists earn the most (session and annual respectively):
Santa Rosa, California: $66.61, $138,550
Jefferson City, Missouri: $64.25, $133,640
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California: $60.10, $125,020
With respect to the scope of the organizations, the BLS only indicates the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metropolitan area, which includes the states of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia as well as Washington DC In this area, on average, the organizational psychologist charges $83.06 per session and $172,770 annually.
According to workplace
Finally, among the variables that influence how much a psychologist earns in the United States we have the workplace, whether it is related to clinical psychology, educational psychology, organizations or any other branch. Below we present the list according to the type of center and how much you earn per hour and per year in the US.:
Individual and family services: $40.39, $84,000
Medical centers: $47.88, $99,590
Outpatient health services: $52.45, $109,100
Primary and secondary schools: $38.93, $80,960
Detoxification and psychiatric clinics: $43.33 $90,130
Educational support services: $38.70, $80,500
Daycare services: $50.80, $105,670
Scientific research and development of services: $72.55, $150,910
Universities and professional schools: $50.22, $104,470
Management, scientific and technical consulting: $47.52, $98,840
Government institutions, excluding schools and hospitals: $41.57, $86,460
Salaries in perspective
Salaries in the United States for psychology professionals are high if we compare them with those in other countries, such as Spain, Mexico and Canada, but it must be said that everything still depends on both the experience factor and the specialization, the region in which lives and the demand there is for psychologists. If we go south of the US border, salaries in Mexico are about 1,677,000 Mexican pesos ($84,000), and if we travel north, in Canada, the salary ranges from $64,500 to $160,000 per year.
In the United States, as we have already mentioned, the experience factor has a huge influence, with the salary of recently graduated psychologists being around $50,000, but it is still higher if we compare it with the case of Spain, where there is Luckily, you can earn between €18,000 and €47,800 per year ($21,500-$57,000) depending greatly on experience and training.
Bibliographic references:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Psychologists, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm (accessed April 15, 2021 ).
