Psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who studies the human mind and behavior, aiming to understand and improve mental health and emotional well-being. Their work often involves providing counseling services to individuals facing various challenges, such as mental illness, grief, or relationship issues. However, psychology is a diverse field with multiple specializations, including clinical, school, industrial/organizational, developmental, social, and research psychology. Psychologists can work in a variety of environments, including private practice, hospitals, schools, research institutions, and corporate settings.
Most psychologists hold advanced degrees, typically a master's or doctorate in psychology, and are required to obtain licensure to practice in their state. They utilize strong analytical and interpersonal skills to assess clients' needs, conduct research, and develop effective treatment plans. Additionally, psychologists might engage in research to expand knowledge within the field or to address organizational challenges. The demand for psychologists is growing, with an expected employment growth rate of 7%, reflecting a continued interest in mental health and human behavior across society.
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Subject Terms
Psychologist
Snapshot
- Career Cluster(s): Business, Management & Administration, Education & Training, Health Science, Human Services
- Interests: Mental health, human behavior, emotional issues, psychological counseling, behavior modification
- Earnings (Yearly Median): $92,740 per year $44.59 per hour
- Employment & Outlook: 7% (Faster than average)
- Entry-Level Education Master's or doctorate in psychology or related field
- Related Work Experience None
- On-the-job-Training Internship/residency
Overview
Sphere of Work. Psychologists study the human mind and try to understand human behavior. Many people think of psychologists as people who provide counseling services to help people cope with issues, but that is only one area of specialization in this broad field. Psychologists may work directly with clients in an office, a hospital, or in a school; they may work for companies or organizations, figuring out how best to accomplish tasks or convey messages; or they may work at a university or research institution, conducting psychological research or teaching psychology to others. These areas of specialization are denoted by terms such as clinical psychology, school psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, research psychology, and others.
Work Environment. Psychologists are often self-employed, working as private practitioners or independent consultants. They may work from home or in private offices, setting their own hours, sometimes evenings and weekends, to accommodate working clients. Others work in institutional team environments, such as in schools or with corporations, and provide their services during regular business hours. Research psychologists may work in labs, conducting various experiments and evaluating research results. Psychologists also work at hospitals, health clinics, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.
Occupation Interest. Psychology is an appropriate career pursuit for people interested in how the human mind works and how this knowledge can improve people’s lives. Depending on their specialization, psychologists should have good people skills (for one-on-one work with patients or other team members) and strong analytical skills (for conducting research or evaluating patients’ needs). Psychologists usually have graduate degrees and, most commonly, a doctorate.
A Day in the Life—Duties and Responsibilities. The typical day for a psychologist depends on their specialty. Clinical or counseling psychologists may spend their days helping clients cope with mental illness or simply managing the issues in their lives—family or marital distress, grief, substance abuse, or problems at work or school. They may also work with medical patients trying to cope with illness or injury.
In helping clients, psychologists conduct diagnostic testing and interviews that can help them pinpoint central issues and behavioral triggers. They provide various psychotherapy or psychological counseling, sometimes over just a few sessions and sometimes on a longer-term basis. They may help clients develop behavior modification programs or other strategies to help achieve wellness. In most cases, psychologists are not qualified to prescribe medication and may recommend additional medical providers to patients who could benefit from medication. Psychologists in clinical practice may also be required to provide outcome assessments and metrics.
Research and industrial/organizational psychologists only sometimes provide services directly to individuals. Instead, they work for organizations or institutions, perhaps expanding knowledge and understanding through extensive research experiments or helping develop work processes and approaches that help fulfill business-related needs, such as greater employee productivity or more effective product marketing. Research psychologists may conduct experiments on people or animals, administer surveys, conduct ongoing interviews with human volunteers, or study how animals react to stimuli to learn more about basic mental processes. Industrial/organizational psychologists may help companies develop more effective communication strategies between managers and employees, assess other aspects of work life, and generate recommendations for improvement.
Counseling Psychologists (045.107-026).Counseling psychologists use such techniques as interviewing and testing to advise people on how to deal with problems of everyday living—personal, educational, vocational, and social.
Educational Psychologists (045.067-010).Educational psychologists design, develop, and evaluate psychological programs that apply to academic problems.
School Psychologists (045.107-034).School psychologists evaluate children within an educational system and plan and implement corrective programs. They work with teachers, parents, and administrators to resolve students’ learning and behavioral problems.
Psychometrists (045.067-018). Psychometrists administer, score, and interpret intelligence, aptitude, achievement, and other psychological tests.
Experimental Psychologists (045.061-018).Experimental psychologists conduct experiments with humans and animals, such as rats, monkeys, and pigeons, in the prominent areas of experimental research, including motivation, thinking, learning and retention, sensory and perceptual processes, and genetic and neurological factors in behavior.
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (045.107-030).Industrial-organizational psychologists develop and apply psychological techniques to administration, management, and marketing problems. They are involved in policy planning, applicant screening, training and development, psychological test research, counseling, and organizational development.
Engineering Psychologists (045.061-014). Engineering psychologists conduct research, development, application, and evaluation of psychological principles relating human behavior to characteristics, design, and the use of environments and systems within which human beings work and live.
Social Psychologists (045.067-014).Social psychologists investigate the psychological aspects of human interrelationships to gain an understanding of individual and group thought, feeling, and behavior using observation, experimentation, and survey techniques.
Work Environment
Immediate Physical Environment. Psychologists usually see clients in comfortable, quiet office or home settings with few distractions. Research and organizational psychologists can be found in labs and office buildings, and other psychologists can be found in their respective places of specialization, such as schools, hospitals, and businesses.
Human Environment. Clinical and counseling psychologists work with clients who may be in various states of distress, and they also frequently collaborate with other psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and other kinds of social service and health care providers. Research psychologists work with colleagues and other professionals, and teaching psychologists work with undergraduate and graduate students.
Technological Environment. Unless working in a research laboratory with humans, animals, and scientific equipment, psychologists mostly listen, ask questions, take notes, and often use computers to keep records of their client's status and progress.
Education, Training, and Advancement
High School/Secondary. High school students can best prepare for a career in psychology by focusing on science, English, and math. Some high schools may offer advanced placement psychology as an elective. Otherwise, students should generally cultivate their writing, speech, critical thinking, and scientific research skills. Biology is the science most relevant to psychology, and it is also helpful to take classes in the social sciences.
High school guidance counselors can help students learn more about career and university offerings.
Postsecondary. To practice psychology, students need a master’s or doctoral degree. Since competition in this occupation is stiff, earning a doctoral degree covering counseling, teaching, or research is best. Those with just an undergraduate degree will find it difficult to qualify for a psychologist position.
Universities across America encourage psychology students to understand and conduct varying levels of analysis of written documents and the interpretation of scientific cases. Coursework includes critical thinking, psychopathology, the biological bases of behavior, psychological assessment, interpersonal behavior, psychophysiology, psychosocial adjustment, and research design and methodology.
The largest professional organization of US psychologists, the American Psychological Association, typically requires a doctoral degree for full membership and a master’s degree for associate membership. Doctoral degrees available in psychology include a regular doctorate, or Ph.D., the most wide-ranging option; a doctorate of psychology (PsyD), which is geared more toward clinical practice than research; and a doctorate of education (EdD) focused on psychology, usually counseling, developmental, or educational psychology.
Psychologists must be licensed or certified in their state of practice, and hands-on internships are mandatory for licensure. Continuing education may also be required to maintain or renew a license. Prospective psychologists would do well to choose programs of study that a relevant professional organization accredits; for instance, attending schools approved by the National Association of School Psychologists facilitates the certification process for would-be school psychologists.
Related Occupations
− Human Resources Specialist/Manager
− Marriage and Family Therapist
Bibliography
"Careers in Psychology." American Psychological Association, 2024, www.apa.org/education-career/guide/careers. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.
"Psychologists." Occupational Outlook Handbook. Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor, 29 Aug. 2024, www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.
"School Psychology: A Career That Makes a Difference." NASP, www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/a-career-that-makes-a-difference. Accessed 28 Sept. 2023.