Hi, so I was just wondering how much a clinical psychologist earns. When you search their salary, it's 70k, but they charge $250 an hour and heaps of people tell me they get paid a lot. So can anyone give a rough estimate on how much a clinical psychologist usually earns?
Psychologist Pay
mKilic on 21/12/2018 - 00:33
Comments
I think it is called ATAPS or something works similar to Medicare kinda you get like a few sessions for free per year / every yearly cycle "bulk billed" like Medicare. Ask your GP for a referral or just mention what you need in this case free psychologist / psychiatrist sessions and maybe ATAPS.
ATAPS ended (in melb at least) about a year ago.
$250 a hour seems like a lot of money for someone with an Arts degree. Are you sure you're not confusing them with psychiatrists?
Never ask a psychologist about maths. It's where career guidance counsellors send the duffers,
OK, psychologists. Find a degree 30 or above smoothstep polynomial. Unlock that part of your brain and fly.
no, to become a psychologist is quite rigorous now.
true , in the past you could do an undergraduate degree with a psych major and then call yourself a psych. different now.
to become a psych you now need at least 4 years of psych at uni + 2 years of supervision, or 5 years of uni and 1 year of supervision - the 4+2 or 5+1
there is also ongoing study/professional development once you work as a psych.
Also there are strict grades/levels for being a psych which are enforced by the Psychology Board of Australia
e.g. a clinical psych needs 5 years of study.
[source:: I completed my psych post grad thesis in 2016, and will eventually do supervision component to become a registered psychologist]
Or 6 years of Uni to become a psychologist
Essentially 6 years training/study to get registered as a generalist psychologistsAny psychologist with a protected title (eg “clinical psychologist” or “child” or “forensic” psychs) has undertaken the 6 years training to become registered (6, 5+1 or 4+2) and has also undertaken an additional 2 years of supervised practice to become endorsed as a “clinical psychologist”, so 8 years all up
While 6 years of training sounds like a lot, it's still much shorter compared to the time required to become a doctor (and then a psychiatrist).
While similar names I’m sure you know psychologists and psychiatrists work differently, and are trained differently as you’d expect :)
Was just helping @altomic clarify the psychologist registration pathway, with both “psych” trainings being quite a journey I don’t envy the time and course fees they sign up forI’m sure the juice is worth the squeeze but definitely a long slog
Think you are confusing a psychologist with something else (eg counselor). You need more that just an arts degree.
No, you can become psychologist through arts or science degree.
https://www.psychologyboard.gov.au/registration/general.aspx
To become eligible for general registration an applicant is generally required to have completed a four year undergraduate sequence of study in psychology (such as a bachelor degree with honours) followed by at least two years of practical experience as a registered provisional psychologist. The necessary practical experience is usually obtained by undertaking an approved postgraduate degree accredited at fifth and sixth year level (such as a two year Masters) or higher (such as a three or four year Doctorate). Alternatively practical experience can be obtained by completing a 4+2 or 5+1 internship program.
Once you've done a 3 year arts degree, you need to do a diploma in psychology which acts as an honours in psych. Then after scoring first class honours you may be accepted into 2 years masters or 1 year masters and 1 year practical work. Then you become a psychologist. Finishing the arts degree alone doesn't get you any title except bachelor of arts (psychology).
So the same amount of training as a teacher.
To put it into perspective, UNSW has 60 students doing honours. The course cut off is 98 atar, and you're doing honours, meaning you're top of the class of students who got 98+. To get into honours at UNSW, you have to he top 5 students in an already extremely competitive class. So yes, the same as teaching if teaching had a cutoff of 98 and required you to be top of your cohort just to do honours and then the same process again for masters just to be called a teacher, sure.
@mKilic: No. The most common entry platform is arts, the same as many teaching degrees. You don't need a 98 ATAR to get into arts. Stop making it out like it's harder than it is.
You don't need a 98 ATAR to get into arts.
http://www.psy.unsw.edu.au/future-students/undergraduate/pro…
Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)(BPsych) 429026 3632 98
https://www.science.unsw.edu.au/future-students/our-degrees/…
99.002019 Guaranteed Entry Rank
98.002018 LOWEST RANK
4.0YEARS
KENSINGTON CAMPUS
MAP
INTAKE T1
ATTENDANC@whooah1979: I’m sorry, you appear to have comprehension problems. Please read my above post again. An Arts degree does not require a high ATAR. You can become a psychologist with an Arts degree. It’s the same entry ramp as a teaching qualification. Most people who are psychologists and teachers would start their post graduate education by completing Arts degree, then moving into a Masters degree and vocational training after that. I don’t understand why you find this so hard to comprehend. Picking an obscure qualification to support your point doesn’t actually change the facts.
@[Deactivated]: Haha I love how you are completely wrong but being so arrogant about it. I suppose ignorant people are ignorant of their own ignorance? An arts degree does not qualify you as a psychologist. You need to then do an honours year (incredibly hard to get into) and then a masters (generally requires first class honours). You're right that you can study an arts degree majoring in psychology, but clearly too stupid to understand that there is only one honours programme, and one masters programme, so the arts students would have to beat the ones who got the 98 UAI to get through. It's the exact same cohort. At usyd 1500 start psychology (including the arts students), 80 get into honours, 20 get into masters. They are elite students.
@[Deactivated]: @burnertoasty most common entry platform would be psychology undergraduate courses, not arts
As stated above there is a pathway for students who have done another undergraduate, let’s say a 3 year arts degree as seems to be the focus, which would have the student complete a grad diploma in psychology and then need to complete an honours in psych (above incorrectly skips this step), and then either the 2 year masters or a 2 year alternative, meaning:
3 years of any undergraduate
1 year grad diploma (not sure how competitive entry is)
1 year honours (competitive entry)
2 year masters/or alternative (masters pathway at least competitive)@original15: Calling bulkshit. Even if you enrol in Psych, what is the actual degree qualification? Money on it being an Arts degree majoring in Psych.
@[Deactivated]: @burnertoasty
There are some arts based courses, but majority are run from science faculties
Bachelor of:
Behavioural science
Psychology
Applied science (psychology)
Health Sciences (psychology)
Psychological science
Arts (psychology) - eg some like you have suggested
Etc etcFor Uni courses to be accredited in counting towards a psych registration they must include certain elements and standards etc to add to a psych accreditation. Other course elements might depend on the title as above (eg an added focus on neuroscience), give option to select random electives or I guess there might be some which just present the core psych subjects and that’s all(?)
@[Deactivated]: For psych at UNSW? Not too sure man, as far as I'm aware, nothing except a 98 atar. To the honours class? You have to have a credit average just to be considered. Masters ? First class honours to be considered and they'd like some sort of experience somewhere. It's extremely competitive among many unis, getting into masters at wsu is good even if you're a unsw student as there is limited space each year in the course.
The grad diploma will only replace the undergrad in psychology, not the honours
So one potential pathway is:
3y Undergrad in non psych field
12-18m Grad dip in psych
1y Psych honours
2y Masters/5+1/4+2 or phd (3y min)You know a grad difference can’t replace an undergrad, right: it’s a GRADUATE diploma and it’s a higher qualification than honours.
@[Deactivated]: Please go check out the pathways to registration, as provided by the psych body within Australia. Link below
*Note a grad dip leading into honours/post grad dip, as a substitute for a 3 year psych undergrad (entry to grad dip requires a 3 year Undergrad in anything else but there are probably other entry requirements like academic performance)
https://www.psychology.org.au/Training-and-careers/Careers-a…
@whooah1979: Postgrad dip is the equivalent to honours
But I guess some Uni’s may have slightly different terminology, which leads to confusion if a grad dip is a bridging 4th year or an alternative course to honoursWhen I studied a psych undergrad there was definitely an alternative 4th year to “honours” but can’t remember if it was a grad dip or a post grad dip (the course was shut down)
This thread is similar to whirlpool in some ways :)
Well, there're psychologists for rich people and there are psychologists that deals with the dregs of society……..the pay will be quite different between those.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/378664
You really need to talk to career counsellors or something…
Especially if you're now at the end of year 11 and haven't worked out what you're doing.
Spoiler alert … you won't be getting paid $250 an hour (~$500k a year) straight out of university.
Ye I know, I don't expect to earn anywhere near that anytime soon. My question is can you earn roughly that much after many years of experience and a PhD.
It's like any professional service. The cost of the service to the customer is often much larger than the salary of the person providing the service directly. The difference goes to the costs of running the practice (premises, facilities, office staff, etc.) and profit is earned by the person(s) who owns the practice for the risk they are taking and the investment they have made.
By comparison, in my younger days as a management consultant for a big firm, my salary was somewhere around the $70-80k mark. My firm charged me out at about the $250 an hour you're quoting here. I can't speak knowledgeably about the psychologist industry, but gaps between salary and charge out rate of the magnitude you're suggesting are feasible.
To be realistic, most people should never expect to earn that, or anywhere even close to that in their life time.
For reference on percentiles (slightly old) for incomes in Aus - they had this article for comparison
I've talked to my careers counsellor already and I'm mostly set on psychology.
Forget it. Pick up a trade. Money is good.
Two that i know done their phd and neither are working as a clinical psychologist.
Not common for 500k+, but 150k+ is not hard to come by in the private sector.
Comments above are correct in terms of education/practical experience required, it's quite rigorous. undergrad -> post grad -> practical experience -> ongoing supervision.
3 paths below
Public Sector - You can search the psychologists award for government psychologists (eg working for NSW Health). This will give you an idea.
You can work for a private practice where you will receive a salary but can not choose clients, but you also don't need to source clients. Pay would be higher than public sector.
Work for yourself, charge what you want. Eg bulk bill (~$85 per hour for client who has a mental health plan) or charge as much as you want. You will need clients referred to you and you will need some experience under your belt before starting up your own practice
Every bartender is a psychologist
plenty of ozbargainers give free therapy whether you ask for it or not
They give advice. Psychological therapy is not advice.
Depends on the area that you work, the fees you charge (and where you work), and whether you work public, private employee, contractors, or own your own business. Owning your own business is the most likely way to earn the most, followed by contractors. Realistically, you will only get to owning your own business if you have the business acumen and have developed reputation (i.e. generally GP's who think you are good and tell their patient to see you) + clientele (who can vouch for you and spread word of mouth). Most psychs suck at the business acumen. Interestingly, some government departments have higher salaries then a private employee in a similar position (e.g. school psychologist are can be paid more then a similar psychologist specialising in child and adolescents).
For private: if you work inner city, you are charging (not earning) over $200/hr. If you work in poorer or rural areas, it is more $160-180/hr. Some clients you will "bulk bill," (i.e. charge them the same amount as the Medicare rebate).
As a bit of an aside, a General Psychologist needs to go through 1 or 2 years of Provisional Registration. As a Provisional Psych, you cannot work as a contractor (only as an employee) and need to pay for supervision (works out to be $10-15 000/year). Clinical Psychologist Registrars (registrars are those working towards being endorsed as a Clinical Psychologist) still need the supervision, but can work as a contractor.
Generally in WA, starting off as a Clinical Psychologist Registrar, you will be happy to start off with $70-75 000/year. When you have finished that (i.e. endorsed as a Clinical Psychologist), you are more likely to be on $90-110 000/year. Senior Clinical Psychologists (generally with over 10 years of experience) will push $130-140 000 in government agencies. Again, it depends on where you work and who you work for. There is massive variation in the industry.
I've studied psychology and worked extensively with a psychologist (business admin)
a large portion of the people who finished their psyche degree's, couldn't get a job in the field, it's quite competitive and not many places - if you've got a contact who has a practice, then you'll be fine …
as for earning potential, yes, the shrink i was helping made 240k / year at his peak …
as for the rates, it might be 80$ / session, but there's also the medicare rebates and stuff like that …
a family member makes an easy 150k with their masters. could easily make ~200k if they decided to see 8/9 patients a day 5 days a week but that gets a bit taxing.
Yeah, you wouldn't see 8/9 people a day unless you're a freak :P
the one i see charges $80 an hour, but i dont pay, under mental health plan or something