Psychology Careers With Growth Potential

Clinical Psychology

According to a 2012 survey, clinical psychology ranked at 55 out of 100 jobs described as the best jobs in America. Some of the key reasons why clinical psychology ranked so highly included:

• Excellent Salaries: The median annual income for an experienced clinical psychologist was $79,820.
• Great Projected Job Outlook: The Occupational Outlook Handbook suggests that the demand for clinical psychologists is expected to grow by about 3 percent through the year 2029.
• Strong Quality of Life Rankings: The clinical psychologists surveyed reported excellent rankings of personal satisfaction, the benefit to society, job security and future growth.

Of course, looking at statistics can never offer a full view of the many aspects of a job. If you are considering clinical psychology as a career, spend some time carefully researching your options in order to determine if this field is a good fit for your personality, needs, and long-term goals. Don't let a single factor, such as projected salary, guide your decision-making process.

Instead, look at the entire career as a whole including the educational and licensing requirements, job outlook, work settings, and typical job duties. A Facebook user Cassandra Adams explained in the CNNMoney.com comments section, "Getting into, paying for, and completing the Ph.D. is a labor of love. Do NOT do it for the money...With that said, I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing and that makes it worthwhile. I love the flexibility I will have in terms of job duties and settings and hopefully, I'll spend my work hours making someone's life more fulfilling."

Careers in psychiatry also ranked high on the survey. CNNMoney.com also noted some of the advantages of psychiatry including low overhead costs and fairly low malpractice insurance rates.

Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Dawn Rosenberg McKay reports that industrial-organizational psychology ranks as one of the top ten fastest-growing jobs with a master's degree or higher. In 2014, the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics named I-O psychology as the ​single fastest-growing career of the next decade.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in industrial-organizational psychology are expected to grow by 3 percent through the year 2029. In 2020, the median salary for industrial-organizational psychologists was $96,270. Of course, wages can vary based on a variety of variables including education, training, and location. You can use the Salary Wizard provided by Salary.com to get a better look at typical earnings in your field and geographic area.

I-O psychologists work in a wide variety of settings that include universities, research facilities, private businesses, and government agencies. Some psychologists in this field are self-employed or work on a consultation basis.

A few of the issues that industrial-organizational psychologists may tackle include:

• Worker productivity
• Human and computer interaction
• Employee training and assessment
• Training program development

Learn more about the field of I-O psychology as well as what it takes to become an industrial-organizational psychologist.

School Psychology

According to U.S. News and World Report, school psychology ranked at number 31 on their list of the 100 best careers. The report on the 100 Best Jobs highlighted professions that offer strong job opportunities, quality of life, salaries and potential for job growth. Jobs in marriage and family therapy, as well as medical and public health social work, also made the list.

Some of the major reasons why school psychology made the list include:

• Decent Salaries: The median salary for school psychologists in 2020 was $78,200.
• Strong Projected Job Outlook: Job outlook projections by the U.S. Department of Labor suggest that jobs in the clinical, counseling and school psychology fields will grow by approximately 3 percent through 2029.

Of course, looking at statistics can never offer a full view of the many aspects of a job. If you are considering school psychology as a career, spend some time carefully researching your options in order to determine if this field is a good fit for your personality, needs and long-term goals. Don't let a single factor, such as projected salary, guide your decision-making process.

Instead, look at the entire career as a whole including the educational and licensing requirements, job outlook, work settings, and typical job duties. Learn more in this article on careers in school psychology.