Job in psychology question

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If I'm not mistaken Psychologist (going form salary.com) is 60,000+ but is this clinical? As stated in past topics I'm eyeing research how much does this pay? Looking at finances now I'm on SSID and after rent/house pay to parents I get (out of my check) $322 I live ok (go out eating with family,movies,gifts,paying $150 month on NY trip ($100 Bday/$100 Xmas money helps) Hope to get financial aid to pay for some of College but looking at college I'm curious how much graduate school is (from your estimates BTW it'd be state school) I'm not looking for a lavish life perhaps learn to drive/buy car or whatever and either A)roommate or B) Apartment (as of now they are $700 month probably $1000 (after cable etc. are tossed into it). Plus of course all that student loan debt I'd have to pay back WOULD research be worth it? (Parents suggest getting a $200,000+ tech job but my passion/interest was doing research papers so that's what I'm still laining towards.


Thanks for the advice!! !

http://myplan.com/careers/db/search2.ph ... ychologist
http://myplan.com/careers/clinical-psyc ... 31.02.html
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm#earnings

Those are some stats. But from what you have posted, it seems that you would be better suited as a research psychologist than clinical. I don't know how good your social skills are, but a clinical psychologist needs that trait. My psychologist (who thinks I'm extremely 'mild' AS) has even told me I would be a poor clinical psychologist, but would be good at research. That's only my opinion, though.

You ought to be able to find some ways to pay for college. If you go to a state school, you will rely more on federal grants and such. If you end up living alone/not with your parents, you can file taxes as an independent and that gets you more financial aid. If you go to a private college more financial aid is available just because you're going to a more expensive school...most people don't look at expensive colleges because they think they will be paying the majority of the tuition, but if you know what you're doing you can go for about the same cost as a state college. (I'm going to a pretty expensive college this fall and won't cost me much.) Check with vocational rehab if you haven't already. They are paying for some of my tuition and other expenses. Grad school costs vary a lot, so I can't really comment on that. Just look up different schools and their tuition cost (that's what I do). But remember, when you're in grad school there are ways to make money. You can be a teacher's assistant, get grants, fellowships, and scholarships, and part-time jobs if you have the time. And sometimes places will pay for you to go to grad school if you work for them when you graduate. My mom got her grad school paid for that way (she is an OT). The army pays for grad school for certain health related professions, I'm looking into that in case I go to vet school.

Actually, grad school is a pretty good deal, financially. You basically get paid to get an education, either by the school you apply to or through outside fellowships and scholarships, plus you get a stipend, IIRC about $30,000, which is comparable to a starting teacher's salary. (In fact, some grad schools will only accept students who come fully funded). Plus, as astaut said, you can be a TA or a research assistant.

Not sure about the salary once you get out of grad school. To be honest, I haven't thought about it, since you won't starve on it, and personally, I'd be interested in academia regardless. Hope this helps.

"I don't know how good your social skills are, but a clinical psychologist needs that trait. My psychologist (who thinks I'm extremely 'mild' AS) has even told me I would be a poor clinical psychologist, but would be good at research."
My one quibble here is that social skills are still important in research. Like other sciences, psychology takes place in a lab, and everyone works on projects with several other people. As an undergrad, I currently work under the direction of a postdoc, who reports to the professor, and work alongside the project coordinator to run subjects. At lab meetings and just hanging out in the lab, I have regular dealings with all the grad students and postdocs and many of the undergrads. Like many professors, my adviser collaborates with other professors at his university and several others, including overseas, which requires decent social skills. He continually brings in people from other labs to give talks, and everyone in the lab has to socialize with them. Social networking (knowing and being advised by the right people) is EXTREMELY important in academia, and seems to be one of the main points of academic conferences (of which there are many). As a professor, part of your job is to serve on committees and advise students--you're not just a researcher, you're also a mentor to researchers in training (although some professors, to be honest, care more about this role than others). To sum up: As a student, you will need to be able to take direction and work with a lot of people, some of whom may be difficult. As a professor, you will have to be able to schmooze and collaborate. Fortunately, a lot of people in academia are socially awkward, so if you have fairly mild AS and you're at least aware of the need for social skills and put in an effort, you probably won't be TOO out of place.

I have a lot of thoughts about good ways to prepare yourself for going into research and come off as more awesome than socially awkward. Some of these ideas come from my own experience, others from older students and academic blogs. Since that's a little off the topic of this post though, I won't discuss it here, but feel free to ask if you have any questions.

Like mosaicofminds said, grad school is a good situation financially. I wouldn't worry about that as long as you can handle a TA/assistantship in addition to your studies.

And you can make 60K or more straight out of grad school even at the master's level--it's no guarantee, clearly, but it's a distinct possibility. The place I'm doing my assistantship (a state-run facility) told me if I work for them the whole time I'm in grad school they will hire me as soon as I graduate at 55K, and they qualified that by saying it may not be the best deal for me cause if I went to a neighboring state I could make $15-20K more than that.

This is a little bit off topic, and I do not mean to discourage you from pursuing your dreams, but please be aware that a research career in psychology (or any other field) is a long and arduous process, which many people fail to successfully navigate. Even though you are just starting this process, I recommend you read a few books about getting into graduate school (e.g., "The Complete Guide to Graduate School Admission: Psychology, Counseling, and Related Professions", by Patricia Keith-Spiegel and Michael W. Wiederman) and starting a research career (e.g., "A PhD Is Not Enough: A Guide To Survival In Science", by Peter J. Feibelman). These will help you plan what to do, and give you some tips about pitfalls to watch out for.

Good luck!

_________________

Willard: "Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice mission, and when it was over, I never wanted another."
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