Masters vs PhD?

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Can a person with a Masters degree be qualified to diagnose autism as someone with a PhD could be?

Not sure... I can only cite my own experiences.

Generally speaking, a BSE will get you an engineering position; an MSE gets you the "Chief Engineer" position; and a PhDE gives you enough credibility to write a book on engineering, and gets you a position of teaching people to become engineers.

I know that doesn't answer your question directly, but it's the best I can do with a head full of Benadryl.

Masters in what?

An LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) can diagnose. LPC requires a masters.

In Australia a graduate psychologist can diagnose autism if they have 2 years clinical experience or a Masters.

I understand in the USA the requirements are more stringent with clinical psychologists required to hold a PhD to be fully registered.

LOL! you aren't an aspiring academic perchance?

No, I am a 50-something straight male with a Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE). Nearly all of my professors held PhDs. I supervise people with Bachelor's Degrees in Electrical Engineering (BSEE), as well as a few people with Associate's Degrees. The slackers (those without any academic credentials) work on the assembly line and loading dock. We also refer to them as "wingnuts" - useful on a temporary basis, and easy to remove when no longer needed.

Where do you fit in?

As written, the answer is "yes". If you mean "can a person with a Masters degree be as qualified to diagnose autism as someone with a PhD", the answer is also "yes".

I don't know. She is a registered psychologist though.

Thank you for asking my technically-unasked question. I was wondering that latter response as well, but did not ask it. Puts me at ease because I've already had a rotten time at this and I cannot afford to pick the wrong person a second time.

Ahhh that explains your approach in requiring evidence based data re: ghosts and UFOs. before offering a response.

Anyway....myself I've stopped working - previous employment - Project manager, Research, planning analyst and research assistant. My professional training was biomed science. If my rune stones are correct I might return to the health industry in a couple of years.

Sometimes experience compensates for education.

IMO, you would be qualifed enough with the correct Masters program. PhD's are things that come up depending on what the supervisor needs to do research in, which can ultimately be - how do you make this stone its thinnest? Answer - stick some duct tape to it and peal off so you get a thin layer of stone (yes this really happened, this was actually someone's PhD). So I think a Masters program is enough as they seem to be targeted to specific things career-wise unless you want to be a researcher, in which case a PhD might come in handy. All a PhD does is prove you can research and write a thesis.

What's needed to effectively diagnose aspergers is a) familiarity with the diagnostic criteria for the condition and b) experience with similarly symptomatic individuals and their diagnoses, and how the diagnostic criteria manifest for them

a) can be acquired by reading, and is certainly within the capabilities of anyone who has acquired an advanced degree
b) can be acquired by working with afflicted individuals

It is, of course, possible to have acquired an advanced degree without any knowledge of or experience of individuals with aspergers. It is possible too to practise as a psychiatrist or a psychologist without needing or acquiring any knowledge of aspergers.

This collection of simple observable facts together demonstrate that neither a Masters or a Doctoral degree is any guarantee of reliability in a diagnostician for aspergers syndrome.