Getting a PhD in clinical psychology and becoming a licensed psychologist is no easy feat. This process typically requires around a decade of postsecondary education: 4 years undergrad, 5-6 years completing the doctoral degree, another year for residency, and then an extra year to complete supervised practice.

A question then floats into many folks’ mind: Is the process worth it (at least financially speaking)?

Yes, yes, of course – we work because the job brings us meaning and helps support humanity. But meaning and supporting our fellow human beings doesn’t pay the bills. Let’s get to brass tacks: How much money can you make as a clinical psychologist?

Of course, the answer is it depends – mostly on where you work as a clinical psychologist. For example, some folks work in a hospital-based setting in a psychologist position. On the other hand, other people go into private practice or an academic setting. Some do a combination of both.

In this post, I go over some of the typical pathways and the general estimates that we might expect to make in each position.

Working in a hospital setting

In Canada, the typical starting rates for hospital setting positions tend to be around 40 to 50 dollars an hour. Assuming a full-time position, this falls somewhere between $80,000 to $100,000 per year.

Depending on your years of experience, skill set, education, and additional roles taken in the hospital, your salary is likely to increase with time. From my limited knowledge, it is less likely for this salary to cross significantly beyond $150,000 without taking on a more substantial role (e.g., senior scientist, clinic head, etc.).

Consequently, the amount you receive in the public health sector is certainly comfortable, though not outlandish by any means. The benefits of working in these settings is that you retain a stable career and all that it confers (e.g., pension, insurance, etc.). However, if you are looking to make spending 10 extra years on further education and training more commensurate to your income, this may not be as lucrative as an option (though you probably should not have gone the PhD route if being rich was your priority).

Working in private practice

Psychological associations in Canada have an ‘ethical guideline’ for how much psychologists should charge. For example, in British Columbia this is about $235 per session. However, some folks I have seen in Ontario, for example, charge between $250 to $300 per session.

Most psychologist usually start by joining a private practice rather than starting their own practice from the get-go. This is to avoid financial overhead, administrative headaches, and needing to market their services to acquire new customers.

As a result, the clinic takes care of the costs of admin and client acquisition. In return, they take a percentage split of your fees. The numbers differ (make sure to negotiate!) but a licensed psychologist should be able to negotiate a ~70/30 split. That is, they take 30, you keep 70.

Let’s do some quick maths. Let’s say you charge $250 per session. A 70% split would mean you make $175 per billable hour. Let’s also say you see 25 clients weekly (you can certainly see more, but most clinicians feel this is the golden zone without feeling burnt out from writing notes and having adequate breaks in between sessions). Accounting for four weeks’ vacation, that would be $175 per session * 25 clinical hours a week * 48 weeks = $210,000.

Not too shabby.

If you see more clients or start your own practice with your own associates, you can probably clear that estimated number by a fairly large margin.

However, it is important to recognize there are a few asterisks to this number. First, you likely won’t start with that many clinical hours. Acquiring and building your case load will take time. Second, there are not going to be the same benefits in private practice as working a salaried job. Finally, hours are flexible – but that can be a good or bad thing (you are more prone to working late, on weekends, or feel isolated). On the other hand, some people find immense freedom in choosing their own hours. To each their own.

Working in academia

Tenure-track professors tend to start off in the high five/low six-figures and then climb their way up as they become Associate and then Full Professors. For some of the particularly esteemed fellows, I see numbers above $200,000.  

Typically, there is a bit of opportunity cost associated with the tenure-track option which makes professorship a less attractive option in and of itself for financial gain. For example, these positions are quite competitive. Therefore, many folks interested in pursuing this option have to work for a few years in a postdoc position to accrue more research experience. Postdocs usually do not pay super well – probably between 50-70k.  

On the other hand, professorships may lend itself well financially too based on leveraging opportunities in this position. For example, being a professor may increase your ability to take on consulting roles, hold training workshops, obtain royalties from (text)books, and/or teach courses.   

Mix-and-Match: Taking on a combination of roles

The nice thing about being a clinical psychologist is that you can take on a multiple of roles at the same time. For example, many psychologists choose to work part-time at a hospital to get some benefits of stability working in the public sector while simultaneously doing private practice on the side. Choose your own adventure!

In sum, psychologists can absolutely make a comfortable living – though this career probably should not be the first-line option if your goal is to make bank. Hopefully, this post was helpful to get a sense of the financial component of an otherwise very enjoyable, flexible, and (personally) meaningful career.

Best wishes,

P

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash