Employment of Psychologists

How many psychologists are there? Where do these professional work? Learn more about the employment of psychologists in these statistics from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Employment Statistics

• Psychologists held about 179,000 jobs in 2004.
• About 4 out of 10 psychologists were self-employed in 2004, compared with less than 1 out of 10 among all professional workers.

Who Employs Psychologists?

• Educational institutions employed about 1 out of 4 psychologists in positions other than teaching, such as counseling, testing, research, and administration.
• Almost 2 out of 10 were employed in health care, primarily in offices of mental health practitioners, physicians, outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers, and private hospitals.
• Government agencies at the State and local levels employed psychologists in public hospitals, clinics, correctional facilities, and other settings.
• After several years of experience, some psychologists--usually those with doctoral degrees--enter private practice or set up private research or consulting firms.
• In addition to the previously mentioned jobs, many psychologists held faculty positions at colleges and universities and as high school psychology teachers.

Psychologists are also employed in a number of other areas not specifically mentioned in the Occupational Outlook Handbook. A number of psychologists work in research positions in various subfields of psychology. Some additional areas of employment include positions in industrial-organizational psychology and human-factors psychology. Other psychologists work in business as managers, consultants, and marketing research. Religious organizations also employ some psychologists.

Further Reading

Subfields of Psychology
Areas of Psychology - Divisions of the APA
Career Options with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology
Career Options with a Graduate Degree in Psychology

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Psychologists, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm