How can I become a rich clinical psychologist?

[mumsy23baby]

Hey,

I earn £43k in HR and I'm looking to level up. I've been in HR for 10 years and going nowhere. I'm thinking either to career change into law and do a TC (if I can - I know v competitive) or clinical psych.

Law is better paid but clinical psych does pay £30k whilst working. Long term I think clin psych js better with kids but I don't know how I'm going to be financially ok in that career?

What would you choose?

Agree with pp - why are you going nowhere in HR when you are far from hitting the ceiling in terms of earnings potential? What will make these other careers different?

A masters in occ psyc would earn you more than clinical. Most high earners go into selection and assessment though which is relatively dull.

HRD would be more in your reach and easy to earn £100k+ but imo it’s one of the worst jobs you can possibly do, extremely difficult. But yes, the pay is good if that’s what you are after.

I know three clinical psychologists doing well financially, one doing a full time nhs job plus a lot of private work, one working for a big tech firm, and one who is responsible for directing nhs psychological services for a large chunk of the uk population.

Two don’t have kids and never stop working, the other has kids old enough to look after themselves, the first two took from leaving school to mid thirties to get there, the other is late forties.

I’m not sure it’s a good choice for finding work life balance and high pay, especially if you can’t drop everything for the next decade.

You can definitely progress more than that in HR

@LookslovelyinSpringtime

I would have thought an actual interest and aptitude in psychology is fairly important, not just an interest in making money.

@LookslovelyinSpringtime

You saved me a post.

I would rather be treated by someone with a vocation not desire to increase their bank balance.

@eggsfor1

Bit of a curve ball. I work in the construction industry. There are so many roles available and the pay is very lucrative.

I started 5 years ago, with an unrelated degree. My pay has doubled in this time and I am now applying for chartership, so I can progress more.

May be something for you to consider if it was just the money you were worried about?

Hi, how did you get into this and what sort of roles should I look for if no previous experience? Thanks :)

@eggsfor1

Bit of a curve ball. I work in the construction industry. There are so many roles available and the pay is very lucrative.

I started 5 years ago, with an unrelated degree. My pay has doubled in this time and I am now applying for chartership, so I can progress more.

May be something for you to consider if it was just the money you were worried about?

Following for more info on the construction curve ball.

@Stellaaaaaaaah

Hi eggsfor1,

What types of jobs are available in construction? Thanks

Aside from project management and engineering, you have things like

Contract formation
Contract administration
Procurement
Document control
IS&T
Accounting and finance
HR
Project controls
Construction Supervisors
Etc…

Clinical psychology is an insanely competitive route, to get a sense of how much have a look at this forum www.clinpsy.org.uk
You would be looking at years of additional study and work experience just to get a shot at an application, with many people applying many years in a row and never getting in. Is there a reason you are thinking of clinical psychology specifically?

Have to agree with everyone else about clin psy I'm afraid. When I was at medical school I had a few friends who had chosen to aim for psychiatry rather than clin psy because it was easier to get into medical school that to get onto the clin psy doctorate. I also have several friends who did the law conversion course, which was pretty easy to get on. It wasn't an easy course but most people passed it and still had a life. They all got training contracts relatively quickly and started at about 40k (in London). Then they spent the next 10 years working a trillion hours a week and now they earn insane amounts of money. They all started in their early 20s and are now having kids in their mid 30s and going part time. Both options are going to be hard work with kids I'm afraid. Don't let that hold you back if these are the paths you want to take, but if your only real motivator is to make more money then you may find the journey doesn't justify the destination.

I'm sure that if you put the amount of time, money and effort into your HR career that you'd need to put into a clinical psychology degree you could do better than your existing salary. There are loads of people in HR earning more than that (and obviously a lot earning less).

Clinical psychology is a long, arduous and competitive road. It doesn’t pay particularly well given the intensity, duration and academic level of training. I agree with those saying it is a vocational rather than a financial decision.

A move into law would make more sense with your HR background but TBH, I’d be building on your HR experience and making a side move into another sector. Maybe add more qualifications/training and progress there.

Law = highly competitive to train & qualify, long hours culture - taking a long time to do something is valued & rewarded but being efficient generally isn't.

Progression is mainly based on bringing in clients not on doing good work. Also still very male dominated above 4/5 yr pqe.

Big firms do pay very well but do you want to work 90+ hour weeks & have absolutely no life?

I would expect career opportunities in HR would be much more accessible than retraining in a legal career.

I've met a number of people who retrained - law being a second career. Many were shocked at the way law firms operate.

What are your barriers to “levelling up” within HR?

To get anywhere near interview stage for a Clinical Psychology Doctorate you need to have had years of relevant experience (which is almost always low-paid/voluntary) and even then, it's extremely competitive. Friends who have completed theirs for 9/10 years ago are now earning £48-£55k, it's not a quick money earner.

@mumsy23baby

Hey,

I earn £43k in HR and I'm looking to level up. I've been in HR for 10 years and going nowhere. I'm thinking either to career change into law and do a TC (if I can - I know v competitive) or clinical psych.

Law is better paid but clinical psych does pay £30k whilst working. Long term I think clin psych js better with kids but I don't know how I'm going to be financially ok in that career?

What would you choose?

Hi all thanks for your replies! I should have mentioned:

• I have a first in my MSc masters and have been volunteering as a mental health support worker for a year now
• I have an English undergrad at a really good uni
• I DO have a real passion and interest to help others but I also have bills to pay
• I've been in HR for 10 years now and I feel at the mercy of HR Managers who promote me based on their own opinion of me

Is your undergrad in English? That’s your first problem there; in order to apply for Clin Psych you need to have GBC at the BPS and you can only get that with either a psych undergrad or an accredited conversion course. Have you thought about mental health nursing? As PP said, that’ll get you to Band 7 just as quickly if not faster.

Why is your manager's opinion of you preventing promotion and progression in your current role?

Moving into an HR Manager role could be your next step. How about in a law firm? Salaries in London are good.

Your choices seem a bit random and not very well though through tbh. How old are you? You mention kids, how old are they? How long have you been at your current firm?

@JennieTheZebra

Is your undergrad in English? That’s your first problem there; in order to apply for Clin Psych you need to have GBC at the BPS and you can only get that with either a psych undergrad or an accredited conversion course. Have you thought about mental health nursing? As PP said, that’ll get you to Band 7 just as quickly if not faster.

I have a masters in psychology with BPS accreditation I also have my CIPD level 7 in HR Not random choices as I work in HR in a law firm and I am working as a mental health volunteer for a charity part time

@Snoopsnoggysnog

Your choices seem a bit random and not very well though through tbh. How old are you? You mention kids, how old are they? How long have you been at your current firm?

they may seem random but I've been 4 years in my role at my current law firm, have interviewed 6 times for another more senior role now. Have great appraisals at my firm (5's in all things) but aren't getting promoted. I'm 31, no kids, a partner but he doesn't support me financially

What was the feedback from the 6 interviews? What do you need to do / what qualification did they say you needed to get promoted?

Have you looked elsewhere?