Psychology is a very new science and has provided a gift to all those who are excellent and passionate about understanding human behavior with a chance to develop and enhance their skills under the mentorship of trained professionals. Psychology professionals have developed a whole industry around this subject and came up with some highest paying career opportunities. If you are a psychology graduate in the USA and are confused about which career option to choose then in this article, we have explored 10 career options for psychology graduates in the USA.

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who has undergone a broad training in mastering the bio-psycho-socio approach for assessment and management of mental illness. Mental illness has become a major issue in the USA and many people are not even able to evaluate whether they are suffering from it or not. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who evaluate the symptoms in the patient and determines whether they are caused due to physical, physical-mental, or mental illness. Being a psychiatrist is the highest paying profession in this field but your grown dependents upon your area of practice, educational background, and experience in this field. The average recorded salary of a psychiatrist in the USA is $216,090 p.a.

Industrial-Organizational Psychologist

Graduates who hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree in psychology can  look up their career as an industrial-organizational psychologist. An industrial-organizational psychologist is required to use their knowledge of psychology to tackle workplace issues, increasing worker’s productivity, selection of appropriate employees for the job, and developing a market research survey. As per the latest authentic data, the average annual salary of a psychologist who is working as an I/O Psychologist can earn an average annual salary in the USA anywhere between $40,000-$149,780 depending on educational qualification and experience.

Neuropsychologist

Neuropsychologists perform their role in an experimental and clinical field of psychology and focus on determining how human behavior influences brain functioning. Professionals in this field of psychology focus on evaluating how the injuries and illnesses of the brain affect human behavior. People who work in this area often assess and perform tests and run brain scans on brain injury and study how the intake of different drugs impact the nervous system. Graduates in the USA holding a bachelor’s degree in neuropsychology are needed to work in this field. However, growth in this field often depends upon educational background and experience, for obtaining higher growth in this career often masters or doctorate is recommended. As per the latest authentic data, the annual salary of a psychologist who is working as a neuropsychologist can earn in the USA anywhere between $40,000-$90,480 depending on educational qualifications and experience.

Clinical Psychologist

Clinical Psychologists are regulated, medical health professionals who use their scientific and theoretical clinical knowledge for understanding and preventing psychologically-based distress and illnesses. They are particularly trained in the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental illness. Every year a large percentage of psychology graduated in the USA plan their career in this path as it provides the highest level of employment in this field. Graduates in the USA required to have a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology and must have passed the state licensing exam to work as a clinical psychologist. As per the latest authentic data, the average annual salary of a psychologist who is working as a clinical psychologist can earn in the USA anywhere between $81,333 depending on educational qualifications and experience.

Engineering Psychologist

Engineering psychologists are hired to synchronize the systems in the organization in such a way that increases the efficiency of employees, their duties are to understand the capabilities and limitations of human behavior and developing and adjusting systems to maximize these abilities and prevent errors. Just as other areas of employment of psychology, the position and employer for which you are working determines your salary. The private sector generally pays more than the government sector. Graduates in the USA with a bachelor’s degree in psychology can apply for the job but higher salaries are offered only to the doctorate levels. As per the latest authentic data, the average annual salary of an Engineering Psychologist who is working as a clinical psychologist in the USA is $79,818 depending on educational qualifications and experience.

Counseling Psychologist

Counseling psychologists have the same job prospects as of that of a clinical psychologist such as offering psychotherapy and mental health treatment. They typically work with clients who all are suffering from mental illness like depression. Though their duties are similar to a clinical psychologist but the deal with less severe cases. Graduates can become a counseling psychologist and can start working for a hospital or can start their own practice but a Ph.D. is generally preferred by the employer. The annual salary in the USA ranges from $20,000-$74,540.

Forensic Psychologist

Forensic Psychologist applies their psychology knowledge in dealing with legal and criminal cases. Forensic Psychology is so heavily intertwined with the legal aspect which requires psychologists to have a proper understanding of the fundamental legal principals, standard legal practice, and standards used by law professionals. Their duties during practice include developing psychological profiles of criminals, dealing with a child custody issue, investigating child abuse, and providing expert testimony. The annual salary in the USA for working as a Forensic Psychologist ranges from $15,000-$76,440.

School Psychologist

Most of the schools in the USA hire a school psychologist to diagnose and treat behavior and learning problems in children by working within the school system. They fulfill their duties by working with other professionals like teachers and doctors as well as parents to help the kids overcome behavioral and academic problems. Graduates who hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology along with skills to softly handle children’s behavior can apply for the position of a school psychologist. As per the latest authentic data, the annual salary of a school psychologist who is working as a clinical psychologist in the USA is anywhere between $26,560-$85,621 depending on educational qualifications and experience.

Sports Psychologist

Sports Psychologists work with the team to engulf in them motivational and teamwork spirit. They study every player behavioral pattern and evaluates what psychological factors are affecting their performance, based on their evaluation they teach them cognitive and behavioral strategies to players that improve their experience and performance in sports. Graduates in the USA who hold a bachelor’s degree in sports psychology or related areas such as clinical or counseling psychology can apply for the job. The annual salary in the USA for working as a Sports Psychologist ranges from $20,000-$70,000.

Legal Psychologist

Legal psychology is particularly related to criminal psychology and is very recently separated from it to be considered as a separate branch of psychology. The legal psychologist uses their psychological knowledge in the issues related to the legal system such as eyewitness memory, jury decision-making, investigation, and decision making. As per the latest authentic data, the annual salary of a Legal Psychologist who is working as a clinical psychologist in the USA is anywhere between $26,000-$90,000 depending on educational qualifications and experience.