Job prospects are strong, and an ever-growing number of Americans
are being exposed to the discipline at all levels of education.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS),
employment for psychologists overall will grow by 19% between 2014 and 2024,
much faster than the 7% average growth predicted for all occupations. In
contrast, employment of psychiatrists is predicted to grow by just 15% and
social workers by only 12%.
Jobs for clinical, counselling and school psychologists are
expected to grow even faster than employment for psychologists overall, with an
expected 20% increase, spurred by the need for services for older people with
aging concerns, veterans with war-related trauma and people with autism, the BLS
says.
In non-health service subfields, employment of
industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists is expected to grow by 19%.
However, I/O psychologists can expect stiff competition, BLS warns, noting the
mismatch between the large number of qualified applicants and the 400 or so new
jobs expected in the field.
Overall, the unemployment rate for psychologists is low. According
to the latest data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), in 2013, the
unemployment rate for psychology research doctorates was 1.6%, lower than the
2.1% for research doctorate recipients in all science and engineering fields
and 1.9% for research doctorate recipients in social science fields.
By Rebecca A. Clay
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