What Are the Conditions and Atmosphere for Psychologists?

Have you ever considered a career as a psychologist but wondered what an average day looks like for one or wanted some insider knowledge into the typical working conditions? Like many professionals who only work with one patient an hour, the day is a lot less hectic than say, a general practitioner or nurse who works with several patients an hour. Psychologists can be found in many different environments, so there is no shortage of locations.

Working Hours

• Psychologists are often subjected to working hours outside the normal nine to five because they must serve the client’s needs, which do not always fall within customary Monday through Friday business hours. Psychologists regularly work nights, weekends and on-call for emergencies. Their schedules are similar to that of doctors because, like doctors, they are dealing with human beings that do not schedule their emergencies around normal business hours.

Office Environment

• Psychologists can own a private practice with their own office and reception desk, or they can work with a group of doctors in the same building. Common pairings are psychologists with social workers, counselors, psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses. The office space itself is generally professional and elegant, often soothing and calming and almost always packed with information packets and leaflets for patients to peruse. When the doctor is finished with one client, she can take a few minutes to wrap up notes before seeing the next client without rushing.

Patients and Work Stress

• It is true that many psychologists have highly stressful but extremely rewarding careers. It can be difficult to watch patients sobbing with grief or acting out of intense anger. Psychologists need to keep safe and professional emotional distance from their patients to objectively help them. Becoming too involved can cloud a doctor’s vision. You often hear that psychologists have their own psychologists. This is common in the helping professions to prevent burn out.

The Average Salary

• The pay range for psychologists depends on location, expertise and whether they participate with insurance companies. It also depends on how much or little the doctor works since they have the capability to set their own hours. That is one perk that they enjoy if they are self-employed. It is not uncommon to see psychologists making from $63,351 to $100,714 per year, depending on education, location and specialty.

Areas Where Psychologists Can Be Found

• Psychologists can be found in a broad section of business and society. They appear to have a niche almost everywhere. They can be found in schools and scientific research labs, businesses, hospitals, clinics, correctional facilities, law enforcement, government and the military.