Best Careers 2009: School Psychologist

Reader Comments
Back to article

Nice article, but I disagree with the job outlook. You often heard the counter-intuitive statement that with the rise of RTI, school psychologists will be in even greater demand. The simply fact is that we will be in less demand. The only task we are legally necessary for is IQ testing, which is increasingly irrelevant. It's true that some districts will hold on to school psychologists for help with RTI organization, but as the discrepency model falls (no more IQ testing), I believe districts will hire a variety of people to fill our old role. I am a school psychologist. My advice if you want the benefits listed here and a solid job outlook: get a speech language pathology degree!!

Al of WA 2:12PM February 02, 2012

Great job if you have patience. I receive great pay and have summers off. :) And job openings are going to increase. More and more kids have issues and need help. Psychologist are in demand!

Alyssa of PA 1:35AM January 27, 2012

Hi and thank you all in advance for your comments. I am a 4th year doctoral student in a non-APA accredited school psych program. Lately, I've become extremely discouraged after searching for an internship. I've applied to 10 APA-accredited sites through APPIC and haven't been invited to any interviews. I'm applying to non-APA accredited sites now and trying to stay hopeful, but this process is very stressful. I am the first in my family to attend college, and I am very tired. I just don't have much left in me. I'm also beginning to feel like my practicum training isn't competitive with that of students from other programs, as I've mainly trained in clinical settings not schools. I would appreciate any advice regarding the internship search and interview process please. I'm so tired and discouraged right now. I would also appreciate any information on open internship positions for next school year (2012-2013). Thank you all so much!

HOPE of AK 10:35PM January 25, 2012

Nice article & very encouraging! The roles of the sch psych job will be very different per district. State, and etc. For those looking into the profession, I would recommend viewing the NASP web site; as well as contacting 2 to 3 school psych's who are currently in practice. It will be helpful to talk with a sch psych working in a large metro district; a sch psych working in a small rural or mid-size district; and a PhD level sch psych in an academic or supervisory role. Preferably, chat with a psych in the state that you wish to live in. For grad sch & training, search the NASP web site & your state sch psych web site. Best of luck to you! The work is very demanding, with at times high stress; but the rewards are seeing that you have been a part of helping a child head into a wonderful direction: and that the child & family may now have some hope. ;) Rhonda Palmquist, school psychologist since 1986, Yakima Public Schools

Rhonda Palmquist, MSE, school psychologidt of WA 12:59PM January 01, 2012

Not a realistic account of my day-to-day life as a school psychologist. Definitely not a stress free job (especially when you are telling parents for the first time that their child is disabled or you have children with such difficult life circumstances). As far as reports go, an average is 10-20 pages. Before jumping into the profession, try to talk to a psychologist in the state you want to work in, since it varies across state lines.

Kristen of GA 1:00PM October 20, 2011

I think that being a school psychology is hard work because some people get attached to there students and you want to do your best for them. It hards with parents thinking that your not trying when your giving it your all. Then with the school board not wanting to spend a lot of money on one student it's hard to hold your tongue when you know there not putting the students first.

skyye of SC 2:53PM September 23, 2011

I am going to graduate with a MA in experimental psychology this May and I am thinking about going into school psychology. Right now I live in CO but I plan to settle down in WA state, which is where I am from. I wanted to know what people's experiences were with the daily work of school psychology in WA, the job outlook, and whether one type of degree is better than the other there. Also, does anyone have advice on how to get experience to gain acceptance in a school psychology program?

Michelle of CO 4:18PM August 26, 2011

Please note that you need to remain especially strong in school psychology: Ombudsman!
Your professors may not be as smart, considerate, or caring as you'd like them to be.
You cohort and professors might be full of cliques, racism/sexism, etc. or they could be wonderful.
We started off with 12 people in our cohort. Since the beginning of fall 2010/Each semester, we have had at least one person fail out of the program or have to wait for the next time a class is offered due to the Assessment class sequence (Fall-Cognitive, Spring-Achievement, Summer-Socioemotional/Behavioral Assessment).
Assessment is the class that takes up most of everyone's time and causes frustration...accurately reading, administering, and scoring a protocol/test is not as easy as it appears.
Our program is small and we have 4-6 main professors so the core classes we need are only available at our school once a year.
Good luck!

Allison of GA 8:01PM July 27, 2011

What worries me about school psychology?
1) People don't know what we do.
2) Our reports can get too technical so teachers and parents don't know what they're about and can't use the recommendations in them. If we can't make better reports...we don't appear productive and we aren't productive. Also, I turned in a report last week that was 16 pages (single spaced) on a student with emotional issues where I tested the student using six test kits/measures/instruments and that was just for class. You usually need more than 6 measures. A 3 page report is a single spaced records review for RTI!
3) Will there be any jobs for the new graduates colleges keep pumping out? Is anyone retiring?
4) Your program needs to be good (has classes on multicultural competence and networking) and you need to be good at understanding and explaining your testing methods and test psychometrics in SST meetings in front of 5-20 people...hope you never get sued (it is rare)!
5) Like almost anything else, it's easy to fake or massage some test results to make them look like anything you want them to be (Specific Learning Disability/SLD, Significant Developmental Delay/SDD, Autism/AUT, etc.)...are you ethical enough to avoid doing this?
6) School psychology appears to be a very conservative profession and it's very political in terms of who likes/hates you, who get hired, etc...this is what's the problem at any job in the world.
7) With problem solving/RTI (response to intervention), school psychology is going through a paradigm shift (from just wait to fail and test and place in special education to preventative services for all students)...in order to be truly effective and employable, we need to work with general and special education....also we spend very little time with kids. Through intervention, we provide indirect services to kids and direct services are usually counseling services.
8) This is not a career for grumpy people or people who appear grumpy...they always want to see a smile on your face (even if they are the ones who make you miserable)...the program and the field can be VERY JUDGMENTAL...I wonder where else we practice that?

Allison of GA 7:59PM July 27, 2011

I am a current school psychology graduate student (Ed. S program) in a major southern city. I just finished my first year of the program, and I will start practicum in the fall. School just ended for summer break two days ago...yes, did I mention the course load for school psychology is heavy and we have (2-3) summer classes?
I am currently looking for a graduate assistantship (GA) or research position to pay my tuition and monthly stipend for the 2011-2012 school year...I had a GA last year (yes, less debt...but it did not pay much so I still needed loans and it was 20 hours per week on top of the 4 classes of 8-15 hours per week). When you get into a school psychology program that has paid positions, be strategic about where you work so you can make sure you can keep working there and not have to keep looking for a new position each year. Right now, I am wondering if I should just get more student loans because I have 5 classes in the fall, and I will be working for free for 20 hours per week in the schools for practicum.
I am also looking for a paid internship for the 2012-2013 school year. I am willing to go almost anywhere (Alaska, Pennsylvania, Florida), but I would like to go someplace that will hire me after I complete the internship. If anyone has any paid internship suggestions (specific schools, counties, states) please post them. Networking information would be helpful as well.
Whoever got into school psychology back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's and got a Ph.D and is teaching at the university level and has the option for research and private practice are probably very happy right now. They may have university jobs, and get employed by places like Riverside publishing to do presentations to other people in various fields about different test kits:
Cognitive ("IQ" Tests): WISC-IV, KBIT, WJ-Cog, etc.
Achievement Tests: WIAT-III, KTEA, WJ-Ach, etc.
Socioemotional Tests: Roberts-2, HTP, KFD, Conners-3, BASC, etc.
In general, I find people (including counselors and other psychologists) do not know what school psychologists do. I once had a TA and a Ph. D counselor say school psychologists cannot do counseling! Sometimes I feel like counselors get upset about the amount our roles can overlap. True, counselors get more training in counseling...but you can end up doing you fair share of counseling (group/individual counseling, play therapy, etc.) depending on where you work as a school psychologist. I have always wondered whether or not schools are required to have or prefer a school counselor over a school psychologist.

Allison of GA 7:57PM July 27, 2011