In this time of economic turmoil, financial uncertainty, and especially the stress and questions involved in my postgraduate training, hope was sent to me via an email from one of my cohorts in the program. The email contained an article recently published by U.S. News & World Report newsmagazine. It listed the best 30 careers for 2009. Here are a few snippets:
The first is an example of a day in the life of a school psychologist, in case you are wondering what I am going to school for.
A Day in the Life . A teacher wants Johnny placed in a special-education class, so you make a classroom observation. You see something different, however. If the teacher provided some individualized instruction for Johnny, he probably wouldn't need special ed. The teacher isn't pleased with that assessment, but you have the final say. Next, you test another child's eligibility for special education. This time, you administer an intelligence test, an achievement battery, learning disability diagnostic tests, and personality instruments, and write the results and recommendations in a three-page, single-spaced report. The most stressful part of your day is a meeting to agree on the annual individualized education plan for a severely disabled child—most of the time, he rocks back and forth. The parent and teacher demand more services for the child, while the principal argues they're not cost effective. You facilitate the decision-making. Next, you and a teacher show a parent how to help her dyslexic child improve his reading while coping with his "depression" about it. The final activity of the day is illuminating: your weekly Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll discussion group with seventh graders.
The second is the estimated salary...might seem a little off-beat that I'm posting that information, but can you blame me for considering it an important part of the career these days?
Salary Data
Median (with eight years in the field): $60,700
25th to 75th percentile (with eight or more years of experience): $53,700-$80,100
An overview of my future career and why it was chosen:
Overview. The job outlook for school psychologists should be strong. Many are reaching retirement age. Plus, parents of children with special needs are increasingly emboldened—and often armed with lawyers threatening to sue school districts if desired services are not provided. In addition, the media are focusing on many of the problems school psychologists deal with: autism, school violence, bullying, and Ritalin prescriptions for active boys.
Not only is the job outlook good, so are the working conditions. You are likely to follow the school schedule and work just nine months of the year. Status and job security are high, and the stress manageable. And school psychologists often get to do such rewarding tasks as conducting parenting workshops, counseling teachers and parents, and screening kids for gifted-student programs. Most school psychologists spend more time assessing students for special education, writing individualized education plans, and persuading parents and teachers to sign off on them.
To read more, go to http://tinyurl.com/5q86v3.
Source: Nemko, M. (2008). Best careers 2009: school psychologist. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 12, 2008, from http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2008/12/11/best-careers-2009-school-psychologist.html
2 comments:
Hi.
I'm a school psychologist- we work 10 months in North Carolina. During the summer weeks, many of us attend workshops and participate in other continuing education activities.
Some of us work 11 and 12 month contracts. There continues to be quite a bit of paperwork- a good number of my reports are pretty long, because many of the students I evaluate are quite complex.
Hi Lynn! Thanks for your comment - it's always great to have realistic expectations! I would guess that summer would be one time when you would have enough time to actually get continuing education credits.
For those school psychologists who have 11 or 12 month contracts - what other things might they do over the summer?
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