How Much Does a Psychiatrist Make?
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If you've found yourself on a page about how much psychiatrist's make, you may be entertaining the thought of becoming one in the future. This article takes an in-depth look at what job growth and salaries of psychiatrists will look like for the coming years.
Psychiatrists play a critical role in mental healthcare by diagnosing and treating mental disorders. After completing medical school and a residency program, psychiatrists are typically found working in hospitals and private practices.
If you’re considering a career in healthcare, psychiatry can be a very attractive option due to the very high salaries and above-average growth rate over the coming decade.
How Much Do Psychiatrists Make?
How much a psychiatrists can make via salary can vary depending on the location of the job, corporate vs. private practice, experience of the individual, and demand for psychiatrists. Use the table at the end of this article to find out whether your state, or the state you eventually want to work in, pays its psychiatrists above or below the national average.
As represented in the graph below, psychiatrists can expect to earn a median hourly wage of $99.55, or $207,067 per year:
Return on Investment
Psychiatrists must complete medical school, a residency program, possibly a fellowship, and the required licensing and certifications to practice in a given state. All of this can add up to be quite costly. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the median medical education debt for recent graduates was $180,000!
Adding in forbearance during residency and extended afterward, you could end up paying $480,000 for all of your professional training. This does not include any of the other costs involved in practicing psychiatry, like maintaining licensure and certifications.
But is it still worth it? In all likelihood, yes! If you have what it takes and are willing to bet on your own success, becoming a licensed psychiatrist is still very rewarding and a worthwhile career choice. Although those numbers seem high, the salaries paid to psychiatry professionals make the debt very manageable.
Best States for Psychiatrist Salaries
A major factor in determining what your salary may look like is the location in which you plan to work. However, this principle applies to nearly all occupations largely due to the varying cost-of-living rates across the country.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects salary and employment data for nearly all positions, nationwide. The following table includes all data compiled from the BLS from each state including total number of jobs and wages as of May 2016.
Search or sort the table to find out what you can expect to make if psychiatry is in your future:
*Location quotients serve as a statistical representation of the concentration of a resource, like jobs, with a broader base area.