Fees range widely for psychologists who are working outside the clinical world. Fees are often charged on a per-day rather than per-hour basis. It is not usual for an esteemed organizational psychologist to charge $1,000 to $2,000 per day for their services. These fees, of course, are being paid by an organization rather than an individual client—hence can be much higher.
The fees for those doing psychological assessments typically range between $125-200. However, a full assessment process can cost $1,500 to $5000. A neurodiagnostic battery of tests (often provided in conjunction with a medical assessment of brain damage) can range between $500 and $1,500. These tests are often given as part of a broader assessment involving brain scanning and other medical tests, thereby driving the total costs of the neurological assessment much higher.
What about those without a doctorate? Clinical fees might begin below the $100 threshold and rarely raise higher than $150 per hour. As I have noted, those doing assessments typically must have a doctorate (especially those doing neurological assessments). Those working outside the clinical field who have a Bachelors or Masters Degree will rarely find work as a psychologist in an organizational setting. Those with MBA degrees are preferred. Other practitioners without a doctorate may get a job working in a specialized field (such as art or occupational therapy). They typically are in a salaried position within an organization (such as a mental hospital or rehabilitation setting).
One additional sector must be considered regarding the work done by psychologists. They might be employed in an educational setting. School psychologists earn an average of $75,000 per year. Faculty members with earned doctorates earn the same amount as most other faculty—the range being quite wide ($50,000 to $185,000), with an average of $103,000 in 2024. The salary of school psychologists and faculty members without a doctorate will be at the lower end of the scale. This is one sector in which there are some advantages associated with moving into an administrative position (especially for those without a doctorate). While salaries for school administrators are not much higher than for those teaching in their schools, college and university administrators tend to start at $100,000 and rise to as much as $200,000. The average administrative salary is around $135,000 per year.
Gender
Finally, there is one disturbing factor regarding the conferring of Respect on someone with a doctorate in psychology. There is often a differing engagement of respect associated with gender. Women are more likely to make use of their doctoral title than are men. I rarely use my title when interacting with other people in a professional setting, whereas my female colleagues frequently make use of their doctoral title. Sadly, women often must document their academic achievements—the assumption being that they are not as “well educated” as men. This difference also tends to show up in the use of degree and license related initially following their name. There is more often a display of initials following the name of a psychologist who is a woman than is to be found with men. Hopefully, this discriminatory difference in the use of degree titles is fading away.
