My bright, sensitive, and caring daughter (you could say I'm more than a bit proud of her) called me today to share that she's thinking about pursuing a Master's Degree in School Psychology - and she wanted to know what it pays. Coincidentally, I had planned a blog posting alerting college students and grads to the article "Where the Starting Pay Is Richest".
The article clearly relays that scientific, technical, and mathematically oriented occupations get the nod from employers for higher starting pay. But what about liberal arts grads - like my daughter? Should they give up their dreams of careers that enrich people's lives through education, art, music, social sciences, and so on?
Checking out the Bureau of Labor Statistics information about Psychologists and School Psychologists, I found that the median annual pay for school psychologists in elementary and secondary school (her preferred setting) is $58,000 plus. This is not a starting salary, but can certainly give some perspective on what to expect in initial pay.
The larger issue, it seems to me, has to do with career happiness. If money is the ONLY factor on your radar screen for a "happy" career, then closely scrutinizing the high starting-pay occupations makes sense. But be careful...as the old saying goes, "Money isn't everything".
...the benefits of having a mom that is just as bright, sensitive and caring as me! Thanks for the info...I love you!
Posted by: Kat | January 30, 2007 at 01:17 PM