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Assistant professor of psychology job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected assistant professor of psychology job growth rate is 12% from 2018-2028.
About 159,400 new jobs for assistant professors of psychology are projected over the next decade.
Assistant professor of psychology salaries have increased 7% for assistant professors of psychology in the last 5 years.
There are over 4,474 assistant professors of psychology currently employed in the United States.
There are 34,702 active assistant professor of psychology job openings in the US.
The average assistant professor of psychology salary is $63,645.
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 4,474 | 0.00% |
| 2020 | 4,531 | 0.00% |
| 2019 | 4,650 | 0.00% |
| 2018 | 4,669 | 0.00% |
| 2017 | 4,602 | 0.00% |
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $63,645 | $30.60 | +2.0% |
| 2024 | $62,375 | $29.99 | --0.1% |
| 2023 | $62,449 | $30.02 | +4.0% |
| 2022 | $60,055 | $28.87 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | $59,542 | $28.63 | +4.1% |
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 112 | 16% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 62 | 10% |
| 3 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 143 | 8% |
| 4 | Alaska | 739,795 | 56 | 8% |
| 5 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 400 | 7% |
| 6 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 505 | 6% |
| 7 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 242 | 6% |
| 8 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 113 | 6% |
| 9 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 54 | 6% |
| 10 | New York | 19,849,399 | 1,042 | 5% |
| 11 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 375 | 5% |
| 12 | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 219 | 5% |
| 13 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 143 | 5% |
| 14 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 138 | 5% |
| 15 | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 554 | 4% |
| 16 | Louisiana | 4,684,333 | 203 | 4% |
| 17 | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 191 | 4% |
| 18 | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 130 | 4% |
| 19 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 47 | 4% |
| 20 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 47 | 4% |
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newark | 3 | 9% | $78,337 |
| 2 | Washington | 33 | 5% | $77,251 |
| 3 | North Andover | 1 | 4% | $66,275 |
| 4 | Bowling Green | 2 | 3% | $50,218 |
| 5 | Fairfield | 1 | 2% | $79,384 |
| 6 | Anchorage | 3 | 1% | $62,267 |
| 7 | Fort Collins | 1 | 1% | $50,747 |
| 8 | Portland | 1 | 1% | $61,413 |
| 9 | Chicago | 2 | 0% | $71,063 |
| 10 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $64,105 |
| 11 | Boston | 1 | 0% | $66,752 |
| 12 | Des Moines | 1 | 0% | $64,607 |
| 13 | Glendale | 1 | 0% | $62,635 |
| 14 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $69,900 |
| 15 | New York | 1 | 0% | $79,162 |
| 16 | San Jose | 1 | 0% | $94,534 |
Tiffin University
Kean University
North Carolina State University
University of Maine
College of the Marshall Islands
Skidmore College
Ashford University
University of South Florida

Mansfield University

Indiana University Kokomo
Gannon University

California State University, Fullerton

Fayetteville State University

University of Manchester
Bluefield College
University of Kansas

Kent State University

Skidmore College
Alex Holte PhD: My advice for someone new to the field of academia is to learn time management skills early and learn what type of service work you find interesting and would like to contribute to. From there, learn how to say “no” to opportunities that may not align with your goals as well. I feel a lot of new professors tend to find the need to be involved in everything, which can result in burning out later in their career.
Alex Holte PhD: When you are starting out at any career, it is important to negotiate your salary. Many candidates feel that they have to accept their first offer, but in reality, at many jobs, there is some room for negotiation. Be mindful however, to not request a salary that is much higher than what is being offered as they may feel like a compromise would not be possible and move on to the next candidate.
Tiffin University
Visual And Performing Arts
Dr. Stephanie Opfer: Flexibility and adaptability will be the biggest skills instructors will need. The state of higher education is changing, and the 'ivory tower' is going away. Colleges and universities are starting to focus more on career-oriented programs, which include practical and application skill sets. In order to stay relevant, the focus of humanities classes like art and film should be on teaching students analysis, synthesis, and other critical-thinking skills. The content becomes less important and becomes only the vehicle for teaching these skills.
Mia Fiore Ph.D.: First, I would tell all students that it is VERY different from teaching k-12. Unlike K-12, you are not placed in a school with a teaching job upon graduation; teaching in higher education is one of the most competitive fields, period. The next difference is that you are expected to be an expert/ master of your field. If you're also willing to accept that you will likely have to work as an adjunct professor (for low pay) first, then go for it! Teaching in higher education is the most rewarding job, especially for people who love learning.
Mia Fiore Ph.D.: Awareness and familiarity with technology has become more important, and it will continue to be more important in the next 3-5 years. With everything from peer-reviewed journals available online, to AI, technology is an important part of higher education.
Jane Kuandre: Some essential skills for success in academia include critical thinking, effective communication, time management, and the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.
University of Maine
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, And Group Studies
Dr. Elizabeth Neiman: I can reflect better on how I'd guide students to think about the work they do at UMaine in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies so as to prepare for potential careers.
Alexander Velasquez: I think everyone should look into their career fields and find out what it is that makes you more valuable in that field. Are there any certifications that you can get? What is it that you need to know or learn that companies will find valuable? Much can be learned online, so pick up as many of those skills as you can, and make sure they're on your resume or CV. I believe all those things could maximize salary potential, especially when starting out.
Skidmore College
Romance Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
Aurelie Matheron: Do some research online about how much someone earns at your stage of the career. If there is a significant gap, point out (diplomatically) that, because of your extensive experience in XYZ, you would like to get a X% increase in your salary. Be reasonable: if you want a 3% increase, ask for 5% (not 10% or more). Justify your negotiation: why should they pay me more? What experience can I show them to justify my request? If you have a higher offer from another place, you can say that “I have received another generous offer and would like to know about the possibility for matching that offer.” Salary is not the only thing you can negotiate: office space, computer/laptop, sabbaticals, course release, etc. Again, be reasonable: if you think you are entitled to XYZ requests, you also have to show why.
Ashford University
History
Fabio Lanza: I tell them not to expect that they can achieve the same, old-style academic career (like mine, for example). A tenure-track job in a research university to be clear. Those jobs exist but they are becoming rarer and rarer. I also tell them that if they forecast incurring in serious (or even non-serious) debt in order to get a PhD, they should not do it. They should not pursue that path at all. In the program, they should take all the chances they have to learn new skills, including skills that don't seem directly related to an academic career.
Fabio Lanza: To put it bluntly, if you want to make money, this is really not the career for you.
Fabio Lanza: Difficult to say, given how quickly things change. Digital humanities was and still is fashionable and important. Public history (museum, exhibitions, outreach). And teaching.
Lee Braver: Colleges and universities fall into different categories which value different skills and accomplishments. The most obvious division is between schools that emphasize research and those that pride themselves on their teaching. Research institutions are looking for scholars who can publish a lot in exclusive journals and presses, thereby enhancing their reputation. They are looking for evidence of research skills: publications, awards, letters of recommendation that praise the candidate's writing and thinking. Teaching schools, on the other hand, are looking for excellent teachers. In the buyer's market we now have, they can require high research ability as well, but some will actually be scared off by too much research. They will worry that the candidate will focus on their research instead of their teaching and that they will seek to leave as soon as they can. These schools are typically looking for teaching experience, high student evaluations, and letters that single out these qualities for praise, whereas research schools typically don't care a lot about these sorts of things. Thus, the qualities one type of institution values, the other can be apathetic towards or even avoid. Teaching schools far outnumber research schools, so there are far more jobs in the former than in the latter.
Lee Braver: Soft skills are most important to working once one has gotten a job rather than important to getting a job since those are quite difficult to discern from applications and brief interviews. That is one of the reasons schools can be wary of hiring with tenure; a person could look great on paper but be a nightmare to work with, and you're stuck with them.
I believe that tenacity, organizational skills and time management, and the ability to work long hours are crucial to getting tenure and succeeding in academia more broadly, in some ways more important than raw intelligence (if such a notion is coherent). Failure and rejection are endemic to the job; anyone who gets discouraged easily will do so. One must persevere in the face of sometimes harsh criticism and hostile conditions (especially now that much of the country has turned against higher education and the humanities in particular), and one must be able to juggle multiple responsibilities that make considerable time demands. In this, the tenure track resembles other early-career positions, such as medical residency or working towards partnership in a law firm. The untenured often must do the scut work that no one else wants to do, made more difficult by the fact that they are frantically trying to learn on the job with little to no guidance. It is not at all unusual for early-career professors to teach 4 classes per semester, at least some of which are new and/or large, do all the grading for them, serve on multiple committees, and write for elusive publications, all at once.
Lee Braver: Well, a Ph.D. is necessary, although one can sometimes be hired within striking distance of it. The ability to teach so as to bring students to the major and get high student evaluations are often requirements at teaching schools while writing well enough to publish, often in journals with single-digit acceptance rates, is crucial to research schools. Comfort with technology is becoming more and more important.
Lee Braver: Let's see-an M.B.A., the ability to pick winning lottery numbers, being repelled by the humanities so that one goes into business-those would be pretty useful for making money. No one should go into academia for the money, not just not for wealth but even for a comfortable living, which is becoming more difficult to achieve in America in general. It is nearly impossible to make a living as an adjunct professor, which is where the profession is heading. There are many good-paying jobs, but those tend to congregate at the elite schools, the ones that emphasize research the most, and these are the fewest and hardest to get. Worse-paying jobs are also hard to come by, and the competition is just getting stiffer as more Ph.D.'s get dumped into the market each year which is itself accreting all those who did not land jobs in the previous years. At many institutions, raises are minimal since jobs are so hard to come by, and there's little else that rewards a humanities Ph.D. The only way to get a substantial raise is to get a credible offer from another institution and hope that yours wants to keep you enough to overbid them; otherwise, you're stuck, especially after getting tenure, and they know it. That's why tenure is called "golden handcuffs," though I think a better name might be something like velvet handcuffs, given gold's connotation of wealth.

Dr. Nicolle Mayo Ph.D.: Psychology professors should be keeping up-to-date on the latest research and information in their field. To show that they are staying current and have the skills to understand and contribute to their field, there should be several research publications and presentations listed on their resume. These should be current. Familiarity and regularity with statistical software, like SPSS, NVivo, and others also stands out because skills are needed to operate these programs to conduct research. Taking leading positions, like the chair of a committee, shows an instructor can take charge and lead a team of people. The type of committee an instructor leads is another important variable. If they lead a curriculum committee, that is often viewed more impressively than a student group, for example. How effective their leadership is can be further explained through their references. Finally, the number, types, and frequency of courses taught are vital to note. The more experience an instructor has with teaching a course shows expertise. Of course, how effective that instructor is at teaching the course should be taken into consideration. Usually, student evaluations, separate from a resume or CV, can elaborate on this piece. These components represent both the hard and soft skills.

Indiana University Kokomo
Department of Psychology
Brooke Komar: Regarding hiring instructors, our department first ensures the candidates have the appropriate degree in the content area we're most interested in hiring. I can not tell you how many candidate applications we have to wade through who are not qualified from the outset.
Those who have experience teaching use experiential and active teaching methods that engage students, and a strong presence with students in the classroom (during teaching demos) is important. We are a teaching institution, so a strong teaching record is paramount, while new hires are asked to do independent research in partial completion of promotion and tenure requirements. Those candidates who are effective problem solvers, resourceful critical thinkers, and can work collaboratively with others are individuals we'd likely hire.
Candidates who have a strong handle on computer skills and programs common to our profession (SPSS, Microsoft Office, Qualtrix, etc.) will prove to be stronger candidates than those who lack those skills.
At the end of the day, most universities have a defined pay scale associated with the various schools in which a candidate will be teaching. Humanities instructors earn far less than those in business and nursing on our campus. Having skills or certifications that are highly desirable will, at the very least, help candidates to rise to the top of the candidate pool. For example, I am a Board Certified Art Therapist. At the time of my hire, a colleague had just obtained an interdisciplinary grant to examine intersections between fine arts and psychology in treating addictions. So, while the job description didn't note they were looking for an art therapist, my experience, training, and certifications were unique and valuable.
Additionally, I would recommend that new graduates be willing to look outside of the scope of their "ideal" role and consider positions within agencies or companies where growth is possible. There, transferable skills and potential leadership opportunities can be gained. For example, several years before my role as a Lecturer in the psychology department, I worked in private practice. I'd experienced several consecutive losses and knew I wanted to take a break from direct client care for a while. While selling an item on the FB marketplace, I conversed with a gentleman who worked at Cigna Behavioral Health and asked if I was looking to leave private practice and wondered if I would apply to a Care Manager position within his agency. I did, was hired, and spent three years engaging in Utilization Review and Benefits management, consulting on clinical cases from a more academic perspective, applying my skills as a therapist through the lens of benefits management. I would have never in a million years been searching for that role. But, I believe it further prepared me for this teaching position in ways I could not have predicted at that time.
Lucy Parker-Barnes Ph.D.: Many graduates and undergraduates are impacted by the changes that COVID and the post-COVID vaccine world have had on the job market. Particularly, in the mental health field, our students have been impacted by an increase in the clients they need to serve while also being limited due to safety concerns. Additionally, our students endure common existential angst that other students are dealing with during COVID, including isolation due to being home, Zoom fatigue, and the existence of continued ambiguity due to the pandemic.
Lucy Parker-Barnes Ph.D.: For our counseling program, the various certifications and license requirements needed for career seekers include obtaining their National Counselor credential (i.e., by passing the National Counselor Examination), their state licensure, which in Pennsylvania includes the Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) status, among others.
Lucy Parker-Barnes Ph.D.: Students graduating from counseling programs will increase their earning potential through specializing in their practice. For example, various private practice facilities and agencies seek to have various counselors representing folks focused in various areas. One such credential includes the CADC or Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor status. As described earlier, the most efficient way for students to earn more money includes gaining their full certification and licensure (NCC and LPC).

Melinda Blackman Ph.D.: I think that organizations will see that for many positions that their employees can successfully work from home. Many organizations may give up their physical space and turn into virtual workplaces to save money.
Melinda Blackman Ph.D.: Statistical analysis skills are key for organizations that want to evaluate their productivity, the effectiveness of their training programs and look at trends within their company. Also survey development skills are another bonus to have as well as critical thinking skills.
Melinda Blackman Ph.D.: As for faculty/professors' salaries, they have increased moderately over the years with the cost of living.

Whitney Wall Ph.D.: While we have all felt the impact of the pandemic and there will be many enduring impacts yet to be seen, I'm proud of our students' ability to remain on-track academically throughout this past year. Many had to adjust to online learning for the first time while caring for children and other family members and managing their own health and wellness. On top of all this, many of our students work full time. Despite these tremendous barriers, most of our students remained on-track with their degree plans. We've also been able to provide student struggling during the COVID pandemic with additional COVID-specific accommodations to limit the academic impacts. While some enduring impacts related to this year are inevitable, I think our students have demonstrated great resiliency! I also believe that there will be positive enduring outcomes that will come from this year: faculty have increased their knowledge of technical resources, students have become more familiar and confident with online learning (a growing trend prior to the pandemic), and we've certainly all been forced outside of our comfort zones which is where personal growth happens.
Whitney Wall Ph.D.: The field of psychology is broad, which is great, however, any specific training/skills that you can gain/demonstrate within your area of interest can be helpful. Depending on your personal goals, gaining hands-on research experience can be very important and can open doors, especially if you hope to attend graduate school. Internships and/or relevant work experience are also recommended.
Whitney Wall Ph.D.: Psychology majors experience great training in communication, writing, critical thinking, and research, which are great assets to the workforce and are skills that increase earning potential. As with most fields, obtaining a graduate degree also increases earning potential.

Dr. Doron Cohen: It is difficult to say exactly what the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic will be on graduates, but there is likely to be some enduring impact. The good news is that this impact will not necessarily be negative, even if it feels negative at the moment! There are a number of critical skills that the coronavirus pandemic has forced students to develop and which, traditionally, take students many years to acquire. In particular, students have learnt to work flexibly, to adapt to working at home and to develop a range of digital literacy skills and competencies, including managing VPNs, data security, encryption software, Google Docs and collaborative management tools. So from a skill acquisition perspective, students have probably been forced to excel. Another positive to emerge from the pandemic is that many Higher Education Institutions have had to diversify their assessment away from the traditional exam and include more innovative and modern assessment practices, such as blog posts, online presentations and assessed podcasts. So, overall, it's not all negative. That said, many institutions have also made the decision to reduce content and subject knowledge where possible and so employers who require specific knowledge from their incoming applicants may consider some additional in-house training to mitigate any negative effects of reduced content in the curriculum.
Bluefield College
Department of Psychology and Human Services
Dr. Richard Farmer: Yes. Two major changes will be a continuation of remote learning for athletes and those stuck in rooms or at home. This will require new technologies and teaching strategies. Second, this year has opened up a new phase of online learning for us as an institution.
Dr. Richard Farmer: 1. Our New Faith and Mental Health classes.
2. Combination of Graduate and Undergraduate Courses for Seniors and our new MA Programs in Counseling Psychology.
3. Our Addiction course offerings.
Dr. Richard Farmer: Quality internships, practical skills emphasis, combination of psychology and human services, and liscensure in large need areas.
Nancy Ann Hamilton: It is really too soon to tell. Prior to the pandemic there was a large gap between the workforce demand for PhD clinical psychologists (as well as mental health professionals), especially those who work in hospitals, and the number of PhD clinical psychologists being trained. There is little doubt that the pandemic has increased the number of people in need of mental health services. However, funding at all levels has been strained to the breaking point and sadly, mental health care is often treated as a luxury, rather than a necessity. So, it is difficult to know how the tension for need and funding will be resolved.
Nancy Ann Hamilton: Clinical psychologist training follows strict accreditation guidelines from the American Psychological Association. So, all clinical psychologists have competency in a range of skills including delivery of empirically supported treatments for a range of common types of mental illness including depression, anxiety disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc., psychological assessment, and research methodology. Some psychologists, called Health Psychologists, receive additional training that allows us to practice in medical settings in order to work with patients who have mental health needs that interact with their physical health problems. It seems likely that during and post-pandemic these types of skills will be in higher demand.
Nancy Ann Hamilton: Salaries for clinical psychologists have remained rather flat because there are constraints in billing that limit psychological practice.

Christopher Was Ph.D.: It is my sense that this will largely depend on the setting in which our graduates find employment. Large universities are still struggling with maintaining social distance and other safety protocols in order to keep students, faculty, and staff safe and healthy. Smaller colleges are able to maintain face-to-face classes due to smaller class sizes. The greatest, and perhaps most enduring impact, is how we conduct research in experimental psychology. My laboratory has been closed since March of 2020 and all of data has been collecting via online platforms since then. New graduates with advanced degrees in experimental psychology will need to work in these virtual settings to succeed.
Christopher Was Ph.D.: For recent graduates, as well as those of us currently in the field, it is going to mean spending more time working at home, attending virtual meetings, and working with students remotely.
Christopher Was Ph.D.: The technical skills that will stand out are virtual/remote teaching skills and virtual/remoter research skills. Experience teaching online in platforms such as Blackboard and others will be seen as valuable by universities and colleges as more students demand online courses. Also, programming experiments for online platforms will also be highly valued. I am hopeful that university psychology laboratories will continue to reopen as we move out of the pandemic, but being able to reach research participants beyond of the undergraduate subject pool has broadened the generalizability of studies in experimental psychology.

Tillman W. Nechtman Ph.D.: When it comes to skills young graduates need, I will speak specifically to the field of History. It's always been the case that History Majors do well in the job market. Now, to be sure, there is the temptation to limit the scope of what jobs we imagine a historian can do. Career Service Offices sometimes think that History Majors teach, work in libraries, and archives, maybe a museum, and that is about it. The fact is that it's not uncommon to find CEO at Fortune 500 companies who were History Majors as undergraduates.
Presidents. Media personalities. Lawyers. Judges. You name it. History Majors are everywhere, and I think I know the reason. History Majors learn to take lots of data - and we're omnivorous about what we call data - and we synthesize it. We give it two frames. First, we weave it into a narrative form, a story, if you will. Second, we give that narrative analytical meaning. We offer a thesis or an argument about the content we're sharing. Those are vital skills. The ability to walk people through data and to help them understand your analysis of that material. What field wouldn't appreciate that set of capabilities? And, I think that explains why History Majors tend to do so well in a host of fields and professions. I don't foresee that that will change in the future.