Child and adolescent psychiatrists are medical doctors who treat patients, from toddlers to adolescents, with mental illness and emotional disorders. They do so by conducting group or individual therapy sessions. Then, they develop treatment plans, which may include psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, hospitalization, and medication. Child and adolescent psychiatrists earn a median annual salary of $230,000 or $110 per hour.
Child and adolescent psychiatrists are professionals who are also qualified, adult psychiatrists. Some child and adolescent psychiatrists may even choose to make adults their primary patients. However, in treating a child or an adolescent, they conduct counseling sessions with the patients and their family members to determine long-term and short-term treatment goals.
Child and adolescent psychiatrists typically hold an undergraduate degree before heading to medical school. After successful completion of the school, they then undergo a residency program to be certified medical doctors. However, they must meet state requirements for licensure, which includes passing the U.S. medical licensing examination.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a child & adolescent psychiatrist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $76.85 an hour? That's $159,838 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 55,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many child & adolescent psychiatrists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, leadership skills and physical stamina.
If you're interested in becoming a child & adolescent psychiatrist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 36.4% of child & adolescent psychiatrists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.4% of child & adolescent psychiatrists have master's degrees. Even though most child & adolescent psychiatrists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a child & adolescent psychiatrist. When we researched the most common majors for a child & adolescent psychiatrist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or doctoral degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on child & adolescent psychiatrist resumes include master's degree degrees or associate degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a child & adolescent psychiatrist. In fact, many child & adolescent psychiatrist jobs require experience in a role such as psychiatrist. Meanwhile, many child & adolescent psychiatrists also have previous career experience in roles such as staff psychiatrist or medical director.