Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between child psychologists and child psychiatrists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a child psychologist, becoming a child psychiatrist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a child psychiatrist has an average salary of $249,711, which is higher than the $78,743 average annual salary of a child psychologist.
The top three skills for a child psychologist include autism, mental health and family therapy. The most important skills for a child psychiatrist are adolescent psychiatry, psychopharmacology, and mental health.
| Child Psychologist | Child Psychiatrist | |
| Yearly salary | $78,743 | $249,711 |
| Hourly rate | $37.86 | $120.05 |
| Growth rate | 14% | 7% |
| Number of jobs | 22,815 | 38,047 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 43 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 6 |
Child Psychologists evaluate and treat adolescents and children. They help children to cope with stresses such as school or family transitions, deaths, and divorces. Their clients may include children with different developmental issues, from learning disabilities to severe mental illness. A partial list of problems they treat has autism, obsessive-compulsive order, attention deficit disorder, adjustment disorder, and phobias. Their job is to endorse the best diagnosis to a complex set of symptoms presented. Moreover, a Clinical Child Psychologist is considered a health service provider.
A child psychiatrist specializes in diagnosing and treating behavioral and psychological issues of children. They develop treatment plans through various assessments and examinations, prescribing medication as needed. Their responsibilities include conducting therapies in an individual or group setting, coordinating with parents and guardians to keep them updated on all procedures and progress, providing consultations for social services and court proceedings, and helping families cope and understand the patient's situation. Furthermore, as a child therapist, it is essential to build rapport with patients, making them feel comfortable every step of the way.
Child psychologists and child psychiatrists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Child Psychologist | Child Psychiatrist | |
| Average salary | $78,743 | $249,711 |
| Salary range | Between $54,000 And $114,000 | Between $152,000 And $408,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Naperville, IL |
| Highest paying state | - | Alaska |
| Best paying company | - | OSF HealthCare |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a child psychologist and a child psychiatrist in terms of educational background:
| Child Psychologist | Child Psychiatrist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Medicine |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Columbia University in the City of New York |
Here are the differences between child psychologists' and child psychiatrists' demographics:
| Child Psychologist | Child Psychiatrist | |
| Average age | 43 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5% | Male, 48.8% Female, 51.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 2.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 19.4% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |