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School Psychologists

US occupation · SOC 19-3034

Job titles people report: Autism Consultant, Bilingual School Psychologist, Challenging Behavior Consultant, Early Intervention School Psychologist, Educational Diagnostician, School Neuropsychologist, School Psychometrist

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025
$95,990
Half earn more, half earn less
Middle half earn
$77,470 – $120,310
25th to 75th percentile
People employed, May 2025
63,940
Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
Projected change, 2025–35
+0.8%
Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)
Openings a year (projected)
3,400
New jobs plus replacing people who leave
Typical education to enter
Master's degree
BLS
  • All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
  • Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
  • Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Diagnose and implement individual or schoolwide interventions or strategies to address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues that adversely impact educational functioning in a school. May address student learning and behavioral problems and counsel students or families. May design and implement performance plans, and evaluate performance. May consult with other school-based personnel.

Main tasks

  • Report any pertinent information to the proper authorities in cases of child endangerment, neglect, or abuse.
  • Interpret test results and prepare psychological reports for teachers, administrators, and parents.
  • Maintain student records, including special education reports, confidential records, records of services provided, and behavioral data.
  • Compile and interpret students' test results, along with information from teachers and parents, to diagnose conditions and to help assess eligibility for special services.
  • Collaborate with other educational professionals to develop teaching strategies and school programs.
  • Select, administer, and score psychological tests.
  • Assess an individual child's needs, limitations, and potential, using observation, review of school records, and consultation with parents and school personnel.
  • Collect and analyze data to evaluate the effectiveness of academic programs and other services, such as behavioral management systems.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)
Master's degree
Training once hired: internship/residency
O*NET Job Zone 5
Extensive preparation
Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Interests it suits

The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.

  • Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
  • Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
  • Conventional: organising information, records and procedures

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Psychology

  • School Psychology
  • Educational Psychology

Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Psychology at the Major step.

Where many students take psychology

Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

← All careers

Sources

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0

Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.

Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk