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Psychology Professor

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Life As a Psychology Professor

Example of Psychology Professor Job Teach courses in psychology, such as child, clinical, and developmental psychology, and psychological counseling. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What Do Psychology Professors Do On a Daily Basis?

  • Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues.
  • Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
  • Develop and use multimedia course materials and other current technology, such as online courses.
  • Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Provide professional consulting services to government or industry.

Skills Needed to be a Psychology Professor

When polled, Psychology Professors say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Types of Psychology Professor Jobs

  • Psychology Faculty Member
  • College or University Faculty Member
  • Mental Measurements Teacher
  • Instructor
  • Applied Psychology Professor

Psychology Professor Employment Estimates

There were about 46,900 jobs for Psychology Professor in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 15.1% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 7,100 new jobs for Psychology Professor by 2026. The BLS estimates 4,500 yearly job openings in this field.

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The states with the most job growth for Psychology Professor are Utah, Colorado, and Missouri. Watch out if you plan on working in Wyoming, North Dakota, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Psychology Professor Salary

The typical yearly salary for Psychology Professors is somewhere between $39,350 and $155,710.

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Psychology Professors who work in California, District of Columbia, or Connecticut, make the highest salaries.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Psychology Professors in different U.S. states.

State Annual Mean Salary
Alabama $68,660
Alaska $59,200
Arkansas $64,360
California $117,990
Colorado $68,010
Connecticut $88,070
District of Columbia $109,060
Florida $77,810
Georgia $75,850
Hawaii $65,850
Idaho $88,970
Illinois $87,880
Indiana $85,580
Iowa $92,430
Kansas $81,530
Kentucky $67,960
Maine $73,000
Maryland $87,850
Massachusetts $97,690
Michigan $92,000
Minnesota $86,380
Mississippi $71,880
Missouri $83,520
Nebraska $81,300
Nevada $60,880
New Hampshire $89,780
New Jersey $99,670
New Mexico $87,010
New York $99,690
North Carolina $77,700
North Dakota $82,580
Ohio $83,230
Oklahoma $60,140
Oregon $76,580
Pennsylvania $89,300
Rhode Island $93,080
South Carolina $82,630
South Dakota $75,910
Tennessee $74,260
Texas $78,270
Utah $76,470
Virginia $75,770
Washington $68,420
West Virginia $68,470
Wisconsin $77,150
Wyoming $68,110

What Tools do Psychology Professors Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Psychology Professors:

  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Office
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Web browser software
  • Data entry software
  • Email software
  • Word processing software
  • The MathWorks MATLAB
  • SAS
  • Google Docs
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • R
  • Minitab
  • Blackboard
  • Calendar and scheduling software
  • Blackboard Learn
  • Learning management system LMS
  • Collaborative editing software

Becoming a Psychology Professor

What education is needed to be a Psychology Professor?

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How Long Does it Take to Become a Psychology Professor?

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Other Jobs You May be Interested In

Career changers with experience as a Psychology Professor sometimes find work in one of the following fields:

References:

Image Credit: BruceBlaus via Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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