---
title: "School Psychologist"
description: "Diagnose and implement individual or schoolwide interventions or strategies to address educational, behavioral, or developmental issues that adversely…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/school-psychologist"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# School Psychologist

**Category:** Life, Physical, and Social Science · **SOC code:** 19-3034 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 19-3034.00

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.

Also advertised as: Autism Consultant; Bilingual School Psychologist; Challenging Behavior Consultant; Early Intervention School Psychologist; Educational Diagnostician; School Neuropsychologist; School Psychometrist.

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $95,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $46.15/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $63,070 to $142,330, with the middle half between $77,470 and $120,310
- **Total US employment:** 63,940
- **Typical entry education:** Master's
- **Preparation required:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +0.8% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 3,400 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 33/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 63,940 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $63,070 |
| 25th | $77,470 |
| 50th (median) | $95,990 |
| 75th | $120,310 |
| 90th | $142,330 |
| Mean (average) | $99,160 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CA | $127,780 | $115,408 | 8,340 |
| CO | $124,770 | $121,075 | 1,380 |
| NM | $110,360 | $119,681 | 630 |
| MD | $109,700 | $104,517 | 1,520 |
| WA | $108,780 | $101,651 | 1,420 |
| DC | $107,500 | $97,815 | 250 |
| NY | $106,550 | $98,730 | 9,070 |
| OR | $106,070 | $102,621 | 570 |
| CT | $100,600 | $97,095 | 1,140 |
| GA | $99,110 | $102,925 | 1,650 |
| MA | $98,670 | $93,299 | 3,300 |
| PR | $97,210 | No BEA price parity | 810 |
| DE | $95,990 | $96,175 | 280 |
| NJ | $95,160 | $87,459 | 2,130 |
| RI | $94,900 | $92,785 | 210 |

37 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 52 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/school-psychologist/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/school-psychologist.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 64,000 in the 2025–2035 base year to 64,500 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 500 jobs, or +0.8%. Slower than average: 0.8% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 3,400 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Master's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Considerable preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** Internship/residency.

### Education people in this job actually hold

O\*NET surveys incumbents, so this distribution describes who is in the job today and can differ from the BLS entry requirement above.

| Education level | Share of workers |
| --- | --- |
| Post-Master's Certificate | 57.7% |
| Master's Degree | 23.1% |
| First Professional Degree | 15.4% |
| Doctoral Degree | 3.9% |

## What the work involves

- 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.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 4.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Learning Strategies — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Social Perceptiveness — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Complex Problem Solving — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Service Orientation — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Persuasion — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Negotiation — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Time Management — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Psychology — importance 5.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Therapy and Counseling — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Education and Training — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 4.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Customer and Personal Service — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Sociology and Anthropology — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 4.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Expression — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 4.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Problem Sensitivity — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 4.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Social (S), Investigative (I), Conventional (C).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| S — Social | 6.77 |
| I — Investigative | 5.00 |
| C — Conventional | 4.01 |
| A — Artistic | 3.31 |
| E — Enterprising | 2.82 |
| R — Realistic | 1.00 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ENFJ | 69.7 |
| INFJ | 66.7 |
| ENFP | 65.6 |
| INFP | 59.8 |
| ESFP | 58.9 |

Best-fitting types: ENFJ, INFJ, ENFP.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Clinical Psychologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/clinical-psychologist) — median $100,580
- [Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselor and Advisor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/educational-guidance-and-career-counselor-and-advisor) — median $64,330
- [Marriage and Family Therapist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/marriage-and-family-therapist) — median $66,940
- [Special Education Teacher, Secondary School](https://nuecareer.com/careers/special-education-teacher-secondary-school) — median $74,260
- [School Social Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/school-social-worker) — median $59,550
- [Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mental-health-and-substance-abuse-social-worker) — median $60,280
- [Neuropsychologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/neuropsychologist) — median $110,840
- [Mental Health Counselor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/mental-health-counselor) — median $60,320
- [Clinical Neuropsychologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/clinical-neuropsychologist) — median $110,840
- [Psychiatrist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/psychiatrist) — median $281,870

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BLS OOH** — BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025–2035 edition. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank 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 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/school-psychologist