Psychiatrist jobs are becoming more and more in demand, which is driving up the salary and benefit packages employers are willing to offer for them. In 2001, the National Mental Health Association found that the USA was losing as much as $113 billion dollars to the costs of untreated and mistreated mental illnesses, faulty or poorly planned mental health spending programs, discriminating business practices and fear and misunderstandings of functioning individuals with mental health issues in the workplace. With so much loss from a lack of understanding and treatment of mental illness in the USA, it’s no surprise there’s an ongoing effort to bolster the industry. With more than thirty thousand practicing psychiatrists in America, though, you may think that the market is pretty well saturated. That’s simply not the case. In 2002, 40% of psychiatrists in the USA were over the age of 55 and headed towards retirement. And with more than an estimated 50 million
Americans suffering from a mental disorder in any given year, the demand for psychiatric care is not likely to slacken.
A lot of other factors are contributing to the high demand for psychiatrists. Growing population density, higher average educational achievements that result in increasing numbers of high income families, a rapidly growing health care industry, longer life expectancies and an ever expanding understanding of the field all lend to psychiatric care becoming more and more commonplace.
Psychiatrists who operate private practices are feeling the benefits of these circumstances in much the same way that other successful entrepreneurs would, that is, in an increasing demand for their trade. Employers of psychiatrists, on the other hand, are offering higher wages and more comprehensive benefits packages, not only to attract new talent to the field but also to keep existing psychiatric professionals well taken care of.
In today’s market psychiatrists can not only expect a stable work environment and a considerable salary, but also a wide variety of employee benefits. While paid holidays, vacation time, sick leave, medical, dental and vision coverage are all fairly standard, many employers are also offering pension plans and a diverse array of deferred retirement funds complete with a percentage of employer matched contributions. Some employers go even farther in offering certain types of paid professional insurance, paid licensing fees, and various other benefits.
Aside from increasing employee benefits, psychiatry is an incredibly rewarding field to begin with. Most psychiatrists work in a calm, quiet environment, contribute daily to other people’s health and welfare, and are able to learn and grow professionally all while sustaining a more than modest income of between one and two hundred thousand dollars annually. While psychiatrists certainly endure some stress involved in being exposed to their patients’s sufferings and personal challenges, this stress is often far outweighed by their ability to substantially contribute to those patient’s quality of life. Psychiatry is a generous and nurturing practice at its core, and while it takes a person who is deeply invested in the care of others to be successful in the field, it’s incredibly fulfilling in its own right to the correct kind of person.
With such a growing demand for psychiatrists, and such a diverse offering of benefits, committing the time and money necessary for the proper education and training to enter the field is a better investment now than ever.