Salary Story: I Got My PhD & Now Make $100k Doing Couples Therapy

Age: 33
Location: San Antonio, TX
Current industry and job title: Psychologist

Current salary: $100,000/year
Number of years employed since school or university: Two years since finishing a postdoctoral fellowship
Starting salary: $48,000/year

Biggest salary jump: My salary during postdoctoral fellowship was $50,000 and increased to $84,000 when I started working full time as a provisional (pre-licensure) psychologist. Once I passed my licensing exam and requirements and received my license in psychology, my salary increased to $95,000.

Biggest salary drop: I was making $50,000 as an administrator during my first job out of college. Once I left and started my PhD program in counseling psychology, my yearly stipend decreased to $18,000.

Biggest negotiation regret: Right out of college, I scrambled to find a job for about three months and finally received my first offer from a small company for $4,000 less than was advertised in the job posting. After asking to discuss an increase, the company actually rescinded the offer! I was devastated and for a long time regretted bringing up the salary discussion at all. Looking back, I recognize that this was huge red flag for the company. Them rescinding the offer probably saved me a lot of misery and grief in the long run.

Best salary advice: Don’t undersell yourself. Ask for more than you are actually hoping for and let the company meet you in the middle. The worst they can do is say no (and if they rescind the offer, like in my case, it’s their loss -— not yours!).