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Hospitals & Health Systems
Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, HCA Healthcare
Psychiatrists
Psychiatrists diagnose mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and can prescribe medication, so their work sits at the point where talk-based care, medicine, and risk management meet. The job pays very well, but it also comes with a long training path and frequent exposure to patients in crisis, which makes the work both clinically complex and emotionally demanding.
Also known as Staff PsychiatristAttending PsychiatristTelepsychiatristPsychiatrist MDPsychiatrist DO
Median Salary
$0
Mean $269,120
U.S. Workforce
~25K
0.9K openings per year
10-Year Growth
+6.1%
27.1K to 28.8K
Entry Education
Doctoral or professional degree
+ None experience
What This Role Looks Like in Practice
Psychiatrists sits in the Healthcare category. In practical terms, this role combines day-to-day execution, cross-team coordination, and consistent decision-making under real business constraints.
U.S. employment is currently about ~25K workers, with a median annual pay of $0 and roughly 0.9K openings each year. Based on BLS projections, total employment is expected to grow from 27.1 K in 2024 to 28.8K in 2034.
Most hiring paths start with Medical degree plus psychiatry residency, and employers typically expect none of related experience. Many careers in this track begin around Psychiatry Resident and can progress toward Medical Director. High-value skills usually include Clinical Interviewing & Active Listening, DSM-5-TR Diagnosis & Differential Diagnosis, and Psychopharmacology & Medication Management, paired with soft skills such as Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, and Critical Thinking.
Core Responsibilities
- Meet with patients, ask about symptoms, mood, sleep, and daily functioning, and use that conversation to understand what is going on.
- Review patient histories, test results, and records to figure out whether a mental disorder is present and how serious it is.
- Work with psychologists, nurses, social workers, and other doctors to build and adjust a treatment plan.
- Prescribe and monitor psychiatric medications or other treatments, then change the plan based on how the patient responds.
Keep exploring: more Healthcare careers or browse all job titles.
A Day in the Life
01 Meet with patients, ask about symptoms, mood, sleep, and daily functioning, and use that conversation to understand what is going on.
02 Review patient histories, test results, and records to figure out whether a mental disorder is present and how serious it is.
03 Work with psychologists, nurses, social workers, and other doctors to build and adjust a treatment plan.
04 Prescribe and monitor psychiatric medications or other treatments, then change the plan based on how the patient responds.
05 Explain the diagnosis and treatment plan to family members or caregivers when the patient wants them involved.
06 Keep detailed charts and prepare required reports for insurers, agencies, or other organizations.
Industries That Hire
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Outpatient Mental Health Clinics
LifeStance Health, Thriveworks, Acadia Healthcare
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Telehealth & Digital Mental Health
Teladoc Health, Amwell, Talkspace
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Academic Medical Centers
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Stanford Health Care, Mass General Brigham
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Government & Corrections
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Pros and Cons
Advantages
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The pay is exceptionally high, with mean annual earnings of $269,120, which puts the role far above the typical U.S. wage.
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You work on serious problems that can change a person’s safety, functioning, and family life, not just short-term symptoms.
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Demand is fairly steady, with projected employment growth of 6.1% and about 0.9 thousand annual openings.
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The job can be done in several settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, telehealth, academic centers, and government systems.
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There are many ways to specialize later, including addiction, child and adolescent care, consultation-liaison psychiatry, and leadership roles.
Challenges
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The training path is long: medical school plus internship and residency or other post-doctoral training is required before full practice.
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The emotional load is high because you regularly see suicidality, psychosis, trauma, and family conflict.
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Documentation, coordination with other clinicians, and required reporting can take a big chunk of the workday.
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Growth is only moderate, so this is not a high-volume field with huge numbers of new openings; there are about 900 openings a year.
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Your practice is shaped by licensing rules, prescribing limits, insurance requirements, and liability concerns, which can reduce flexibility and add paperwork.
Career Progression
Psychiatry Resident
0-4 years
$60K-$80K
This is the supervised training stage, with long hours, close oversight, and a heavy focus on learning diagnosis, prescribing, and crisis care.
Staff Psychiatrist
4-8 years
$245K-$305K
At this stage, psychiatrists see patients independently, make treatment decisions, prescribe medication, and work closely with care teams.
Senior Psychiatrist THIS ROLE
8-15 years
$305K-$380K
More experienced psychiatrists handle harder cases, may supervise other clinicians, and often develop a specialty such as addiction or child and adolescent care.
Medical Director
12+ years
$380K-$500K
Leaders in this role split time between patient care and managing psychiatric services, quality standards, staffing, and policy.
Education Paths
Medical degree plus psychiatry residency
The most common route, held by 58.53% of workers in this role, is post-doctoral training such as a psychiatry residency after medical school.
Doctoral degree
A doctoral degree is another major route, reported by 34.18% of workers, especially for those with advanced clinical or research training.
First professional degree (MD or DO)
A first professional degree is a less common entry point, reported by 1.8% of workers, but it still has to be followed by internship and residency training.
Key Skills
Technical
Clinical Interviewing & Active Listening 91%
DSM-5-TR Diagnosis & Differential Diagnosis 88%
Psychopharmacology & Medication Management 85%
Suicide Risk Assessment & Crisis Intervention 84%
EHR/EMR Documentation (Epic, Cerner, Meditech) 78%
Lab & Diagnostic Test Interpretation 77%
Treatment Planning & Care Coordination 76%
Soft Skills
Active ListeningSocial PerceptivenessCritical ThinkingSpeakingJudgment and Decision MakingWriting Job Outlook and Trends
+6.1%
Projected growth (2024-2034)
0.9K
Annual job openings
Employment is projected to rise from 27.1K to 28.8 K over the next decade, representing 6.1% growth. Around 0.9 K openings per year include both newly created roles and replacement hiring from turnover.
Remote availability is currently Moderate. Demand remains strongest where employers need practical domain knowledge plus modern workflow and data skills.