Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in Psychology in India [2022]

Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in Psychology in India 2022

There is no getting around the fact that psychology is one of the most important fields of our time. There was a time when psychology was purely notional, but after centuries of studies involving not only experiments but also philosophical evaluations and reevaluations, psychology is a field that straddles both the scientific and the intuitive. Earlier psychology was mostly academia-oriented, but years of experiments and research has made psychology both scientific and conducive.

Whether you’ve been considering psychology as a career option and are wondering what kind of career will suit you best, or you’ve already started a career in a certain stream and want to see what kind of growth opportunities are available for you – this is the right article for you!

If you have been considering psychology as a career option or wish to change your career path, then keep reading!

Psychology is a scientific study of mind and behavior. A psychologist examines the functioning of a brain and the associated human behavior. The process of healing is not rapid but gradual.  

1. Psychiatrist

Requiring a very specific trajectory during the educational stage, a psychiatrist has the important responsibility of assigning people diagnoses (based on their evaluations) and making sure that they get the proper medicines.

For the most part, a psychiatrist comes in at a stage when a patient has already gone through various other structures that are designed to support those who are suffering from mental health conditions – a psychiatrist comes into the picture at the last stage of the journey of mental health.

Psychiatry is not restricted to a clinic; rather everywhere, such as pediatric psychiatrists, geriatric psychiatrists, forensic psychiatrists,  military psychiatrists, sports psychiatrists, etc.

Usually, a psychiatrist is also well versed in certain forms of counselling or therapy, such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

It’s not a walk in the park if you want to become a licensed psychiatrist. You have to finish an undergraduate degree in medical school and then do an MPhil from an RCI-licensed college to finally be able to call yourself a psychiatrist.

2. Industrial/Organizational Psychologist

Given that a big chunk of the workforce is occupied across industries where there is little to no emotional support to be found for the various workers, it’s no surprise that those psychologists who can fit this role are rewarded generously for their efforts! And their efforts are often deployed not at a personal level only.

 A healthy work environment comes from the culture; if the work culture is toxic, it creates stress in the business and the employees. Generous rewards are the after-effect of filling this massive gap in a workplace.

The task of industrial and organizational psychologists is to make sure that the structures within which workers are operating can be attuned in a way so that it works out in the favour of both the companies as well as the people involved. Creating a healthy balance between the organization’s productivity and the workforce requires tremendous skills and mindfulness. 

The path to becoming an organizational/industrial psychologist typically involves doing at least a master’s in organizational psychology, with a doctorate degree being optional. A  Master’s in Organizational Psychology is the right path. A Doctorate Degree remains optional but increases the chances of earning money.

Keep in mind though, that completing a doctorate degree will greatly increase your chances of earning more money.

3. Neuro psychologist

Neuro psychology is a field that goes into the depth of the psychology of the brain. A neuro psychologist looks not just at typical psychological indicators that other psychologists use as a reference point.

 A neuro psychologist determines how severe impairments one could have.

A neuro psychologist understands the rest of the parts of a body and how the brain responds to stimuli. For instance, which part of the brain produces a feeling of sadness or euphoria when one feels a sense of excitement.

Their specialty lies in having a thorough understanding of all the different parts of the brain and how they respond to various stimuli – for instance, which part of the brain isn’t functioning well when someone says they’re sad, or which part of the brain produces the feeling of euphoria when one feels a sense of excitement.

Owing to the fact that neuro psychologists can work with complex brain chemistry, they often work with pharmaceutical companies as advisors to their many medicines.

Neuro psychology is a specialized field that requires dedicated study, often for many years on end. But it’s a rewarding career, not only in terms of satisfaction but financially as well.

4. School Counselor/Psychologist

The importance of a school psychologist or counsellor cannot be stressed enough. A school psychologist can tie together the social fabric of the school, which is almost always bursting at the seams, with social tensions and strife – for the students, school faculty, as well as management. School Psychologists’ importance is too high.  They work within the educational ecosystem to diagnose and treat the emotional, learning, and behavioural problems in children, faculty, or management.

In such a scenario, a school counsellor offers respite for everyone involved, and makes sure that a school’s systems function as well as they can (and should).

A School Counselor/ Psychologist offers relief to everyone involved and ensures smooth functioning of the school. That is why the schools invest heavily in school counsellors. They make a significant impact on their student’s careers and form a lasting relationship with them!

This is why school psychologists are so important for schools, and why schools invest heavily in them. Moreover, school counsellors also form lasting relationships with their students, and can thus enrich their lives too – and this is a huge form of impact!

5. Clinical Psychologist

A clinical psychologist, much like a psychiatrist, understands all the conditions in which a mental disorder can present itself within a person. A clinical psychologist diagnoses, evaluate mental, emotional, or behavioural disorders, and offer treatment in a clinic or hospital.

So, a clinical psychologist’s task involves diagnosing, managing, and treating people who have these conditions – whether it be depression, or anxiety, or borderline personality disorder, or anything else. Because of the far reaching implications of this profession, it’s one of the most popular roles within the field of psychology, and has the most number of jobs on offer as well.

They deal in solving the problem of anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, etc. Clinical Psychology is a demanding field and has the most number of jobs on offer as well. It is one of the most sought careers in psychology in India. 

Clinical psychologists often work across hierarchies in a number of different organisations, whether at care centres, recovery centres, hospitals, or other places where the mental health of people is dealt with at length.

In addition, they often offer their services through private practice as well, thereby increasing the scope of their earnings.

6. Forensic Psychologist

Forensic psychologists specialize in psychology as it overlaps in the field of criminality and all things related to it. They work often with criminal offenders, attempting to rehabilitate them at a psychological level, before they go back out into the world. To this end, they can be employed by prisons, institutions that cater to habitual drug offenders, as well as hospitals. Forensic Psychology involves the application of knowledge to answer legal questions arising from legal or criminal proceedings. They work with the criminal offenders and rehabilitate them to go back to the world.

They serve as an important cog in the rehabilitation system for any crime – simply giving them time to reflect on their wrongdoing proves to be futile, unless it’s supported strongly by someone who can facilitate that process.

They play a very significant role in the rehabilitation system, to make the criminals reflect on their actions and prepare them to lead a normal life.

In addition to simply helping those that have committed crimes, forensic psychologists are also responsible for making sure that people are psychologically profiled correctly – through this they can predict who is likely to become a criminal and who will be a threat to society if they are released from prison.

They are also responsible to make sure that the people are psychologically profiled to assess if they are fit to go back into society.

7. Counselling Psychologist

Counselling psychologists are experts in making people come face to face with their problems and offering them solutions that can be of help to them in the immediate short term. They help people to improve their well beings, prevent and alleviate distress.

Counselling offers people an insight into their behaviours that simply going to a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist won’t – this is why these services are often paired together so that in combination they can provide great results for the person concerned. Counselling offers an insight into behaviors that psychiatry or clinical psychology won’t. It is preferable to pair them together in order to get great results.

This insight can then be used to further delve deeper into any “concern areas” for respective people: someone might want to focus more on their relationships, others might want to take a closer look at work, while some might want to be able to look closely at their hobbies. The insights help better understand the pain points which one might focus upon like relationships, career, work, hobbies, etc.

8. Sports Psychologist

Sports psychologists are psychologists who understand not only the human mind but also the human body –  they understand how they interact with each other on and off the field.

A sports psychologist is someone who, ideally, has already gone through the motions of various sports training rituals themselves, and therefore understands the specific toll that it takes on both one’s mind and body. They make sure the mental well-being of athletes impacts their performance, behaviour, and health of athletes.

They guide the athletes towards their goals and play a big role to make or break athletes’ careers. This helps the athletes to meet high expectations.

Thus, with this experience, they guide others to their specific sports-related goals, and can make or break athletes’ careers – after all, sports as a field comes with very high expectations, rewards, as well as disappointments.

9. Education Psychologist

An education psychologist fills any possible gaps that are left behind within the schooling system in so far as the education of a student is concerned. There is tough competition and stress in the education industry, this begins from the nursery to higher education. Today, everyone wants to get the best out of the equation for career growth and personal advancement. 

We have earlier seen that there are school psychologists and counsellors who serve to hold students’ anxieties as well as their fears, which may in part be triggered by the school. An education psychologist, however, makes sure that a child’s intellectual growth is taken care of.

Often, a school system doesn’t allow for certain minds to grow at the rate that they will grow the best – and this is where an educational psychologist will be far more helpful than a school psychologist or counsellor.

10. Child Psychologist

A child psychologist does what you may imagine they do – they work with children. Children have to face a lot of challenges as they grow up, and parents may not always be in the best position to be able to deal with all of those issues.

In fact, there may be instances when parents specifically approach a child psychologist because they are wondering how to deal with a certain problem that they can’t solve on their own.

A child psychologist helps keep the parents stress free while they focus solely on the child. A child psychologist focuses on the well-being of the children, keeping their mental health safe.

Child psychologists too have their own private practice, and as word spreads about their services, they can stand to make a lot of money through this medium.

Child Psychology scope in India is huge with mental health awareness. Child Psychologists do private practice as well, increasing their chances of earning more money.