Careers in Forensic Psychology – Salary, Job Descriptions, and Outlook

Forensic psychology—a high-growth subfield of forensics which has inspired countless TV shows such as Criminal Minds—represents the intersection of psychology and the justice system. These professionals must have an understanding of legal principles such as who is mentally fit to stand trial, whether expert witness testimony is valid, what kind of sentencing may be appropriate for a crime, and how the definition of insanity varies from state to state.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), forensic psychologists are typically licensed psychologists with a fundamental understanding of clinical, forensic, and legal systems. They have a wealth of responsibilities such as interviewing patients; conducting psychological evaluations; diagnosing mental illnesses; deciding whether juvenile defendants should be tried as adults; evaluating people’s competency to stand trial; creating criminal profiles to assist law enforcement; helping in jury selection; consulting legal or administrative professionals; offering sentencing recommendations; establishing whether a person should be committed to a mental hospital; compiling official reports or amicus briefs for court; liaising with various legal and medical personnel; and serving as expert witnesses in trials. They generally work in courts, prisons, mental hospitals, and government agencies, and may be involved in criminal or civil cases. In sum, the APA reports that “forensic psychology refers to…applying the scientific, technical, or specialized knowledge of psychology to the law to assist in addressing legal, contractual, and administrative matters.” Also, the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP)—the main certifying organization for forensic psychologists—details the desired core competencies of these professionals in order to achieve certification.

So why is the rigorous application of psychology to judicial matters important? The careful consideration of a forensic psychologist may be crucial in some legal cases, especially since the misuse of evidence, forced confessions, and corner-cutting measures to expedite trials or convict suspected criminals all still run rampant in the justice system. For example, Aeon (2014) reports that some people get “framed by forensics” such as Juan Rivera, who was imprisoned for 20 years after being wrongfully convicted for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl in Illinois. Rivera—a man with a low IQ and history of emotional problems—was interrogated by police for several days and lied to about the results of his polygraph test. Exhausted and under duress to sign a confession, he did so and his fate was sealed. In 2005, he was finally exonerated by DNA evidence. A forensic psychologist would have pointed out that such a man was highly suggestible and not in any condition to make a reliable confession after being questioned for more than 24 hours at the hands of nine officers. In cases like these, forensic psychologists can safeguard the fairness of the legal system and the administration of justice.

Read on to discover the bright career outlook and salary prospects in forensic psychology, and learn how to get started in the field.

Career Outlook for Forensic Psychology

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), forensic psychology is a growing field with opportunities not only in courtrooms, but also through police departments, hospitals, military bases, and universities. Furthermore, these professionals may be very well-compensated according to one estimate. Mary Connell, EdD—a private practitioner from Fort Worth—estimated that forensic psychologists make between $200,000 and $400,000 annually.

It’s important to note that while this is enticing, it’s difficult to officially substantiate those figures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)—the predominant employment and salary data institution in the US—does not differentiate between types of psychologists. Therefore, the following data for all psychologists is used as a proxy for the forensic subfield.

The BLS (Dec. 2015) reports that psychology is a high-growth career and expects that job openings will swell 19 percent between 2014 and 2024. This projected growth is much more robust than the average anticipated for all occupations during that time period (7 percent). Although the future looks bright for this profession, working as a forensic psychologist can be a stressful occupation, requiring long hours and emotional fortitude. There are resources available to assist people in this profession. For example, the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology—a collective of behavioral scientists and practitioners committed to providing mental health services to criminal offenders—provides professional networking, an events calendar, an active job board, and continuing education (CE) opportunities.

Forensic Psychologist Salary

As with other occupations, salaries for forensic psychologists vary by years of experience, region, and even source of data. As mentioned above, Dr. Connell—the interviewee from the APA article—estimated that forensic psychologists make between $200,000 and $400,000 annually. Two other sources of data, however, found substantially lower salary averages in this career.

For instance, Indeed (2016) estimates that forensic psychologists make an annual average salary of $78,000. Payscale (2016)—an aggregator of self-reported salary data—found variety of salaries in this field among its 246 reporting forensic psychologists, ranging from $38,772 to $122,849. In more granular terms, Payscale reported the following salary percentiles:

10th percentile: $39,000
25th percentile: $49,000
50th percentile (median): $61,489
75th percentile: $82,000
90th percentile: $110,000

Not surprisingly, Payscale (2016) also found that one of the most impactful factors on salary for was experience. Here are the median annual salaries among different experience brackets of forensic psychologists:

Entry-level (0-5 years) – 204 individuals reporting: $60,000
Mid-career (5-10 years) – 58 individuals reporting: $76,000
Experienced (10-20 years) – 47 individuals reporting: $87,000
Late-career (20+ years) – 27 individuals reporting: $118,000

For comparative purposes, the BLS (2014) offers data on clinical, counseling, and school psychologists. As mentioned above, this general category of psychologists will be used as a proxy for forensic psychologists since reliably differentiated data is unavailable.

Among the 104,730 psychologists employed across the country, the BLS (2014) found an annual average salary of $74,030. Interestingly, BLS’s (2014) salary percentiles among psychologists as a whole were similar to those found among Payscale’s (2016) reporting forensic psychologists:

10th percentile: $40,080
25th percentile: $51,980
50th percentile (median): $68,900
75th percentile: $89,830
90th percentile: $113,640

The BLS (2014) found that the top-paying industries for psychologists nationwide were:

Child Day Care Services (350 psychologists employed): $96,180 annual average salary
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (580 employed): $90,050
Scientific Research and Development Services (500 employed): $87,430
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (5,130 employed): $82,070
Offices of Physicians (3,880 employed): $81,510

Notably, only one of the top-paying industries—”General Medical and Surgical Hospitals”—was also a top-employer of psychologists across the country:

Elementary and Secondary Schools (43,880 psychologists employed): $72,710 annual mean salary
Offices of Other Health Practitioners (13,970 employed): $81,480
Individual and Family Services (6,630 employed): $67,380
Outpatient Care Centers (5,560 employed): $66,570
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (5,130 employed): $82,070

As mentioned above, the salaries for psychologists also tended to vary widely based on region. According to the BLS (2014), the top-paying states in this field were scattered all over the country:

Rhode Island (580 psychologists employed): $94,590 annual average salary
Hawaii (770 employed): $87,620
Connecticut (1,730 employed): $86,120
New Jersey (3,690 employed): $85,870
Alabama (660 employed): $85,440

Interestingly, none of these lucrative states were among the top-employers in this profession, a factor which corresponded roughly with state population size:

California (18,710 psychologists employed): $81,050 annual average salary
New York (10,600 employed): $85,130
Texas (5,630 employed): $61,580
Pennsylvania (5,400 employed): $68,250
Massachusetts (4,880 employed): $78,220

In stroke of good fortune for the Golden State, five of the top ten highest paying metropolitan areas for psychologists were located in California:

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA (50 psychologists employed): $116,470 annual mean salary
Hanford-Corcoran, CA (100 employed): $109,900
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA (200 employed): $105,780
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA (210 employed): $102,960
Salinas, CA (230 employed): $100,610
Madera-Chowchilla, CA (90 employed): $99,170
Clarksville, TN-KY (40 employed): $98,580
Kingston, NY (60 employed): $96,900
Nassau-Suffolk, NY Metropolitan Division (1,450 employed): $96,680
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA (100 employed): $95,920

Finally, it’s no surprise that the top-employing metropolitan areas for psychologists tended to fall in the country’s large cities:

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA (6,200 psychologists employed): $71,470 annual average salary
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division (6,100 employed): $89,490
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division (2,730 employed): $66,210
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division (2,470 employed): $78,370
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division (2,010 employed): $72,910
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (1,870 employed): $76,340
Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Division (1,690 employed): $78,220
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division (1,650): $79,260
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division (1,560 employed): $79,100
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX (1,550 employed): $61,580

How to Become a Forensic Psychologist

There are varied paths to becoming a forensic psychologist. It’s a relatively new specialty within both forensics and psychology, and therefore not everyone who has performed the duties of a forensic psychologist has necessarily been a formal part of this growing profession. One way to distinguish forensic psychologist practitioners from other types of mental health professionals is through a specialty professional certification offered by the American Board for Professional Psychology (ABPP), which requires that candidates be licensed clinical psychologists with doctoral degrees.

Here is one common path to becoming a certified forensic psychologist:

Graduate from high school.
Enroll in an undergraduate program (4 years). Prior to getting a graduate education, aspiring forensic psychologists are encouraged to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology, forensics, or another relevant field.
Attend an accredited graduate program in forensic, legal, or clinical psychology (4-5 years). In order to qualify for professional licensure through the ABPP, candidates must have a doctoral degree. To this end, there are various PhD and doctor of psychology (PsyD) programs available. As part of these programs, aspiring forensic psychologists will complete coursework and clinical practicums. Programs also typically include an internship or residency component as part of their degree plan. The American Psychological Association (APA 2015)—the main accreditation body for graduate psychology programs—provides a list of approved programs in forensic and legal psychology including master’s, PsyD, PhD, and joint program options. For example, Palo Alto University in California offers a PhD in clinical psychology with a forensic emphasis. In addition to clinical psychology coursework and practicum requirements, students take courses such as psychopathology & psychodiagnosis, ethics in clinical psychology, forensic psychology, and professional standards. Additionally, Pacific University of Oregon provides a five year PsyD in clinical psychology with a forensic track, combining rich didactic coursework with research experience and clinical training. Some of the required classes in this track include juvenile forensic psychology, correctional psychology, multicultural assessment, and adult forensic psychology. Students must also complete at least one practicum at a forensic site (e.g., Oregon Department of Corrections, Clark County Juvenile Department) and complete their dissertation in a subject relevant to forensics.
Get experience in the field, preferably in forensics (timeline varies). After graduation, some candidates still won’t have enough professional hours to qualify for licensure and therefore will have to get additional supervised experience. Many students need at least 2,000 internship hours (often as part of a doctoral program) and an additional 2,000 postdoctoral hours in order to qualify for licensure. The amount of required postdoctoral experience, specific coursework, and practicum requirements may vary by jurisdiction. Students are encouraged to reach out to their local licensing board, a list of which is provided by Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB). At this stage, aspiring forensic psychologists are also urged to “bank their credentials” (i.e., gather all signatures, hour logs, and other materials) online through a service such as the National Psychologist Trainee Register.
Get licensed as a clinical psychologist (timeline varies). State requirements for licensure vary, but typically involve having a doctorate degree (including evidence of specific coursework); completing one- to two-years of postdoctoral professional experience; paying an application fee; and passing the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology (EPPP). The EPPP is a 225-question multiple choice exam. Passing scores vary by state, but it’s typically 70 percent. Again, since requirements vary by jurisdiction, the ASPPB provides a list of contacts for each state’s professional board. Please note that these licenses must be maintained following the completion of continuing education (CE) hours.
Apply for certification through the American Board for Professional Psychology (ABPP). For more information on this step, please reference the “Certification” section below.

Specialty Fields Related to Forensic Psychology

In addition to becoming a certified forensic psychologist, there are various related careers to consider at the intersection of psychology and the law. A forensic psychology researcher, for instance, typically has an advanced degree in psychology (e.g., PhD) and conducts research on mental health law, public policies, legal proceedings, and niche fields such as the reliability of eyewitness testimony. Trained forensic psychologists may also consider a career as a consultant, working with police departments to create criminal profiles, deal with crisis situations, provide officers with sensitivity training, and assist with effective management techniques. In a courtroom setting, a consultant may be considered an evaluator, or a person specializing in the application of mental health analyses to a person’s fitness for trial, likeliness to commit future crimes, and other factors. Another option is to become a correctional psychologist, a clinical specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of prisoners. Still others may want to consider becoming a criminal profiler or criminal psychologist, an exciting subfield of investigative psychology which delves into the actions, motivations, and complex histories of criminal minds. These are just a few of the specialized possibilities available to those trained in forensic psychology.

Forensic Psychology Certification

Finally, those seeking to become a forensic psychologist will want to consider becoming professionally certified by the American Board for Professional Psychology (ABPP 2016). Certification can not only serve as proof of one’s competence, but also can enhance a person’s salary prospects and candidacy for employment.

To become a certified forensic psychology specialist, candidates must first go through a credential review. They must have a doctoral degree in psychology from an accredited program. Acceptable accreditation entities include the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). Additionally, candidates must have completed an APA-approved internship (or the equivalent); show proof of current employment in the forensics specialty; send logs of relevant postdoctoral continuing education (CE); and submit a copy of their psychologist license. As part of the educational requirement, candidates must have at least 100 hours of formal education, supervision, or CE in forensic psychology, in addition to 1,000 hours of experience in this subfield over a period of at least five years. Some additional education (e.g., JD) or postdoctoral training may be substituted in lieu of this five year requirement. Finally, candidates must successfully pass a two exams: written and oral. The written exam comprises 197 multiple choice questions across seven categories of forensic psychology, including child forensic matters, landmark legal cases, and criminal legal issues. The oral examination is offered following the submission of two acceptable practice samples.

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Editor

Barry Franklin

Barry is Managing Editor of ForensicsColleges.com, operated by educational web publisher Sechel Ventures Partners LLC, which he co-founded. Barry was previously VP for a financial software company, and currently sits on the board of a K-8 school and lives with his wife and daughters in the San Francisco Bay Area.