charlie111

Hi
I am a UK trained Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist. I am married (to a physio) and we have two boys under 3. We are thinking of emigrating however am unsure regarding salaries for my profession. Most seem around $80k - we have relatives in both Sydney and Brisbane who suggest this is not enough for a family in our situation. Any thoughts?

FYI my UK post is NHS/private and brings in around £65k.

Whilst there are obvious benefits to Australia in terms of QOL I am a bit concerned that we might experience a drop in salary which would lower our overall QOL despite the environmental benefits that the country can bring

DibDob

You will take a big drop in salary; your husband will have an increase as you would both be paid roughly the same.

You could do some private work (which is allowed) on top of your work to subsidise salary.

However one good thing is that Neuro-Psychs are very sought after in many areas.

goldchoccycoin

65K is about $140K - $160K in terms of spending power (in my opinion). $80K is just over the national average wage and if your partner is not working (stay at home parent) you will find it pretty tight to live on.

Best of luck.

charlie111

Thanks for the info. I guess those were our fears in terms of making the move unaffordable

Dorothy

That part in red depends on what visa they're on.

quoll

Seems about ball park for employed salaries. Private practice could up your income once you get started and known in the community though there are more psychologists to the square inch in Aus than anywhere else in the world I suspect!

charlie111

I do know you can work in Australia with your undergraduate degree as a "psychologist" which is not possible in the UK and may explain the increased numbers.

Plus our training is to doctorate level (as opposed to Masters in Australia) which I had thought may give me an advantage however the sums just make it unaffordable.

ozzieeagle

I dont know about Clinical Psychologists.... However I do know that most Mental Health Nurses earn between 70 and 80K per annum.... (some Overtime chasers a lot more... A few at the Royal Melbourne broke the 100K barrier last year) So somehow I think we are looking at some kind of misunderstanding re penalty rates maybe ? Do CP's do weekend and and shift work as a normal part of full employment and salaried duties ?

Hmmm and then we go into are they employed under federal awards or indvidual contracts ?

ozzieeagle

Methinks you need to find some peers to talk to in person preferably. Only seen one on these boards. I dont know any CP's through the wifes work.... Shes a Nurse in Mental Health at the Royal Melbourne with 30 years under her belt hence we know a lot of people that work in the mental health field.. However I do have an old friend that works as one... I just know they live in a very expensive house and drive very good cars and have plenty of overseas holidays... They've moved interstate, so will try and catch up and broach that subject if needs be....You've got my curiosity up now re this subject.

charlie111

Cheers. Intuitively I'd assume the salary must be better but that doesn't seem to be the case. If you get any info that would be appreciated.

ozzieeagle

Typically the advertise Psych nurses jobs at around 55k... but very rarely mention penalty rates (shift allowances) and salary packaging etc etc. So your experience is par for the course. So will try and check it out. Hopefully someone that actually knows someone well enough will come to the fore on this thread.

spouse of scouse

Are you sure? It's my understanding that in order to practice as a registered clinical psychologist in Australia, you first need to complete a Masters which includes periods of supervised practice. The two years Masters degree follows a four year undergraduate degree. You can't practice as a registered clinical psychologist with a PhD, as that's a purely research degree in Australia.

A 'Counsellor' is another thing, anyone can call themselves that in Australia and a two week online course, or a certificate from a Corn Flakes packet will suffice as professional qualifications

spouse of scouse

From the Psychology Board of Australia's website:

The Board has determined that the qualifications that lead
to general registration are:
a). an accredited Master’s degree; or
b). a five year accredited sequence of study followed by a
one year Board approved internship (5+1); or
c). a four year accredited sequence of study followed by
a two year Board approved internship (4+2); or
d). a qualification that in the Board’s opinion is
substantially equivalent to either (a), (b) or (c).
e). In addition to the completion of an approved
qualification the Board may require the passing of
an examination prior to accepting an application for
general registration.

You can't practice as a clinical psychologist in Australia with just an undergraduate degree.

Grayling

Yes you can...after you complete an internship. You do not need another degree

spouse of scouse

An internship is further study and supervised. You can't walk straight out of an undergraduate degree and practice as a psychologist - is what I was saying.