SOC 29-1223.00Bright outlook

    Psychiatrists

    Diagnose, treat, and help prevent mental disorders.

    Median pay
    $281,870
    Growth
    +7.2%
    Faster than average
    Openings a year
    900
    Typical education
    Doctoral or professional degree

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

    See the pathway

    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $84,060
    Median
    $281,870
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $446,520
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    27,980 people work in this occupation.

    In short

    Psychiatrists diagnose, treat, and prevent mental disorders. This medical career offers a median annual pay of $281,870, with opportunities expected to grow faster than average over the coming years.

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What psychiatrists do

    Job Zone 5: Extensive preparation

    Diagnose, treat, and help prevent mental disorders.

    Most need a graduate degree, such as a master's, PhD, MD or JD.

    What the work is like

    Psychiatrists spend their days helping patients manage their mental health. They analyze data, interpret information, and make critical decisions to solve complex psychological problems. Day-to-day tasks include assisting and caring for others, documenting patient information, and communicating with colleagues. They must resolve conflicts and build strong interpersonal relationships with those they treat.

    Success in this field requires a strong foundation in medicine, therapy, counseling, psychology, and biology. Psychiatrists rely on active listening, social perceptiveness, critical thinking, and clear speaking to understand their patients' needs. Because they work with people in distress, they must show empathy, integrity, self-control, and high stress tolerance. An investigative interest area drives these professionals to constantly update their knowledge and analyze patient symptoms with great attention to detail.

    How to get there

    Entering this career requires extensive preparation. Candidates typically need a doctoral or professional degree, such as a medical degree. The primary college major that leads to this profession is medicine.

    In addition to completing medical school and residency, professionals can pursue specific credentials to demonstrate their expertise. Available certifications include the Psychiatry certification from the American Board of Physician Specialties, as well as the Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry from the American Board of Adolescent Psychiatry, Inc. Furthermore, some states list a license for this work, which practitioners must obtain to practice legally.

    Pay and outlook explained

    The median annual pay for psychiatrists is $281,870. The lowest 10% of earners in this field make less than $84,060, while the highest 10% earn more than $446,520.

    There are 27,980 people employed in this profession. Between 2025 and 2035, employment is projected to grow by 7.2%, which is faster than the average for all occupations. This growth is expected to result in 900 job openings each year.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    22 / 100
    Investigative (I) · strongest
    93 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    27 / 100
    Social (S)
    81 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    16 / 100
    Conventional (C)
    43 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code ISC. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Assisting and Caring for Others
    93
    Documenting/Recording Information
    92
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    91
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    91
    Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
    88
    Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
    88
    Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
    87
    Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
    87
    Analyzing Data or Information
    85
    Processing Information
    83
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Active Listening
    • Social Perceptiveness
    • Critical Thinking
    • Speaking
    • Judgment and Decision Making
    • Monitoring
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Service Orientation
    • Writing
    • Active Learning

    Knowledge

    • Medicine and Dentistry
    • Therapy and Counseling
    • Psychology
    • Biology
    • English Language
    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Education and Training
    • Chemistry
    • Sociology and Anthropology
    • Law and Government

    Abilities

    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Written Comprehension
    • Written Expression
    • Inductive Reasoning
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition
    • Category Flexibility

    Work styles

    • Empathy
    • Integrity
    • Dependability
    • Self-Control
    • Attention to Detail
    • Sincerity
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Intellectual Curiosity
    • Cooperation
    • Social Orientation

    Also called

    Addiction Psychiatrist · Adolescent Psychiatrist · Adult Inpatient Psychiatrist · Adult Outpatient Psychiatrist · Adult Psychiatrist · Attending Psychiatrist · Board Certified Psychiatrist · Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Physician · Child Psychiatrist

    Career pathway

    From your interests to psychiatrists

    Interests that fit the work, the career, majors that lead there and colleges whose graduates in those majors earn the most. Hover or focus a step to follow one path.

    1. Interests

    2. This career

      • Psychiatrists$281,870 median pay

    3. Majors

    NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk

    Majors that lead here

    Related programs by four-digit CIP code. They are common routes in, not the only ones.

    CareerOneStop

    Certifications, licenses and pay by state

    What psychiatrists may need beyond a degree, where a license is required, and what the work pays in each state.

    Certifications

    Core certifications employers recognise for this work.

    Search all certifications on CareerOneStop

    Training

    Programs of study that prepare people for this work. Showing 12 of 13.

    • Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship Program
    • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship Program
    • Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship Program
    • Family Medicine/Psychiatry Combined Specialty Program
    • Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship Program
    • Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program
    • Internal Medicine/Psychiatry Combined Specialty Program
    • Medicine
    • Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy
    • Pediatrics/Psychology/Child-Adolescent Psychology Combined Specialty Program
    • Psychiatry Residency Program
    • Psychiatry Residency/Fellowship Programs, Other

    Find training near you on CareerOneStop

    Licenses by state

    53 states list a license for this work. Open your state for the license and the agency that issues it.

    Federal

    Check license requirements on CareerOneStop

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Your plan

    Build my pathway plan

    Courses, majors, colleges, scholarships and a timeline for this career, built from your profile.

    Related careers

    Careers with similar work, interests or skills.

    All careers

    Questions about psychiatrists

    Written with AI from the BLS, O*NET and CareerOneStop data on this page. Every figure is checked against that data before it is published.

    What college majors are recommended for becoming a psychiatrist?

    Students aiming for this career typically major in medicine. This path provides the necessary scientific and clinical foundation required for advanced medical training.

    What certifications can psychiatrists earn?

    Psychiatrists can earn specialized credentials such as the Psychiatry certification from the American Board of Physician Specialties. They can also obtain the Certification in Adolescent and Young Adult Psychiatry from the American Board of Adolescent Psychiatry, Inc.

    How many job openings are expected each year for psychiatrists?

    There are projected to be 900 job openings each year in this field. This demand is supported by an employment growth rate of 7.2% from 2025 to 2035.

    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Data from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration, with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development). Retrieved November 9, 2026.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.