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should i be a psychologist or psychiatrist?

i want to know which field is better in order to pick my stream for college.
#psychology

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Michael’s Answer

Psychiatrists earn about twice as much as clinical psychologists. However, it is interesting you phrase that as a choice, wheras maybe it really isnt one. I was recently on the faculty of a major private university in Texas, and was surprised to learn that two thirds, 66%, of the incoming freshman class wanted to go to medical school. That would be about 4,000 budding young doctors entering college for that year -- meanwhile the Medical school for that college admitted 16-20 new starts a year.
That is some rough math, and most people who want to be Doctors will never actually get into medical school.
So the real question is are you really good at Math and Chemistry? Because pre-med requires you to take hard science course and pretty much get A's in all of them. If you want to be one of the very few people, relative to who says they want it, who actually get into medical school, you need to excel in Sciences, have a great GPA, and do very well on the MCAT exam. So give it a try; if you do really well in pre-med, you should go for it--but not necisarily to be a psychiatrist, as psychiatry is one of the lower paid medical specialties -- maybe you will find other things you would rather do while on rotations in medical school.
After a quarter or two, you will probably know if Medical School is in your future. If it isnt, there is always plan B, which involves much less Calculus--Psychology.
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Jason’s Answer

To piggy back off the last response, yes psychiatry requires the MD and a psychologist a PhD or PsyD. There are a lot of other areas that each profession can go into than the general medication versus psychotherapy.
Psychologists (PhD) can do standardized testing, can be expert witnesses, and can also specialize in specific areas. Some of the standard testing that psychologists can do are very lucrative. They can also weigh in on guardianship.

As for planning for college, take some intro to psych courses and see if its something you are truly interested in. You don't need to make a decision in your first year. Just leave room for some premed courses if you decide to go that way. Start with the psych classes- they are the easier ones and will tell you a lot more about the field than you already know.
Best of luck.

Also- if you are interested in doing counseling and/or psychotherapy you can also pursue an MSW or MS in social work or psychological counseling and seek licensure in that respect as well.
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Dina’s Answer

they are 2 different degrees although they look the same. both of them have a lot of coursework but you need to know the aspect of each one so you can decide. Psychiatrists are trained medical doctors which means you need to get into Med school and then you get a psych training. Psychiatrists can prescribe medications, and they spend much of their time with patients on medication management as a course of treatment. in the other side, Psychology is the extensive focus on psychotherapy and treating emotional and mental suffering in patients. psychologists cannot prescribe medication even so they are called clinical psychologist. I suggest you go through a deep research before choosing your field.
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