School Psychologist
Education & Training
Support students' learning and mental health inside schools.
Why it matters here: Maryland districts face a documented school psychologist shortage.
Labor Market — DMV Region
Sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS releases (DMV metro and nationwide) plus MD, VA, and D.C. workforce agencies.
Local cost of living is why DMV pay often differs from the national median.
- DMV & state figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS wage & employment estimates and Employment Projections, with OEWS area pay relatives for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metro, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia · View source
- Occupation profiles & skills: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor) · onetonline.org
All salary figures are published estimates for groups of workers, not offers or guarantees for any individual role.
Education & Career Pathways
Multiple ways to get here — pick the one that fits your life.
Career Progression
How you can grow — with expected salary at each step.
- Entry-level School PsychologistLearning the role, supervised work, building core skills.$70,850
- School Psychologist (experienced)Independent work, mentoring newer team members.$92,380
- Senior / Lead School PsychologistOwning projects, specialization, higher responsibility.$117,720
- Manager or specialist trackSupervising a team or moving into a high-demand specialty.$141,264
Skills Required
What you'll actually do — and how you'll be judged.
Testing rooms across schools, school-year hours, assessment cycles
Where you work
A quiet testing room, often split across two or three schools you travel between during the week.
Hours and schedule
School-year calendar with heavy assessment periods and eligibility deadlines.
Pace and pressure
Assessment-driven with real deadline pressure — evaluations have legal timelines.
Who you work with
You lead eligibility teams with teachers, counselors and parents around the table.
Physical demands
Seated testing work plus driving between buildings.
What people wear
Professional casual.
Remote reality
Mostly in person; some consultation and report writing at home.
Workplace culture: what's normal here
- Reports must be written so families can understand them, not just other professionals.
- Evaluation timelines are legal requirements and are tracked closely.
- Consultation with teachers before referral is the preferred first step.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Work Environment, with regional detail for the DMV.
Official data behind this career
Federal statistics for DMV Region, translated into plain language.
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP03, DP02, DP05)
- The DMV functions as one labor market: workers routinely cross state lines to get to work.
- The largest employment destinations are D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County.
Top places these workers go to work
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — BEA regional GDP and personal income, most recent published year
Private-sector payroll data from ADP. It is a supplemental near-real-time indicator and does not replace BLS government employment statistics.
Source: ADP National Employment Report — Most recent monthly ADP National Employment Report
- 1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OOH, OEWS, Employment Projections, CES) — Primary source for occupation wages, outlook, projected openings, education and training.
- 2U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey — Primary source for income, educational attainment, labor force and demographic context by place.
- 3Census LEHD (LODES / OnTheMap) — Primary source for where workers live versus where they work, and local workforce flows.
- 4U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Primary source for regional GDP, industry contribution, compensation and personal income.
- 5ADP National Employment Report — Supplemental near-real-time private-sector employment and pay indicator. Not a replacement for BLS.
Figures describe groups of workers, not any one person. Where an official figure is not published for a category, this page says “Data unavailable for this category.” rather than estimating.
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