Career Perceptions and Ideals for Clinically Focused and Academic Psychology Careers: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

More psychologists who have specialty training in geriatrics are needed to meet the growing demand. However, there is a shortage of individuals in academic geropsychology, which feeds the clinical geropsychology pipeline. Barriers to recruiting trainees into jobs in academia are not well understood. The current mixed-methods study examined trainees’ perceptions of clinically-focused and academic jobs, and discrepancies between professional psychologists actual and ideal job activities. Results found that trainees have less accurate perceptions of the activities of academic compared to clinically-focused jobs. Interviews with trainees revealed negative perceptions of the university system, including bureaucracy, salary, and perceived workload. However, professional psychologists, both clinical and academic, reported high agreement between actual and ideal activities. Academic psychologists reported desiring more time in clinical work, without reducing research or teaching time. Clinically-focused psychologists desired and increase in research and teaching time without sacrificing clinical activities. Each group discussed struggles in obtaining work-life balance.

Nurturing the scientific mind: resilience and job satisfaction among Saudi faculty

“…In higher education, job satisfaction arises from the interplay of intrinsic, extrinsic, and environmental factors. Studies like Tran and Do (2020) and Strong et al (2021) emphasize intrinsic motivators such as academic freedom and personal achievement, counterbalanced by the stress and burnout noted by Singh et al (2022). Extrinsic factors, including salary and job security, crucial in Rothacker-Peyton et al (2022), highlight remuneration and workplace safety as satisfaction determinants.…”

Geropsychology career pipeline perceptions

“…Thus, the current study is interested in understanding factors relevant to trainees' decisions to pursue different career paths. Previous work (Buckley, Sanders, Shih, & Hampton, 2000;Himelein & Putnam, 2001), as well as a recent study by our group (Strong et al, 2019), has highlighted that the allocation of time to various work activities (i.e., clinical, research, or teaching) varied depending on the career path chosen (i.e., primarily academic or primarily clinical position). Our findings further suggested that developing professionals' impressions of work time allocations were not fully consistent with those reported by professionals.…”

“…Our findings further suggested that developing professionals' impressions of work time allocations were not fully consistent with those reported by professionals. Specifically, geropsychology trainees viewed academic work to be primarily focused on research and teaching, with little time allocated to clinical activities (Strong et al, 2019). Yet, participants who identified as academic geropsychologists reported spending almost 20% of their professional time in direct clinical care or supervision of clinical care.…”