The employment of 1979 and 1980 doctorate recipients in psychology.

Abstract

In 1975, the American Psychological Association initiated the Doctorate Employment Survey to assess the employment status of recent doctorate recipients in psychology. This report summarizes the results of the 1979 and 1980 surveys. As was found in the 1975-1978 surveys, the unemployment rate for these individuals is low (1.7%), and the vast majority of those employed in full-time positions have jobs that are related to psychology (95.2%). The academic job market, especially in universities, continues to decline while increasing percentages find employment in nonacademic settings, particularly organized health care settings. The 1979 and 1980 surveys also addressed the issues regarding the frequency and characteristics of secondary employment, sources of support for graduate training, and geographic location after graduation. The results and trends in the employment of 1975-1980 doctorate recipients are presented and discussed.We would like to thank Marlene Wicherski for her invaluable assistance in conducting the 1979 and 1980 Doctorate Employment Surveys. We would also like to thank Walter F. Batchelor and Gary R. VandenBos for their comments on a draft of this article.

Contemporary counseling psychology: Results of a national survey.

“…Approximately 22% of our sample identified themselves primarily as private practitioners. This percentage was con- (Stapp & Fulcher, 1982;Stapp, Fulcher, & Wicherski, 1984). Of those respondents whose primary affiliation was not private practice (n = 521, 78.5%), 298 (57.1%) indicated that they engaged in some part-time private practice.…”

The changing face of American psychology: A report from the Committee on Employment and Human Resources.

“…Demand h~s kept pace with the increases in the doctorally trained population; unemployment rates for all psychologists and for new doctorate recipients have hovered around 2% for the past decade (Stapp & Fulcher, 1982;Stapp, Fulcher, & Wicherski, 1984). Demand h~s kept pace with the increases in the doctorally trained population; unemployment rates for all psychologists and for new doctorate recipients have hovered around 2% for the past decade (Stapp & Fulcher, 1982;Stapp, Fulcher, & Wicherski, 1984).…”

“…Data are from the following sources: [Employment settings of 1983 doctorates in psychology] by G. Pion, 1985a, unpublished analyses;"The Employment of 1979 and1980 Doctorate Recipients in Psychology" by J. Stapp and R. Fulcher, 1982, American Psychologist, 37, pp. 1159-1185and "The Employment of Recent Doctorate Recipients in Psychology: 1975Through 1978" by J. Stapp, R. Fulcher, S. D. Nelson, M. S. Pallak, and M. Wicherskl, 1981.…”

Institutional affiliations of contributors to scholarly and professional activities in counseling psychology: 1980–1983.

“…For the most part, current counseling and clinical psychology graduate students are trained to be practitioners. For example, only 14% of 1980 counseling psychology graduates were employed in university positions one year after receiving their degree versus 34% of 1975 graduates (Stapp & Fulcher, 1982); only 2% of current doctoral clinical students aspire to academic research careers (Marwit, 1983); research activity while a counseling graduate student may hurt a person's rating on intern and employment suitability (Hirsch & Stone, 1983). Therefore, one must ask: How valuable to most potential students are these studies that only consider the research and professional leadership dimension of graduate programs?…”