PsyD or "prestigious" MSW?

[Quess]

Hi, I would like to know if anyone has opinions on whether they would choose an APA accredited PsyD from a "less prestigious" (and perhaps somewhat unknown) program or a terminal MSW degree from a "very prestigious" program? Both programs are very appropriate for meaningful work. Tuition and years are not primary factors. Thank you very much for any advice.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Quess

[juilletmercredi]

If tuition and years are not primary factors, what are your primary factors? What are your career goals?

I was chatting with a friend who is a master's-educated LPC yesterday. I asked her if she ever wanted to get a doctoral degree; she was telling me in our current state it wouldn't make sense since she can make good money with the MA and the reimbursement rates for a doctoral degree aren't that much higher. But if she moved to another nearby state, she'd want to go back and get the doctoral degree because the licensing requirements are different there and there's a much bigger gap between reimbursement rates for the MA and the PhD/PsyD.

So I'd think that's probably the biggest thing - where do you want to work, and what kind of pay gap is there between doctoral degree holders and MSW holders there? And do you care about that? Do you want to be able to, say, adjunct teach a few classes at a four-year college in the future?

If money were no object and I didn't care about the number of years it would take me, then I personally wouldn't see a reason not to choose the PsyD - having the doctoral degree will objectively net you a larger income in all 50 states and will give you flexibility of practice. There are lots of agencies and hospitals that want doctorally-prepared psychologists. The prestige factor doesn't really matter if you want to go into clinical practice; neither social work nor clinical practice is a very prestige-focused field. I'd imagine most people aren't really aware of where their psychologists went to graduate school, and unless you want to do research or work at a prestigious hospital I'd imagine it wouldn't matter there either (and even if it did, a couple years of solid work experience might eliminate that concern anyway).