Also called: Public Safety Psychologist, Law Enforcement Psychologist
A psychologist who screens police and firefighter candidates, counsels officers after traumatic events, and advises on crisis situations.
Police psychologists run pre-hire psychological evaluations, meet with officers after shootings, train crisis negotiators, and help departments handle stress and burnout. Some respond to hostage scenes.
Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 10 years after high school. Ph.D. or Psy.D. in clinical or counseling psychology, state license, and police psychology training.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Psychology, Criminal Justice.
Growing about average. Growing attention to officer mental health.
Low risk for 10 years. AI may score screening tests; counseling officers after trauma and crisis consulting stay human.
Classes: AP Psychology, AP Biology, Statistics, Speech.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-3039.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.