💡 Why it matters: Mental health is being discussed more openly, and many people need trained professionals but there are too few of them.
🌍 Around the world
- Nigeria: Mental health is finally being discussed openly, and many people need trained professionals but few exist.
- United States: Jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, faster than average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).
💰 What it can pay
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Starting out
- ₦1.8M – ₦4M
- Mid-career
- ₦4M – ₦10M
- Senior
- ₦10M – ₦25M
≈ ₦333k – ₦833k a month mid-career. Indicative estimate by Incusim.
🇺🇸 United States
All psychologists (clinical and counselling median is $100.6k). Median pay; low and high are the 10th and 90th percentiles. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025
🇨🇦 Canada
Hourly wage low/median/high x 2,080 hours. Job Bank (Government of Canada), 2023-2024
Yearly pay before tax. UK, US and Canada figures come from the official sources named on each card. Nigeria has no official salary survey, so those are our indicative estimates. Real pay depends on the employer, the place, your skills and experience.
🛠️ What you actually do
- Talk with people about stress, fear and sadness
- Use proven methods to help them cope
- Assess how people think and feel
- Work with doctors, schools and families
- Run awareness programmes on mental health
⚡ Skills you'll need
- Listening
- Empathy
- Analysis
- Confidentiality
- Patience
Get ready at school
🇳🇬 Nigeria
- Counselling certificate courses and supervised practice
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Work as an assistant psychologist to gain experience before the doctorate
🇺🇸 United States
- Research assistant or mental health technician roles during and after college
🇨🇦 Canada
- Research assistant or mental health support roles while you study
🗺️ Your path to this career
- 1Study Biology, English and a social science in school
- 2Take a degree in Psychology
- 3Do a Master's in clinical or counselling psychology
- 4Complete supervised practice with patients
- 5Work in a hospital, school, company or private practice
⏰ A day in the life
You start with a session with a student who has exam anxiety, teaching her calming techniques. Later you meet a family dealing with grief, write careful notes and join a team meeting at the hospital.