What Is the Psychiatrist’s Salary in the UK?

To become a psychiatrist, you must have a medical degree and possess many specific character traits. An analytical mind and a willingness to help others to fight their mental health problems are the basics a great psychiatrist should have.

Types of Psychiatrists

A psychiatrist’s salary often depends on what patients he works with. Nowadays, when people are more aware, psychiatrists work with a very wide range of people. Common patients are both children and elderly people, which is why psychiatrists specialize in many areas such as:

• medical psychotherapy

You try to help patients understand their difficulties and everyday problems. Not only where they come from, but also how to combat them. Like all psychiatrists, you need to develop your active listening skills to go through many traumas with your patients. Exploring painful experiences and emotions is a daily task.

• forensic

You look after prisoners and patients in secure hospitals. The most common problem of your patients is aggression. This position is very responsible as you have to assess the risk of endangering the patient and others. You can also witness court trials as an expert.

• general adult

The range of your patients is usually 18-65. A general adult psychiatrist has many sub-specialities to choose like neuropsychiatry, rehabilitation psychiatry or eating disorder psychiatry.

• old age

Your patients are usually elderly people over 65. They struggle with mental problems such as schizophrenia, dementia and more. With this type of patient, the specialist must have more patience than a standard psychiatrist.

• child and adolescents

You work with children and adolescents under the age of 18. It is often difficult for them to name their problems precisely. This specialisation requires not only extensive knowledge but also creativity, which is important when working with the youngest patients.

• psychiatry of intellectual disability

This specialisation enables you to work with the most vulnerable people in society. You try to solve the patients’ mental and physical problems and examine their impact on the individual’s development.

How Much Does a Psychiatrist Make in the UK?

As for salary, it depends on specialisation, experience and place of employment. According to jobted.com, the average salary for a psychiatrist in the UK is £78,950 per year. However, the most experienced specialists earn over £200,000. These stakes are out of reach for an intern. A junior hospital psychiatry trainee can count on less than £28,000 a year. The amount you earn also depends on where you work. Psychiatrists working in the biggest cities in the UK are also top earners.

What is the salary of a private psychiatrist? 

At an average of £101,000 a year, they have one of the highest wages in the profession. Of course, it is not easy to get a job in a private institution. Many people say that working in this position is much easier than in a public hospital, but this statement is far from true. Often people with the most severe mental problems are sent to private psychiatrists.

What Are the Working Hours?

Most commonly, psychiatrists work 40 hours a week, between 9 am and 5 pm. However, this depends on where you work and in what position. Most trainees do not spend that much time in the office. They usually help a specialist with such patients, from whom they can learn a lot.

Psychiatrists working hours depend on when they can help people. Therefore, a forensic specialist often has to be ready to answer the phone in the middle of the night and get to work as soon as possible.

Above we described how people work full-time. Things are different with part-time contracts. Then the working hours depend on how the psychiatrist gets along with his employer and what the needs of the institution are. Part-time and short-term contracts are usually practised among residents.

Some psychiatrists’ consultants run their practice and combine it with part-time contracts. 

The Salaries of Psychiatrists Compared to Other Medical Professionals

An inexperienced specialist in any field earns a similar amount of money, about £30,000. However, on average they pay a psychiatrist £3,000 higher wage than GP or a radiologist. Only few specialties earn better than a psychiatrist and these are, for example, surgeons or neurologists who earn an average of £90,000 per year.

Psychiatrists earn really good money, but you must remember that this work is preceded by many years of study, practice and working on your emotions. Not everyone can become a great psychiatrist and therefore specialists should be appreciated.

Psychiatrist’s jobs are waiting for you! Go to Gowork.uk to read your potential employers’ reviews.