How to Become a Psychometrist
Have you ever wondered what goes into a psychological test? What does it mean to test for someone’s mental soundness? As a psychometrist, you will be on the frontline of psychological tests that pave the way for better psychological care.
What Is a Psychometrist?
A psychometrist works with individuals who have a mental illness, neurological disorder, or brain trauma. They administer numerous tests, ranging from mental health to autism to neurology.
While most of these professionals work with clinical psychologists, they also work in business and corporate settings. They can work alongside human resource specialists and recruiters to help with employment processes.
What Does a Psychometrist Do?
Administers Psychological and Neurological Tests
A psychometrist's primary responsibility is to administer various tests for mental acuity, possible learning disabilities, and other neurological factors. They test individuals of all ages and backgrounds.
Some standard psychological tests that psychometrists perform on people are the Modern Language Aptitude Test, Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale, and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R).
Psychometrists also give out psychological tests for people applying for work.
These tests include personality, aptitude, achievement potential, interest, and career selection tests.
Collects Data From Tests
As a psychometrist works with a diverse population, they need to monitor their testing population for different trends and variables continually. These crucial statistics can paint larger pictures and give a psychometrist and psychologist a better idea of their community’s nuances.
Works Alongside Psychologists and Other Mental Health Professionals
For those who want to immerse themselves in the psychological field, becoming a psychometrist puts you at the forefront of psychological knowledge. Regardless of seniority level, a psychometrist usually works with talented psychologists or other mental health professionals in their line of work.
Essential Psychometrist Skills
Attention to Detail
Even an entry-level psychometrist needs to have an excellent eye for detail. To administer psychological tests, you need to be able to observe and analyze. After testing an individual, a psychometrist then scores the test to whichever metric governs the test.
Knowledge of Statistics
This is a considerable skill to have, as much of your job consists of data entry and number crunching. You need to ensure that you and coworkers are testing individuals correctly and not making statistical errors. If you don’t have a good statistics background, it could make your job considerably more difficult.
Psychometrist Salaries and Job Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that psychometrics earn an average of $25,000 to $58,000. However, the Psychometric Society shows that a talented psychometrist with experience earns an average of anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000. According to the Economic Research Institute, average salaries are around $60,616 per year.
The field's ideal position would be a full psychometrician, a psychometrist that has gone through further learning and licensing. If you have earned your Master's Degree in Psychology, you have a fantastic shot at raising your salary.
The job outlook for psychometrists is excellent. You can be sure that whether the position is full time or not, psychological testing will always be needed. There is a 10 percent projected growth in the field of psychometry over the next few years.
There are numerous psychological organizations in the United States that an entry-level psychometrist can join for great networking and job searching opportunities. The Stepping Stones Group and the Psychometrist Society are just two great examples.
How Long Does it Take to Become a Psychometrist?
It will take an individual anywhere from four to six years. Let’s see why that gap varies in length with the following step-by-step guide on how to become a psychometrist.
How to Become a Psychometrist: A Step by Step Guide
The road to a rewarding psychology career can be a long one, but it could be worth your while. Let’s see how to become a psychometrist in four easy steps.
Step 1: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree
While you don’t necessarily need a degree in psychology, you need at least an undergraduate degree. While this could technically be where you end your education, you should consider pursuing more educational opportunities to increase your salary.
Step 2: Get Your Master’s Degree in Psychology
While not essential to becoming an entry-level psychometrist, earning your Master’s Degree in Psychology will allow you to advance from psychometrist to psychometrician more quickly. The psychometrician has a higher seniority level in nearly all aspects of being a psychometrist.
Step 3: Get Experience and Get Certified
To be certified as a psychometrist, you need your bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 3,000 testing hours. Once you qualify for the exam, you need to take the Certified Specialist in Psychometry (CSP) exam. Your working hours add up to around a year of real-world working experience.
Getting certified gives you an advantage in the field of psychometry. Salary estimates rise once you have your certification.
Step 4: Join a Psychometry Organization and Start Testing
Joining organizations can open up fantastic networking opportunities for your career, regardless of profession.
For those with a brand new psychology degree, joining something like the Psychometric Society is a fantastic idea. Like-minded professionals will help your job search and go over different methodologies used in psychological tests.
After you put your foot in the door of an organization, it’s time to start testing. You will work alongside a clinical psychologist or other health professional.
Should You Become a Psychometrist?
If you are interested in psychology, how the brain works, and how mental health professionals determine the severity of neurological disabilities, then you should become a psychometrist.
With the average salary for entry-level positions not particularly high, you’ll need to persist in the field so you can get the opportunity to advance quickly. By joining something like the Stepping Stones Group, a premier therapeutic organization dedicated to assisting children and individuals, you can enter the field of psychometry and make a difference.
