Careers in Educational Psychology

Job opportunities for qualified educational psychologists in Scotland are good. There are 32 employing local authorities and vacancies are common. Most newly qualified educational psychologists will be employed by the Local Authority, Educational Psychology Service (EPS) or Psychological Services accredited by the SDEP.

Current Pay Scales

The current pay scales are as follows:

• Maingrade Educational Psychologist: Point 0-6 £34,794- £44,295
• Senior Educational Educational Psychologist: Point 1 £47,010
• Management Spine: Points 1-9; £47,010-54,486

Pay and conditions are negotiated in Scotland by the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT).

Where are jobs advertised?

Positions are commonly advertised within the national press, e.g. The Times Educational Supplement (TES) and Times Educational Supplement (Scotland), The Herald and The Scotsman.

Some Educational Psychology posts are advertised along with a range of other psychologist posts at all levels in the Society’s Appointments Memorandum which is sent to members each month. Posts are also advertised in the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) appointment memorandum, which is sent monthly to members.

Working as an Independent Educational Psychologist

Some educational psychologists work wholly or partly in private practice. The Society published Guidelines on Private Practice as a Psychologist in 1999.