Care for people with mental illness or developmental needs, monitor behavior, give medication, and lead activities.
Psychiatric hospitals and facilities
Shifts, nights, weekends, holidays
May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.
“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.
Certificate program
Training path: Certificate program, paid on the job.
A few states, including California, license psychiatric technicians.
You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.
Fast-growing frontline work in mental health care — meaningful, demanding, and reachable with a short program.
Run the Reality Check — build the life you want and see the salary it takes, then compare it to this one.
Browse verified internships, fellowships, and programs — many paid — that lead into fields like this.
Free resume templates, interview practice, and getting-hired guides in the Careers kit.
Standard Occupational Classification 29-2053. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.