Psychiatrists diagnose and treat mental illness. They are the only mental health professionals who are also physicians. That is what lets them weigh the medical causes and prescribe. The work covers depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, addiction and the psychiatric consequences of physical illness. Treatment is medication and psychotherapy together, in a proportion each psychiatrist chooses.

This guide covers careers in psychiatry end to end, walking through all six accredited subspecialties, the years of training each one costs you, what the work earns and how competitive the path is.

Medical careers in psychiatry

Every path below is a formal, ACGME-accredited subspecialty you enter through a fellowship after psychiatry residency. Together they hold 1,586 physicians in training.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Physicians in training as of the 2024-2025 academic year, from the ACGME Data Resource Book. A larger number means a larger field, not an easier one.

How long does psychiatry training take?

All of the careers in psychiatry on this page run through the same first eight years, and separate afterwards. Residency length is taken from the ACGME Data Resource Book for the 2024-2025 academic year.

1. Bachelor's degree, four years. Any major works, as long as you finish the medical school prerequisites and sit the MCAT.
2. Medical school, four years. Two years mostly preclinical, two years mostly in the hospital, with USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 along the way.
3. Psychiatry residency, four years. Four years of residency after medical school.
4. Fellowship, one to three years. Optional, and the route into the subspecialties listed below.

That is twelve years from starting your bachelor's degree to practising independently, before any fellowship. How long medical school takes covers the middle four in detail.

How much do psychiatrists earn?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median wage for psychiatrists at $281,870 a year in 2025, across 27,980 people in the occupation.

Figures from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates, 2025. Wages at the top of the scale are reported as equal to or greater than $239,200 in some categories, so a published median can sit below what practising physicians in the field report.

Earnings across careers in psychiatry swing more on setting and geography than on the specialty itself. Academic posts sit below private practice, and rural positions often sit above urban ones for the same work.

How competitive is psychiatry?

Almost every position offered was filled. A low share filled by US MD seniors means the specialty draws heavily on DO and international graduates, so a strong application from any route stands a chance.

Figures from NRMP Results and Data, 2026 Main Residency Match, Table 1A.

Match rates describe the field, not your application. What moves your own odds is your Step 2 score, your clinical grades, your letters and your research, and the odds of getting into medical school covers the stage before any of that.

How careers in psychiatry compare with the other specialties

Training length. Psychiatry residency runs four years. Of the nineteen specialties on this site, ten are shorter and six are the same length. The spread across all of them is two years to five.

Earnings. At $281,870, it ranks 9 of 13 on median wage among the specialties here with their own BLS occupation code. The highest is diagnostic radiology at $420,860.

Competition. Six of the fifteen specialties here that run through the main match fill a higher share of their positions with US MD seniors, which is the closest single proxy for how contested a field is.

Size of the field. BLS counts 27,980 people employed in the psychiatrists category. A larger field means more posts advertised and more geographic choice about where you practise.

None of these numbers should pick a specialty for you. They are the constraints you are choosing inside, and the choice itself comes down to whether the day-to-day work holds your attention for thirty years.

Skills and requirements for psychiatry

Where the work happens. Outpatient clinic, inpatient psychiatric units, consultation on medical wards, emergency psychiatry and a large amount of telepsychiatry.

Who it suits. People who want long conversations rather than short ones, who can sit with distress, and who are interested in the point where neuroscience and a person's life story meet.

How you get in. Four years of residency after medical school.

Before any of that, the requirements match every other route into medicine. You need a bachelor's degree, the prerequisite coursework, clinical and research experience, an MCAT score, and a complete medical school application.