Can a person understand and read another person’s mind? Is it possible to hypnotize someone? Interested in knowing how to become a psychologist in India after 12th? Well, this is no secret. Let’s talk in detail.
Topics covered
Who is a psychologist?
Psychology is the study of human mind and behaviour.
A psychologist is a specialist in the field of psychology. They evaluate and explain human’s thoughts, emotions feelings and behaviour.
They provide counselling and assistance to the people who have mental, emotional and behavioural disorders by recognizing their problems.

What does a psychologist do?
A psychologist uses various scientific techniques and therapies to heal someone. As a psychologist, you will observe the behavioural patterns and diagnose to correct disorders.
A psychologist may work with an individual patient, group or with an organization. They work at various places such as schools, hospitals, community centres, organizations etc.
Psychologist Qualifications to become a psychologist
There are many. They have different specializations in their line of work.
Here let’s list out 14 important ones with high pay scales in first world nations.
- Clinical Psychologist
- School Psychologist
- Forensic Psychologist
- Developmental Psychologist
- Social Psychologist
- Personality Psychologist
- Military Psychologist
- Counselling Psychologist
- Industrial-organizational Psychologist
- Environmental Psychologist
- Engineering Psychologist
- Educational psychologist
- Cognitive psychologist
- Sports psychologist

What are their key duties?
- Counselling individuals, groups, or families to help them understand problems, deal with crisis situations, define goals, and develop realistic action plans.
- Interacting with clients to assist them in achieving effective personal, social, educational, or vocational development and adjustment.
- Selecting, administering, scoring, and interpreting psychological tests to obtain information on individuals’ intelligence, achievements, interests, or personalities.
- Identifying psychological, emotional, or behavioral issues and diagnose disorders, using information obtained from interviews, tests, records, or reference materials.
- Developing therapeutic and treatment plans based on clients’ interests, abilities, or needs.
- Using a variety of treatment methods, such as psychotherapy, hypnosis, behavior modification, stress reduction therapy, psychodrama, or play therapy.
- Documenting patient information including session notes, progress notes, recommendations, and treatment plans.
- Obtaining and study medical, psychological, social, and family histories by interviewing individuals, couples, or families and by reviewing records.
- Writing reports on clients and maintain required paperwork.

How to be a psychologist in India after 12th?
There are more ways than you can think of to have a career in this field. These are the most popular ones.
- Class 10 with any subjects – Class 11-12 in any stream – UG
- Class 10 with any subjects – Class 11-12 in any stream – UG – PG
- Class 10 with any subjects – Class 11-12 in any stream – UG – PG – M.Phil.
- Class 10 with any subjects – Class 11-12 in any stream – UG – PG – PhD
All degrees in Psychology or cognate areas of specialization.
A graduation degree in Psychology is a must. Then you can opt to do post-graduation (PG/Master’s/Diploma/Certificate) followed by MPhil or PhD in any one of the following 18 fields:
- Applied Behaviour Analysis
- Applied Psychology
- Behavioural Neuroscience
- Child Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Computational Psychology
- Counselling Psychology
- Criminology (Psychology)
- Cyberpsychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Experimental Psychology
- Forensic Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- Mental Health Counselling
- Rehabilitation Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Sports Psychology

Salary of Psychologist in India
At the junior level with a work experience of 2-5 years, anything between Rs. 25,000 to 60,000+ per month depending on your qualifications and expertise.
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At the middle level with an experience of 5-10 years, anything between Rs. 50,000 to 1,00,000+ per month depending on your qualifications and expertise.
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At the senior level of over10 years of work experience in government jobs, anything between Rs. 1,00,000 to 2,50,000+ per month and in the private sector you might earn up to 5,00,000 per month depending on your qualifications and expertise.
Based on your specialisation, college and work experience, you will earn accordingly:
- In a government hospital as a clinical psychologist: anywhere between Rs. 56,100 to 1,77,500 (Grade 10 of 7th pay commission).
- In a government establishment as an associate professor, you would be earning anything between Rs. 30,000 to 1,00,000.
- In a government research centre as a Senior Scientific Officer (Grade II) at the forensic department, you will earn between Rs. 56,100 to 1,77,500 per month.
- As a laboratory attendant at the forensic department, you will earn around Rs. 18,000 to 56,900.
- As an associate psychologist with healthcare, rehab centres or MNCs, you will be earning anything between Rs. 20,000 to 1,00,000.
- If you are working as a counsellor than you might be earning around Rs. 15,000 to 50,000 per month.
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Final Words
You all must have seen in movies, read in books and heard stories of how someone can be hypnotized. Sometimes you may have wondered about it too. If you’re interested in that kind of science, then we have helped you quite a bit. Career confusion? Leave that to experts. Here we are!
Check this amazing book from OpenStax College (Texas, USA).
iDreamCareer, with its Career Planning Program, engages millions of young confused minds from 9th class, 10th class, class 11, class 12 with an aim to select their suitable career choices.
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With a Master’s in Biophysics-Biostatistics, Sreenanda acquired professional experience in computational proteomics of human molecules. She is currently working with the Research and Data Team at iDreamCareer.
You might find that being a psychologist is the perfect choice for you, or you may find that an alternative career path is better suited to your needs. For example, you might also consider becoming a psychiatrist, counselor, physical therapist, or some other career centered on helping people. There are also a number of types of psychologists and each field has its own educational and training requirements.