Clinical Neuropsychologists

Assess and diagnose patients with neurobehavioral problems related to acquired or developmental disorders of the nervous system, such as neurodegenerative disorders, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, and learning disabilities. Recommend treatment after diagnosis, such as therapy, medication, or surgery. Assist with evaluation before and after neurosurgical procedures, such as deep brain stimulation.

Most important skills

Active Listening
Critical Thinking
Reading Comprehension
Social Perceptiveness
Judgment and Decision Making
Speaking
Complex Problem Solving
Writing

Key knowledge

Psychology
Therapy and Counseling
English Language
Education and Training
Medicine and Dentistry
Biology
Customer and Personal Service
Mathematics

What the work involves

Compare patients' progress before and after pharmacologic, surgical, or behavioral interventions.
Conduct neuropsychological evaluations such as assessments of intelligence, academic ability, attention, concentration, sensorimotor function, language, learning, and memory.
Consult with other professionals about patients' neurological conditions.
Design or implement rehabilitation plans for patients with cognitive dysfunction.
Diagnose and treat conditions involving injury to the central nervous system, such as cerebrovascular accidents, neoplasms, infectious or inflammatory diseases, degenerative diseases, head traumas, demyelinating diseases, and various forms of dementing illnesses.
Diagnose and treat neural and psychological conditions in medical and surgical populations, such as patients with early dementing illness or chronic pain with a neurological basis.
Diagnose and treat pediatric populations for conditions such as learning disabilities with developmental or organic bases.
Diagnose and treat psychiatric populations for conditions such as somatoform disorder, dementias, and psychoses.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Conventional.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Post-Doctoral Training (91.7% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (58.3%)
On-the-job training: Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (37.5%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Clinical Neuropsychologists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 19-3039 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Moderate	Lower on contact with others than 58% of occupations compared	46% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time”
Dealing with the public	Very high	Higher on dealing with the public than 80% of occupations compared	58% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Teamwork	Very low	Lower on teamwork than 86% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important”
Freedom to make decisions	Very high	Higher on freedom to make decisions than 96% of occupations compared	83% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom”
Time pressure	Very high	Higher on time pressure than 83% of occupations compared	50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day”
Conflict situations	Low	Lower on conflict situations than 69% of occupations compared	46% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Moderate	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 58% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	Moderate	Lower on consequence of error than 53% of occupations compared	33% of surveyed respondents chose “Serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very high
Conflict situations: low
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
Consequence of error: moderate

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions