Psychiatry(pro) versus your career field of choice(con)

Note: My arguments will be using statistics from the United States. Hopefully my opponent is also from the United States or is otherwise okay with these statistics. If not, I can probably offer in the next round statistics for other countries. My opponent chose an interesting choice for a career, one that is closely related to psychiatry. I will, however, still argue that psychiatry is better than clinical psychology. Now, it should be noted that psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses are the ones who prescribe medication to people as treatment for mental health, psychologists are the ones who usually offer therapy for people as treatment of mental health. In other words, those going into psychiatry are the prescribers and those in clinical psychology are the nonprescribers. There is a greater need for prescribers than non-prescribersNow, while there is a shortage of both psychologists and those in the psychiatric field, there is a greater shortage of those in the psychiatric field. In a study conducted by Kathleen C Thomas M.P.H. Ph.D et al, it was found that only 8% of US counties had a severe shortage of nonprescriber mental health professionals, and 18% had at least some unmet needs[1, pg 1325]. On the flip side, 77% of US counties have a severe shortage of prescribers and 96% had at least some sort of shortage[1, pg 1325] In other words, 72% of all counties in the US have their psychological needs met, while only 4% have their psychiatric needs met. There is a much greater need for psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses than psychologists, therapists, etc. I contend, then, that because there is a greater need for psychiatry currently than clinical psychology a career in psychiatry would be superior than for clinical psychology. Not only does this mean you are helping the severe shortage of psychiatric-related fields when you go into psychiatry, and thus helping society more than if you went into clinical psychology, but you will have better job stability because there is a higher demand for psychiatric careers. It not only helps the community, but yourself as well. Psychiatrists and psychiatric nurses earn more income than PsychologistsThe average psychiatrist yearly income in the United States ranges from $171,660 to $195,510, depending on who you work for[2] in comparison, the average salary a psychologist makes is $72,580[3]. That's a difference of about $100,000 or more, and both fields require traditionally 8 years of education beyond high school. The average yearly earnings of a person who takes on an advanced degree beyond a master's degree, is $124,584. [4] This means that a psychologist is very underpaid in comparison to other advanced degrees, while a psychiatrist is paid much more than other advanced degrees. Overall, it is more profitable to become a psychiatrist in the long-run than a psychologist. What is insane, a psychiatric nurse, which only needs a master's degree, even earns more than a psychologist, which requires a Ph.D. The average psychiatric nurse yearly income is $91,963[5] Clearly, in terms of what you can earn in these jobs, psychiatry is superior.Psychiatrists can do what psychologists do, but rarely the other way around.In every state, a psychiatrist is authorized to perform psychotherapy if they so choose, but only in 3 states, Illinois, Louisiana, and New Mexico, can psychologists prescribe medication[6]. So basically, if you decide to become a psychologist, you're pretty much limited to performing therapy unless you decide to live in one of those three states. However, psychiatry offers more flexibility. Although it's not too common, as a psychiatrist, you can give a patient psychotherapy if you so chose. So, as a psychiatrist, you can both prescribe medication and provide psychotherapy to a patient, whereas for a psychologist, you're more than likely going to only be able to provide therapy. Patients seeking mental treatment, when seeking for therapy most want medication as well.In a study discussed in this article, patients with PTSD who sought therapy treatment, only 30% of them chose to also not get medication[6], based on what I've learned in my psychology classes(I am on the track to becoming a psychiatrist myself, hence this debate) it tends to be the case that majority of people with any mental health problem also want medication if they are seeking therapy. If my opponent challenges that statement, I can later add some sources, I just chose not to in order to save time and I just stated what I learned in my psychology courses, since anyone who has taken psychology courses may have also been told this. Thus, what this means is that society needs psychiatrists and/or psychiatric nurses in addition to psychologists. However, psychologists may not even be necessary since, if they wanted to, psychiatrists could also do what psychologists do. Conclusion of this round:Due to that there is a growing need for psychiatrists, moreso than psychologists, psychiatrists earn more income, psychiatrists can do what psychologists do, and most people don't seek to have therapy alone, these are reasons which mean that psychiatry is either very much more needed than therapists/psychologists, but also that it is better for a person themselves to seek to become a psychiatrist. Additionally, the amount of education between the two fields is the same, and actually, if you wanted to become just a psychiatric nurse, the amount of education is 2 years less than that of a psychologist. Psychiatry is thus better for these reasons and now I turn this over to my opponent Sources:[1] http://www.oregonhwi.org...[2] http://learn.org...[3] https://www.bls.gov... [4] http://www.pewresearch.org... (This has the monthly earnings of an advanced degree, but just multiply that number by 12 to get the number I got for yearly)[5] https://www.indeed.com...[6] https://www.psychologytoday.com...