A person working as Psychologist in Bulgaria typically earns around 5,520 BGN. Salaries range from 2,540 BGN (lowest) to 8,770 BGN (highest).
This is the average salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Psychologist salaries in Bulgaria vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.
Minimum Salary 2,540 BGN |
Median 5,270 BGN |
Maximum 8,770 BGN |
Salaries for the position Psychologist in Bulgaria range from 2,540 BGN (starting salary) to 8,770 BGN (maximum salary). It should be noted that the given figure is not the legally mandated minimum wage; rather, it represents the lowest figure reported in a salary survey that included thousands of participants and professionals from all regions of the country.
With a median salary of 5,270 BGN, half of the professionals who work as Psychologist in Bulgaria earn less than this amount, and the other half earn more. The median salary denotes the middle value of salaries. Ideally, you would want to belong to the group earning more than the median salary, located on the right side of the salary distribution graph.
The median is closely associated with two other values known as the 25th and 75th percentiles. By examining the salary distribution chart, it can be determined that 25% of professionals employed as Psychologist in Bulgaria earn less than 4,250 BGN, while 75% earn more. Similarly, the chart shows that 75% earn less than 6,080 BGN while 25% earn more.
To provide a better understanding of expected salaries, we categorized the frequently occurring salaries into different ranges. This approach provides a more precise representation of salary distribution for the job title Psychologist in Bulgaria compared to simply calculating the average. The majority of reported salaries, approximately 65%, fall within the range of 3,160 BGN to 4,580 BGN. About 20% of salaries are below the 3,160 BGN mark, while 10% fall within the range of 4,580 BGN to 5,230 BGN. Only 5% of individuals have salaries exceeding 5,230 BGN.
0 - 2 Years | 2,880 BGN | |
2 - 5 Years | +34% | 3,850 BGN |
5 - 10 Years | +48% | 5,690 BGN |
10 - 15 Years | +22% | 6,930 BGN |
15 - 20 Years | +9% | 7,560 BGN |
20+ Years | +8% | 8,180 BGN |
The experience level is the most important factor in determining the salary. Naturally, the more years of experience the higher the wage. We broke down salaries by experience level for people working as Psychologist and this is what we found.
Employees with less than two years of experience earn approximately 2,880 BGN.
While someone with an experience level between two and five years is expected to earn 3,850 BGN, 34% more than someone with less than two year's experience.
Moving forward, an experience level between five and ten years lands a salary of 5,690 BGN, 48% more than someone with two to five years of experience.
Additionally, professionals whose expertise span anywhere between ten and fifteen years get a salary equivalent to 6,930 BGN, 22% more than someone with five to ten years of experience.
If the experience level is between fifteen and twenty years, then the expected wage is 7,560 BGN, 9% more than someone with ten to fifteen years of experience.
Lastly, employees with more than twenty years of professional experience get a salary of 8,180 BGN, 8% more than people with fifteen to twenty years of experience.
Though gender should not have an effect on pay, in reality, it does. So who gets paid more: men or women? For the people who work as Psychologist in Bulgaria, the average difference between the salary of male and female employees is 9%.
Male | 5,740 BGN | |
Female | -8% | 5,290 BGN |
Individuals working as Psychologist in Bulgaria are likely to observe a salary increase of approximately 12% every 21 months. The national average annual increment for all professions combined is 7% granted to employees every 20 months.
The term Annual Salary Increase usually refers to the increase in 12 calendar month period, but because it is rare that people get their salaries reviewed exactly on the one-year mark, it is more meaningful to know the frequency and the rate at the time of the increase.
The annual salary Increase in a calendar year (12 months) can be easily calculated as follows: Annual Salary Increase = Increase Rate x 12 / Increase Frequency
Not all compensation increases are reflected directly in the salary. Some companies offer upgraded packages to their staff instead of cash money. The figures displayed here account only for direct increments to the base salary.
17% of surveyed staff reported that they haven't received any bonuses or incentives in the previous year while 83% said that they received at least one form of monetary bonus.
Those who got bonuses reported rates ranging from 5% to 9% of their annual salary.
Received Bonus | 83% | |
No Bonus | 17% |
The most standard form of bonus, where the employee is awarded based on their exceptional performance.
Company Performance BonusesOccasionally, some companies like to celebrate excess earnings and profits with their staff collectively in the form of bonuses that are granted to everyone. The amount of the bonus will probably be different from person to person depending on their role within the organization.
Goal-Based BonusesGranted upon achieving an important goal or milestone.
Holiday / End of Year BonusesThese types of bonuses are given without a reason and usually resemble an appreciation token.
People tend to confuse bonuses with commissions. A commission is a prefixed rate at which someone gets paid for items sold or deals completed while a bonus is in most cases arbitrary and unplanned.
The main two types of jobs | |
Revenue Generators | Supporting Cast |
Employees that are directly involved in generating revenue or profit for the organization. Their field of expertise usually matches the type of business. | Employees that support and facilitate the work of revenue generators. Their expertise is usually different from that of the core business operations. |
Example: | Example: |
Revenue generators usually get more and higher bonuses, higher salaries, and more frequent salary increments. The reason is quite simple: it is easier to quantify your value to the company in monetary terms when you participate in revenue generation.
Top management personnel and senior employees naturally exhibit higher bonus rates and frequencies than juniors. This is very predictable due to the inherent responsibilities of being higher in the hierarchy. People in top positions can easily get double or triple bonus rates than employees down the pyramid.
The hourly wage is the salary paid in one worked hour. Usually, jobs are classified into two categories: salaried jobs and hourly jobs. Salaried jobs pay a fixed amount regardless of the hours worked. Hourly jobs pay per worked hour. To convert salary into hourly wage the above formula is used (assuming 5 working days in a week and 8 working hours per day which is the standard for most jobs). The hourly wage calculation may differ slightly depending on the worked hours per week and the annual vacation allowance. The figures mentioned above are good approximations and are considered to be the standard. One major difference between salaried employees and hourly paid employees is overtime eligibility. Salaried employees are usually exempt from overtime as opposed to hourly paid staff.
The minimum pay rate per hour for people working as Psychologist in Bulgaria is 15 BGN. This is the minimum as per the gathered data in the salary survey not the minimum hourly rate mandated by law.
Job Title | Average Salary |
Counseling | -100% | |
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Coach | 3,180 BGN | -42% |
Adoption Services Director | 4,510 BGN | -18% |
Alcohol and Drug Counselor | 3,590 BGN | -35% |
Assistant Instructor | 1,650 BGN | -70% |
Career Counselor | 4,200 BGN | -24% |
Career Transition Counselor | 3,760 BGN | -32% |
Consultant | 3,990 BGN | -28% |
Culinary Therapist | 3,070 BGN | -44% |
Cyberbullying Counselor | 3,480 BGN | -37% |
Cyberbullying Prevention Counselor | 3,360 BGN | -39% |
Dialectical Behavior Therapy Coach | 3,800 BGN | -31% |
Digital Detox Specialist | 3,520 BGN | -36% |
Director of Rehabilitation Services | 5,160 BGN | -6% |
Disability Consultant | 3,350 BGN | -39% |
Employment Counselor | 4,060 BGN | -26% |
Executive Coach | 4,390 BGN | -20% |
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapist | 3,330 BGN | -40% |
Family Advocate | 2,670 BGN | -52% |
Family Services Specialist | 3,010 BGN | -45% |
Family Support Specialist | 4,400 BGN | -20% |
Family Youth Worker | 1,400 BGN | -75% |
Gambling Addiction Counselor | 3,750 BGN | -32% |
Gaming Addiction Counselor | 3,750 BGN | -32% |
Guidance Counselor | 4,140 BGN | -25% |
Guidance Director | 4,980 BGN | -10% |
Lifestyle Coach | 3,900 BGN | -29% |
Mental Health Counselor | 4,420 BGN | -20% |
Mental Health Therapist | 4,000 BGN | -27% |
Mindfulness Coach | 3,710 BGN | -33% |
Online Addiction Counselor | 3,960 BGN | -28% |
Online Support Group Facilitator | 3,390 BGN | -39% |
Online Therapist | 3,660 BGN | -34% |
Programs Coordinator | 2,330 BGN | -58% |
Psychologist | 5,520 BGN | +0% |
Relationships Counselor | 4,380 BGN | -21% |
Sleep Specialist | 3,770 BGN | -32% |
Social Media Counselor | 3,480 BGN | -37% |
Supervising Counselor | 4,500 BGN | -18% |
Tech Addiction Counselor or Therapist | 4,060 BGN | -26% |
Telehealth Counselor | 3,760 BGN | -32% |
Telepsychiatrist | 4,580 BGN | -17% |
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Coach | 4,580 BGN | -17% |
Virtual Counselor | 3,920 BGN | -29% |
Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor | 4,330 BGN | -22% |
Youth Advocate | 2,340 BGN | -58% |
Youth Care Counselor | 4,260 BGN | -23% |
Youth Care Specialist | 2,430 BGN | -56% |
Youth Development Manager | 5,020 BGN | -9% |
Where can you get paid more, working in a private company or the government? The difference between the public or government sector salaries and the private sector salaries in Bulgaria is 9% on average across all career fields.
Private Sector | 3,140 BGN | |
Public Sector | +9% | 3,440 BGN |
A good and competitive compensation would range anywhere between 5,270 BGN and 6,080 BGN. This is a very rough estimate. Experience and education play a very huge part in the final earnings.
All salary and compensation figures displayed here are gross salary figures, that is the salary before tax deductions. Because taxes may differ across sectors and locations, it is difficult to accurately calculate the net salary after tax for every career.
The base salary for a careers like Psychologist in Bulgaria ranges from 2,540 BGN to 4,250 BGN. The base salary depends on many factors including experience and education. It is not easy to provide a figure with very little information, so take this range with a grain of salt.
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people earn more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary