102 Lower-income Occupations
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
State Profiles
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
Select A State
What is Occupational Licensing?
An “occupational license” is, put simply, government permission to work in a particular field. To earn the license, an aspiring worker must clear various hurdles, such as earning a certain amount of education or training or passing an exam. In the 1950s, only one in 20 U.S. workers needed the government’s permission to pursue their chosen occupation. Today, that figure stands at almost one in four.
Psychiatric Technician
License required in 5 states
36th most burdensome licensing requirements among moderate-income occupations
89th most heavily regulated occupation among moderate-income occupations
What They Do
Psychiatric technicians care for mentally impaired or emotionally disturbed individuals, following physician instructions and hospital procedures. They monitor patients’ physical and emotional well-being and report to medical staff. They may participate in rehabilitation and treatment programs, help with personal hygiene, and administer oral medications and hypodermic injections.Licensing
Five states license psychiatric technicians: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri. All five require a high school diploma, and four of the five require an exam (only Missouri does not). There is significant variation in education and experience requirements, however: While Missouri requires 730 days (two years) of experience, Arkansas and Kansas require only about 210 days (900 hours) of education. Fees range from $0 in Missouri to $349 in California ($119 on average). These requirements are the 36th most burdensome of the 102 occupations studied here. However, because so few states license psychiatric technicians, the occupation ranks as only the 89th most widely and onerously licensed.
License to Work
The data and information here come from IJ’s License to Work report, released in November 2017.
States Ranked by Average Licensing Burden for 102 Lower-Income Occupations
More Burdensome Less Burdensom
Based on data released in November 2017| Burden Rank | State | States Licensed | Fees | Estimated Calendar Days Lost | Education | Experience | Exams | Minimum Grade | Minimum Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | 5 | $0 | 730 | 2 years | 0 | 12 | 18 | |
| 2 | California | 5 | $349 | 357 | 1530 clock hours | 1 | 12 | 18 | |
| 3 | Colorado | 5 | $65 | 224 | 32 credit hours | 1 | 12 | 0 | |
| 4 | Kansas | 5 | $146 | 210 | 900 clock hours | 1 | 12 | 0 | |
| 5 | Arkansas | 5 | $38 | 210 | 900 clock hours | 1 | 12 | 0 |