Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
The occupation Industrial-Organizational Psychologists covers people who apply principles of psychology to human resources, administration, management, sales, and marketing problems. You may also need to provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection. The strongest interest signal is Investigative (5.3 of 7), then Enterprising (4.7) and Conventional, which gives it the code IEC. Plan on graduate school and often five years or more of related experience; O*NET labels this extensive preparation. Strength in reading comprehension, active listening, and writing helps most here. A regular part of the work is to develop and implement employee selection or placement programs. People who want research, analysis and working through hard problems usually fit better here than those who need hands-on work with tools, machines or the physical world.
What they do
Apply principles of psychology to human resources, administration, management, sales, and marketing problems. Activities may include policy planning; employee testing and selection, training, and development; and organizational development and analysis. May work with management to organize the work setting to improve worker productivity.
Main tasks
- Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
- Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
- Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
- Develop interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests used to assess skills, abilities, and interests for the purpose of employee selection, placement, or promotion.
- Observe and interview workers to obtain information about the physical, mental, and educational requirements of jobs, as well as information about aspects such as job satisfaction.
- Facilitate organizational development and change.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
- Speaking
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Critical Thinking
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You enjoy working out why something happens, not just what happened.
- You like taking the lead and making the call.
- You are prepared for graduate-level study and a long training path.
- You are comfortable relying on reading comprehension and active listening.
May not suit you if
- You lose interest when a job asks for long stretches of analysis.
- You want to work with your hands for most of the day. Realistic rates 1.1 out of 7 here.
- You want to be working in the field within the next few years.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code IEC takes the three highest, and Investigative comes first here.
Preparation
Extensive preparation. Many jobs here need graduate study, and people often spend five years or more building specialist experience.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Master's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Consulting Psychologist
- I-O Practitioner (Industrial-Organizational Practitioner)
- I-O Psychologist (Industrial-Organizational Psychologist)
- Industrial Psychologist
- Management Consultant
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.