Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
I-O Psychologist (Industrial-Organizational Psychologist), Organizational Consultant, Organizational Psychologist, Research Scientist
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.
On the job, you would:
- 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.
Knowledge
Business
- human resources (HR)
- management
Math and Science
- psychology
- arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics
Education and Training
- teaching and course design
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Skills
Basic Skills
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
- reading work related information
People and Technology Systems
- thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
- measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Abilities
Verbal
- communicate by speaking
- read and understand what is written
Ideas and Logic
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
- use rules to solve problems
Math
- choose the right type of math to solve a problem
- add, subtract, multiply, or divide
Personality
People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Analytical Thinking
- Integrity
- Initiative
- Dependability
- Achievement/Effort
- Attention to Detail
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Analytical or scientific software
- IBM SPSS Statistics
- SAS
Computer based training software
- Learning management system LMS
- Padlet
Spreadsheet software
- Google Sheets
- Microsoft Excel
Education
Education: (rated 5 of 5)
master's degree or
doctoral degree
usually needed
doctoral degree
usually needed
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
See more details at O*NET OnLine about industrial-organizational psychologists.