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Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about 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.

Related: Human Resources Managers Human Resources Specialists Management Analysts Training & Development Managers Training & Development Specialists

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical

Summary
Details

Facilitate organizational development and change.
Write reports on research findings and implications to contribute to general knowledge or to suggest potential changes in organizational functioning.
Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.
Counsel workers about job and career-related issues.
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.
Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
Facilitate organizational development and change.
Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
Identify training and development needs.
Write articles, white papers, or reports to share research findings and educate others.
Provide expert testimony in employment lawsuits.
Study consumers' reactions to new products and package designs, and to advertising efforts, using surveys and tests.
Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
Identify training and development needs.
Assess employee performance.
Assess employee performance.
Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, or motivation to assess organizational functioning.
Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.
Participate in mediation and dispute resolution.
Train clients to administer human resources functions, including testing, selection, and performance management.
Review research literature to remain current on psychological science issues.
Coach senior executives and managers on leadership and performance.
Conduct presentations on research findings for clients or at research meetings.
Conduct individual assessments, including interpreting measures and providing feedback for selection, placement, or promotion.
Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.

Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Internship/residency

Education and Training Opportunities

U.S. Annual Salary

109840/yr

U.S. Hourly Wage

52.81/hr

Currently Employed

5,900

Yearly Projected Openings

400

Investigative: People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out. They do well at jobs that need:

Initiative
Self-Confidence
Innovation
Adaptability
Achievement Orientation
Cooperation

Desktop computers
High capacity removable media drives
Liquid crystal display projector
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Scanners

Analytical or scientific software
Computer based training software
Data base user interface and query software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Human resources software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Web platform development software
Word processing software

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