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Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
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.
Also Known As:
Consulting Psychologist
I-O Practitioner (Industrial-Organizational Practitioner)
I-O Psychologist (Industrial-Organizational Psychologist)
Industrial Psychologist
Management Consultant
Organizational Consultant
Organizational Development Specialist (OD Specialist)
Organizational Psychologist
Personnel Research Psychologist
Research Scientist
Wages
Annual wages for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
5,900
6% Change From 2024
Explore Industrial-Organizational Psychologists video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Facilitate organizational development and change.
- Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.
- Write reports on research findings and implications to contribute to general knowledge or to suggest potential changes in organizational functioning.
- 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.
- Write articles, white papers, or reports to share research findings and educate others.
- Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
- Identify training and development needs.
- 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.
- Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
- Identify training and development needs.
- Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
- Assess employee performance.
- Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, or motivation to assess organizational functioning.
- Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
- Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.
- Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
- Assess employee performance.
- Provide expert testimony in employment lawsuits.
- Participate in mediation and dispute resolution.
- Study consumers' reactions to new products and package designs, and to advertising efforts, using surveys and tests.
- Train clients to administer human resources functions, including testing, selection, and performance management.
- Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.
- Review research literature to remain current on psychological science issues.
- Coach senior executives and managers on leadership and performance.
- Conduct individual assessments, including interpreting measures and providing feedback for selection, placement, or promotion.
- Conduct presentations on research findings for clients or at research meetings.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- 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.
- 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.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- 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.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- 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.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- 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.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- 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.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- 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.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- 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.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")