Psychology Transfer Pathway

Alternative Job Titles for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

• 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

Job Tasks and Activities for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

• Administer standardized physical or psychological tests.
• Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
• Advise others on business or operational matters.
• Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
• Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.
• Coach senior executives and managers on leadership and performance.
• Collect information from people through observation, interviews, or surveys.
• 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.
• Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, or motivation to assess organizational functioning.
• Conduct scientific research of organizational behavior or processes.
• Confer with clients to exchange information.
• Counsel clients on mental health or personal achievement.
• Counsel workers about job and career-related issues.
• Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
• Develop educational 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.
• Develop methods of social or economic research.
• Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
• Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.
• Mediate disputes.
• 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.
• Participate in mediation and dispute resolution.
• Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
• Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
• Provide expert testimony in employment lawsuits.
• Review professional literature to maintain professional knowledge.
• Review research literature to remain current on psychological science issues.
• Study consumers' reactions to new products and package designs, and to advertising efforts, using surveys and tests.
• Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.
• Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
• Train clients to administer human resources functions, including testing, selection, and performance management.
• Train personnel in technical or scientific procedures.
• Write articles, white papers, or reports to share research findings and educate others.
• Write reports on research findings and implications to contribute to general knowledge or to suggest potential changes in organizational functioning.

Interests for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

• Investigative
  Studying and researching scientific subjects and human behavior.
• Enterprising
  Managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations.
• Social
  Helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others.

Skills for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

In order of importance

• Reading Comprehension
  Reading work-related information.
  Importance: 85/100
• Active Listening
  Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
  Importance: 85/100
• Writing
  Writing things for co-workers or customers.
  Importance: 81/100
• Critical Thinking
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
  Importance: 78/100
• Judgment and Decision Making
  Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
  Importance: 78/100
• Speaking
  Talking to others.
  Importance: 78/100
• Systems Evaluation
  Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
  Importance: 75/100
• Complex Problem Solving
  Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
  Importance: 75/100
• Systems Analysis
  Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
  Importance: 72/100
• Social Perceptiveness
  Understanding people's reactions.
  Importance: 72/100
• Monitoring
  Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
  Importance: 72/100
• Active Learning
  Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
  Importance: 72/100
• Science
  Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
  Importance: 69/100
• Coordination
  Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
  Importance: 69/100
• Persuasion
  Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
  Importance: 69/100
• Time Management
  Managing your time and the time of other people.
  Importance: 66/100
• Learning Strategies
  Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
  Importance: 66/100
• Instructing
  Teaching people how to do something.
  Importance: 66/100
• Mathematics
  Using math to solve problems.
  Importance: 63/100
• Operations Analysis
  Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
  Importance: 63/100
• Management of Personnel Resources
  Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
  Importance: 60/100
• Service Orientation
  Looking for ways to help people.
  Importance: 60/100
• Negotiation
  Bringing people together to solve differences.
  Importance: 56/100
• Programming
  Writing computer programs.
  Importance: 44/100
• Management of Material Resources
  Managing equipment and materials.
  Importance: 28/100
• Management of Financial Resources
  Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
  Importance: 28/100
• Quality Control Analysis
  Testing how well a product or service works.
  Importance: 25/100
• Operations Monitoring
  Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
  Importance: 25/100
• Technology Design
  Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
  Importance: 22/100

Knowledge for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

In order of importance

• 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.
  Importance: 98/100
• 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.
  Importance: 95/100
• 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.
  Importance: 87/100
• 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.
  Importance: 76/100
• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  Importance: 75/100
• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Importance: 69/100
• 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.
  Importance: 66/100
• Sociology and Anthropology
  Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Importance: 59/100
• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  Importance: 59/100
• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Importance: 56/100
• 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.
  Importance: 47/100
• 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.
  Importance: 42/100
• 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.
  Importance: 42/100
• 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.
  Importance: 38/100
• 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.
  Importance: 22/100
• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  Importance: 20/100
• 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.
  Importance: 17/100
• 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.
  Importance: 17/100
• Telecommunications
  Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Importance: 15/100
• Production and Processing
  Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  Importance: 15/100
• 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.
  Importance: 12/100
• 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.
  Importance: 11/100
• Design
  Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  Importance: 11/100
• Biology
  Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  Importance: 9/100
• Transportation
  Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Importance: 9/100
• History and Archeology
  Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  Importance: 8/100
• 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.
  Importance: 6/100
• Fine Arts
  Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  Importance: 5/100
• Mechanical
  Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  Importance: 4/100
• 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.
  Importance: 2/100
• 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.
  Importance: 2/100
• Food Production
  Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  Importance: 2/100
• 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.
  Importance: 2/100

Physical Abilities for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

In order of importance

• Oral Expression
  Communicating by speaking.
  Importance: 85/100
• Written Comprehension
  Reading and understanding what is written.
  Importance: 85/100
• Oral Comprehension
  Listening and understanding what people say.
  Importance: 81/100
• Written Expression
  Communicating by writing.
  Importance: 81/100
• Deductive Reasoning
  Using rules to solve problems.
  Importance: 78/100
• Inductive Reasoning
  Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
  Importance: 78/100
• Problem Sensitivity
  Noticing when problems happen.
  Importance: 75/100
• Speech Recognition
  Recognizing spoken words.
  Importance: 75/100
• Speech Clarity
  Speaking clearly.
  Importance: 75/100
• Information Ordering
  Ordering or arranging things.
  Importance: 75/100
• Fluency of Ideas
  Coming up with lots of ideas.
  Importance: 72/100
• Originality
  Creating new and original ideas.
  Importance: 72/100
• Mathematical Reasoning
  Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
  Importance: 72/100
• Category Flexibility
  Grouping things in different ways.
  Importance: 69/100
• Near Vision
  Seeing details up close.
  Importance: 69/100
• Number Facility
  Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
  Importance: 53/100
• Selective Attention
  Paying attention to something without being distracted.
  Importance: 53/100
• Far Vision
  Seeing details that are far away.
  Importance: 50/100
• Flexibility of Closure
  Seeing hidden patterns.
  Importance: 47/100
• Speed of Closure
  Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
  Importance: 44/100
• Perceptual Speed
  Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
  Importance: 44/100
• Memorization
  Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
  Importance: 41/100
• Visualization
  Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
  Importance: 41/100
• Time Sharing
  Doing two or more things at the same time.
  Importance: 31/100
• Visual Color Discrimination
  Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
  Importance: 28/100
• Hearing Sensitivity
  Telling the difference between sounds.
  Importance: 22/100
• Auditory Attention
  Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
  Importance: 19/100
• Depth Perception
  Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
  Importance: 13/100
• Finger Dexterity
  Putting together small parts with your fingers.
  Importance: 13/100
• Trunk Strength
  Using your lower back and stomach.
  Importance: 10/100

Tools and Technology used by Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

• Desktop computers
• High capacity removable media drives
• Liquid crystal display projector
• Notebook computers
• Personal computers
• Scanners
• Analytical or scientific software
  • Assessment Systems Corporation XCALIBRE
  • IBM SPSS Statistics
  • Muthen & Muthen Mplus
  • Psychometric testing software
  • SAS
  • Scientific Software International BILOG-MG
  • Scientific Software International HLM
  • Scientific Software International LISREL
  • Scientific Software International MULTILOG
  • Scientific Software International PARSCALE
  • Scientific Software International TESTFACT
  • Winsteps
• Computer based training software
  • Learning management system LMS
  • Padlet
• Data base user interface and query software
  • Microsoft Access
• Document management software
  • Adobe Acrobat
• Electronic mail software
  • Microsoft Outlook
• Enterprise resource planning ERP software
  • Oracle PeopleSoft
• Human resources software
  • Human resource information system (HRIS)
• Internet browser software
  • Web browser software
• Office suite software
  • Microsoft Office software
• Presentation software
  • Mentimeter
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
• Process mapping and design software
  • Microsoft Visio
• Project management software
  • Microsoft Project
• Spreadsheet software
  • Google Sheets
  • Microsoft Excel
• Web platform development software
  • Hypertext markup language HTML
• Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word

Employment Industries for Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

• Management, scientific, and technical consulting services
  500 employed