Have you ever wondered: how do I become an industrial organizational psychologist? If you enjoy working with others and organizing the work environment, you may be able to be successful as a psychologist. You will need to go through the right education and understand the role and responsibilities of this position.
What’s it like to be an industrial organizational psychologist?
Before you become an industrial organizational psychologist, it’s important to understand the functions. You will likely be working in the human resources department of a large company. You will be applying the principles of psychology to this department as well as to the management and sales teams within the company that you are employed with. You may have to do employee testing and selection, training and development or work on establishing new policies. Understanding the organization and how to impact in to gain more worker productivity will be on the top of your goals within this position.
Education requirements for becoming an industrial organizational psychologist
In order to become an industrial organizational psychologist, you will need to go through an extensive amount of training. You will need to get your bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology. Some of your electives should also be in human resources and business. When given the opportunity to learn a foreign language, it can be an effective way to communicate with more employees within the organization that you eventually become employed for.
Upon receiving your bachelor’s degree, you should focus on getting a Master’s degree with a focus in Industrial Organizational Psychology. You may be able to get employed with some companies with just a Master’s degree. However, if you decide to go for a PhD, you will be able to gather more information and make it easier on yourself to find a job. This will also require you to do a residency with a psychology, which will make it easier for you to become an industrial organizational psychologist in any organization that you apply for.
The schools you choose to go to for this degree will matter. Many employers want to see that you have attended some more of the prestigious schools in the country. Apply to a few different schools and make sure that you go to the ones that will help you get further in life.
Salary & Getting a Job
When you become an industrial organizational psychologist, you will likely be able to find a job relatively easy. There are currently about 1200 positions in the country and more are expected to open up within the next 10 years as more companies realize the importance of psychology in the workplace.
The average salary for an industrial organizational psychologist is around $124,160, which can vary based upon experience as well as the company that you end up working for.
After you have gone through your education requirements, you will likely be looking to work for an individual company as an industrial organizational psychologist. You will then work in the HR department to impact the organization as a whole and help with hiring decisions. Depending on the company, you may also become an HR director or a training specialist with your degree.