Organizational Psychology: A Rewarding and Fast-Growing Career Path

While no magical combination of factors can predict economic success, it is nevertheless quite easy to list the qualities that define a thriving business. Firstly, its product or service must be in demand. Good marketing and advertising efforts help generate interest and, thus, profit. There also exists a certain unpredictable element often called "being in the right place at the right time", but thorough market research can eliminate much of the guesswork involved in selecting a prime location from which to set up shop.

Yet while it hardly takes a business degree to recognize the basic ingredients for success, even the most intelligent economic minds occasionally stumble when asked to explain why Business A closed its doors and Business B seemed recession-proof. The answer to this enigma may lie in the final variable, both the simplest and perhaps most crucial: a happy, productive staff.

I-O and Occupational Health Psychology Responsibilities

The human element obviously differs from other resources in that it involves complex, emotional beings with a variety of personality types and skill sets. Organizational psychology seeks to master this x-factor through the research, selection, and motivation of a company's staff. Industrial-organizational psychology specialists apply to the workplace psychological methods such as:

• Job analysis: examination of job requirements designed to boost the effectiveness of hiring and training programs
• Psychometrics: the science of measuring psychological variables, often achieved through testing and work samples
• Personnel selection: development of recruitment and screening processes
• Motivation & job satisfaction reviews: ensuring that employees are compensated fairly and feel professionally appreciated
• Survey design: streamlining marketing
• Maximizing team effectiveness: getting different people with varied duties to work together effectively
• Occupational health psychology: identification of psychosocial characteristics that trigger physical and mental health problems in workers

Job and Salary Outlook for Occupational Psychology

While the idea of occupational psychology may have a New Age ring to it, the origins of I-O psychology and talent assessment date back to World War I, when troops needed to be assigned duty stations as quickly and accurately as possible. The field took off after the second World War, when a combination of new research and an expanding industrial base lent it solid credibility.

Organizational psychology continues to evolve today. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects this area of applied psychology to grow significantly over the 2006-2016 decade and predict healthy job prospects for individuals who hold master's degrees. New challenges facing industrial-organizational psychology include issues of workplace diversity and anti-discrimination policies as well as the burgeoning sub-field of occupational health psychology.

According to 2008 BLS earnings reports, organizational psychologists earn a mean annual wage of $86,460. Virginia, Ohio, and California weigh in as the states boasting the highest concentrations of these workers, while Minnesota, New York, and Florida offered the best salaries. I-O psychologists in Minnesota report a mean annual wage of $126,490.

Earning Your Organizational Psychology Degree Through an Online Degree Program

The BLS describes effective organizational psychologists as patient, compassionate individuals with excellent communication skills. Of course, while these virtues lay a solid foundation for career success, one of the most critical qualifications for aspiring industrial-organizational psychologists is a college degree. While doctoral degrees serve as the educational standard for most psychologists, a master's degree suffices for candidates interested in work and organizational psychology. Master's programs usually require two years of graduate training.

If you're an inquisitive and compassionate person who enjoys both the intellectual satisfaction of research and the social aspect of applied science, you might be a perfect fit for the organizational psychology career path. Many schools now offer specialized programs in this rapidly expanding discipline, and with online degree programs, earning your master's degree is more convenient than ever before. Sign up now to start learning on your own time.