Advice for I/O psych program

[AppliedCogPsych]

I plan on applying to LaTech University in Louisiana for its I/O psych program. I already have an M.S. in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience with more of a focus on cognitive psychology. While obtaining the I/O degree I want to focus on doing stats as I've learned that is most marketable. I have some questions hopefully someone will answer them.

1. Is LaTech a good I/O psych school?

2.  What should I focus on while in school?

3.  What can I do to make myself enticing to I/O programs?

4. If anybody can share their experiences of going to school for I/O psych and the work they do in their industry?

 

Thanks answering!!!

 

[Left Skew]

Hey AppliedCogPsych,

You may have the credentials to apply to a single school and get accepted into that school (LA Tech) but I would definitely look more into where you can find a professor that fits your goals. I feel like you may be interested in Quantitative Psych and Measurement as well. I've attached a list of programs that may align with what you want to do. If you have the resources, apply to more than 1 program.

1) I can't speak to this directly, you may want to reach out to a student with similar interests currently in the program.

2) I/Os tend to have few true quant professors in the departments, so keep this in mind when looking for research support. Big areas in the field: Psychometrics, automation, statistical computing/programming, gamification. Coming from cog/neuro I feel you will have a novel perspective. A lot of companies are creating assessments, simulations, and games to hire people, but have they validated the cognition used in their assessments? I/Os love to measure cognitive constructs but may struggle with their behavioral manifestations (e.g., Employee Engagement- just because I say I'm engaged doesn't mean I'm showing up to work early every day). 

3) You have your M.S. in Cog/Neuro so you will already be unique. If you can get some I/O related research on your CV you'll be set. Send emails to professors asking if they need help coding or running participants, this will help you. I'm also a big proponent of gaining a working-knowledge of R. You can go to SIOP or regional conferences to get your name out there.

4) I took some time off and am currently working. I got my MS in I/O and now I'm going back for my doctorate (starting in the Fall). Thus, I can't speak to a doctoral level position but I consider my current role similar in terms of what I do, maybe not so similar in terms of pay. There is actually an I/O PhD that has the same job title as I do, and I'm the most tenured in a department of solely PhDs. Pay is only the real difference and maybe professional growth. However, I work in psychometrics for a medium-sized credentialing company. So I/Os can get in so many areas: Testing, HR, even Data Science, it's all how you market yourself. 

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

 

IOStatsMeasProgramList.csv

[Sparkybob]

If you want to see where La. Tech ranks here are some links. Don't take these for gospel though

http://www.siop.org/tip/backissues/tipapr02/02gibby.aspx

http://neoacademic.com/2014/09/17/sortable-io-psychology-ph-d-program-rankings/

 

http://my.siop.org/tip/jan18/editor/ArtMID/13745/ArticleID/332/The-Results-Are-In-Updated-Alternative-I-O-Graduate-Program-Rankings

 

If you don't want to do academic work then rankings probably don't matter as much.