What do I/O psychologists do in the workplace?

[rhapsody24]

Hi,

I am thinking about pursuing I/O psychology. I am thinking I would like to work in industry because the academia jobs are so competitive and very sparse. (I don't want to spend years working on a degree that I can do almost nothing else with beside work in a university especially when jobs are hard to come by). That is why I am drawn to I/O because it offers jobs in industry.

However I am having a rather difficult time finding information online about what these psychologists do in the workplace. Does anyone know what I/O psychologists do? Is their work exciting and creative?

Any info would be appreciated.

[iopsych]

They do a wide variety of things depending on the area you get involved in.

I have been in a survey consulting role where I did a lot of attitude survey analysis and results delivery.

Right now I am in a solutions group role where I work on a team to develop innovative solutions and aid in the delivery of these products by dealing with norming, validation, as well as providing a supporting role to the delivery consultants.

For example, we have a new product that streamlines assessment centers for middle management. Instead of sending potential managerial candidates to an assessment center for 2-3 days you can have them complete a very similar assessment center with role plays, in-boxes, etc. through an on-line format. This brings assessment centers to new clients that in the past could not have afforded such a great tool.

After launching it we are now working on a few issues with it. For instance, we are seeing that some international clients are scoring lower within the assessment center than their north-american counterparts. We are trying to figure out if this is because the raters in the international market are stricter, if there are cultural issues within the assessment that are causing the differences, or if they are real performance differences.

Edited September 29, 2011 by iopsych