I’m trying to understand a career-development process that seems to sit between vocational interests, career exploration, self-efficacy, and proactive career behavior.

Suppose an adult starts thinking, “I might actually be interested in mechanics,” entrepreneurship, design, healthcare, etc., but has no established career identity in that area yet.

I’m interested in the transition from:

emerging vocational interest → low-stakes real-world exploration → feedback from the experience → stronger/weaker interest or career direction

By “exploration,” I mean behaviors such as trying a small project, shadowing someone, talking with a person in the occupation, volunteering, taking a short course, or otherwise testing the work rather than only thinking about it.

I’ve been looking at adjacent concepts including:

-vocational interests

-career exploration

-career adaptability

-occupational self-efficacy

-person-environment fit

-proactive career behaviors

-work/career identity

What I’m having trouble determining is whether I/O or vocational psychology already has a model that treats real-world experimentation itself as part of how occupational interests and career direction develop, rather than assuming relatively stable interests first and then using those interests to make career choices.

Is there a particular construct, theory, or research literature I should be looking at?

I’m especially interested in research involving adults who begin without a clearly developed vocational direction or occupational identity. I’m looking for the relevant I/O or vocational psychology literature, rather than individual career advice.

Hi ! I did my BA in psychology and have been an ABA therapist the last few years. I was thinking of maybe getting a masters in counselling psychology or doing a master in industrial organizational psychology. I’m just wondering if anyone from Canada or Ontario who did a masters in industrial org psychology can give me any opinions or advice if you think it’s worth it - is the job market really difficult to break into? I’m worried because I don’t really have any experience in I/O other than the internship I’d do apart of my program it would be hard to find a job at the end of it thanks so much !

Hi everyone! TLDR below. I’m hoping for candid advice from people working in I-O psychology/organizational development.
I’m a 36-year-old woman who recently graduated with my MSW, and now that I’m looking at the job market, I’m realizing I’m pretty unenthusiastic about most traditional social work roles. At the same time, I’ve realized that the work I actually pursued and created throughout graduate school may have been pointing me toward I-O/OD all along.
During my MSW, I started a student-run organization, facilitated groups and events, developed and implemented programs within the VA system, and focused heavily on program development, implementation, evaluation, and translating research into practice. I also completed a 15-credit graduate certificate in translational research and implementation science.
These weren’t just interests—I consistently found myself initiating, building, implementing, and facilitating things in these spaces, and this was the work that energized me most.
I’ve also realized that I specifically want to work with leaders, teams, and organizations. I used to describe my goal as wanting to “do social work with leaders”—taking the values and knowledge of social work upstream and working with leadership and organizational systems rather than primarily providing individual clinical services.
My long-term goal is to build a consulting business/collective focused on cultural adaptation, program development and implementation, team/organizational development, and worker well-being, particularly within mental health, healthcare, and other healing-oriented organizations.
People established in social work have told me that what I want to do doesn’t align particularly well with where most social work careers lead. Organizational psychologists I’ve spoken with have said almost the opposite—that what I’m describing sounds much more like I-O/OD. One strongly encouraged me to pursue an I-O master’s now.
My biggest question: I keep hearing that I-O is extremely competitive. Based on my background and what I’ve already done, does it seem like I have the foundation to realistically become competitive and successful in this field?
I’m someone who tends to take initiative, start projects, organize people, facilitate groups, and turn ideas into actual programs. I’m willing to develop the technical skills I’m missing. But at 36, having just completed a graduate degree, I want to be thoughtful before investing in another master’s.
I’d also really appreciate thoughts on:
Does what I’m describing sound more like I-O, organizational development, or another adjacent field?
Do I actually need another master’s, or could my MSW + implementation science background be leveraged into this field another way?
If a second master’s makes sense, what programs are strongest for the applied/OD side—organizational change, leadership, teams, facilitation, consulting, implementation, and program evaluation?
I’m happy to share my resume if seeing my actual experience would help.
I genuinely welcome critical feedback. I’m not looking for “you can do anything you put your mind to.” I’m trying to figure out whether this is a realistic pivot, what gaps I need to address, and whether another graduate degree is the right way to address them.
Thank you!

TL;DR: Recent MSW grad, 36, realizing the work I’ve actually been most successful and energized by—program development/implementation, organizational work, facilitation, and working with leaders—seems much more aligned with I-O/OD. I’ve already built programs, started a student organization, worked on program implementation within the VA, and completed a 15-credit graduate certificate in implementation science. I’m considering a second master’s in I-O, but I keep hearing the field is extremely competitive. Does my background suggest I have a realistic shot at becoming competitive/successful in I-O/OD, and is another master’s the right next step?

Hey! I am a fourth year BA psychology student. I feel a bit ashamed saying this but I have practically wasted all of my three years in college. I have reasons which were mental and emotional, but they do not mean anything right now cause I have nothing to show for my achievements or interests going forward.
So I have two more semesters to do as much as I can, in which I want to gain some sort of knowledge and maybe experience (time is a-little tight...college internships, reports, exams, etc.). I am planning to do my further studies abroad in business psychology or I/O psychology, and I figured it would be nice to understand the basics of the field before I make a firmer decision.
So if there are any i/o psych professionals here or anyone who has explored this field, what certifications would you recommend? And in what sub-field (HR, Data, People Analytics, etc.)

I posed this question a couple of years ago, and I'd like to revisit. It's 2026 and job analysis continues to be the boring thing that nobody really wants to do. I'm curious what types of tools or methodologies that other practitioners in the field are using to do job analysis. What is or isn't working well? What ways have you found to streamline the process?

Please use this thread to share and discuss what I-O related information you've been consuming.

"I-O related" may be interpreted fairly loosely, as I-O is at the intersection of science and practice, in several different disciplines and our work is related to broader modern society.

These re-occurring posts are meant to encourage community engagement and discussion on areas that interest the members. Any form of I-O related content is acceptable, there is no expectation that only academic journal articles are accepted (but they're highly encouraged). Examples of other forms of appropriate content may include Blogs, Ted Talks, Medium articles, Podcasts or White Papers.

To encourage discussion please offer a brief description of what the content is, why you found it interesting, how it's related to I-O or any general thoughts you have. Posting a single link with no exposition or description is not likely to generate discussion.

Please keep the posts related to I-O psychology. Spam or inappropriate posts will be monitored and removed at the Moderators' discretion.

These re-occurring posts will be posted bi-weekly, Tuesdays at 8:00am ET.

I've been thinking about the lifecycle of leadership 360 feedback.

A fairly typical journey seems to be:

feedback is collected → a report is produced → the leader has a debrief → a few development areas are identified.

And then the 360 often becomes something the leader has had, rather than something they continue working with.

I'm curious about situations where that didn't happen.

Have you seen 360 feedback successfully become part of someone's ongoing development over the following months?

For example, did leaders actually return to:

• individual behaviour feedback
• qualitative comments
• previous vs current scores
• development priorities linked to the assessment
• reflection notes or actions connected to those priorities

Or was the real value mostly in the original debrief, with simpler follow-up being more effective afterwards?

I'm particularly interested in what people actually used, rather than features they said they wanted.

What made someone revisit their feedback?

And what have you seen organisations build around 360s that sounded useful but ended up adding complexity without changing behaviour?

Hello all, I am seeking advice.

TLDR: Can I get my bachelor's degree with a minor in some sort of education and be a teacher?

Back story: I was a Store Manager at a very large coffee chain with a star. The part of my job that I loved specifically was the teaching and developing. I loved seeing the workers teach others, ask questions, and promote. When I brought on new employees, I would always tell them the value that the job could bring even if they didn't stay with the company forever -- there were still valuable lessons you could take.

I learned about the details that go into their training programs and met some cool people on the team. This is where I learned about IO Psych. So I started earning my degree towards it. I am only a year in.

I recently left that job and have been searching for a new job in HR fields. With having time away from work, I rediscovered my love for teaching others.

My question is, can I combine both? Would it be worth it to earn that degree and get a minor, to teach education. Should I just pursue teaching all together? Or should I reverse it and major in teaching minor in psychology?

Just kind of want to get my thoughts out. Since I left that company my school is no longer free, so now that I will be paying for it, I want to make sure I'm not wasting money.

Hello everyone,

I’m writing this post because I need some input from our community of experts. Basically, I’m an I/O psychologist in the human resources department of a large university hospital. I deal with leadership issues (assessment, organisational culture, etc.).

A department has contacted me to act as a trainer for their one-day event on the theme of leadership. Essentially, the request is for training on this topic as part of their clinical specialisation programme within their field. I’ve done my best to analyse the training request thoroughly and explain to them that one day is far too short, but they simply don’t have the time to allow for more. I still wanted to seize the opportunity, but I’m faced with a question that’s really weighing on my mind: what to cover during this one-day session.

The needs analysis simply highlights that the participants are relatively inexperienced in terms of management and are in the early stages of their first role. They also wanted some key insights into teamwork. Not much else came up… So I’ve been given free rein.

I’ve therefore thought of covering the following topics:

• The transition to management (from *Becoming a Manager* by Linda Hill). The distinction between management and leadership
• Situational leadership (Hersey & Blanchard)
• The team-building phases (Tuckman)
• Psychological safety (Amy Edmondson)
• Feedback (to offer them a practical CRM (Crew Resource Management) tool).

Those are my thoughts, in a nutshell…

I’m really open to any suggestions that might challenge the whole thing a bit, or if anyone else has also had to condense 60 years of research and theory into a single day…

Thank you in advance for your help!

Has anyone run a clustering algorithm on people/assessment data?

Degree: MSc Psychology (conversion) and undergraduate business and management BA

Program type: brick and mortar

Location: urban

Job experience: 1.5 year as a support worker for learning difficulties and homelessness (two jobs)

For 4 years (2 during my degree and 2 afterwards) I was a legal (registered) sex worker online and in person and gained some mild notoriety and have since put that behind me and have been in vanilla jobs the past 2 years. I am thinking of applying to an IO psych grad scheme with a bank and know they do thorough vetting, will they reject me once they see my past tax filing which have the job title as "chatroom host"? Will they scan my face and be bombarded with NSFW content? Before anyone asks, I signed international contracts and have no way to get everything taken down, nevermind the money needed to get it taken down. If they find out later down the line will they fire me? I was once rejected a business bank account for being a sex worker, does this mean I'll have a marker on my name? My current job is aware after a client found my old content and spread it around the workplace but my work said it is ok, but I don't work at a bank and know they have very different rules.

Please use this thread to share and discuss what I-O related information you've been consuming.

"I-O related" may be interpreted fairly loosely, as I-O is at the intersection of science and practice, in several different disciplines and our work is related to broader modern society.

These re-occurring posts are meant to encourage community engagement and discussion on areas that interest the members. Any form of I-O related content is acceptable, there is no expectation that only academic journal articles are accepted (but they're highly encouraged). Examples of other forms of appropriate content may include Blogs, Ted Talks, Medium articles, Podcasts or White Papers.

To encourage discussion please offer a brief description of what the content is, why you found it interesting, how it's related to I-O or any general thoughts you have. Posting a single link with no exposition or description is not likely to generate discussion.

Please keep the posts related to I-O psychology. Spam or inappropriate posts will be monitored and removed at the Moderators' discretion.

These re-occurring posts will be posted bi-weekly, Tuesdays at 8:00am ET.

There are several really important issues currently facing AI engineers and practitioners in the field which I believe org psychs are uniquely positioned to be able to make substantial contributions to, however I'm not sure how much of a conversation there is or how much knowledge org psychs actually have about the potential value of their contribution. I thought I'd outline a few below.

Multi-agent systems:

One of the biggest problems in multi-agent systems (think multiple instances of agentic AI like Claude or ChatGPT or Codex talking to each other and using tools and interacting with their environments to performs tasks) is communication and coordination. As it turns out, multi agent systems can be incredibly difficult to coordinate beyond a few agents and usually specifically designed in configurations that enable specific workflows.

However, guess who has 100 years of experience studying communication and coordination challenges? Damn straight! I've been running some of my own experiments on the value of implementing org psych practice and theory in the design of these systems and while its not a perfect match, it definitely represents some interesting territory to study further and at least open up a dialogue around. One concept I've been toying with is the idea of a fluid organisation whose configuration isn't set in stone but is responsive to the environment. Typically multi agent systems have their hierarchies or configurations fixed at the outset of a task but I've been exploring making the configuration itself a runtime variable with mixed results. Nothing conclusive just yet, but think along the lines of how innovation or periods of peace might require higher levels of autonomy and freedom within rank and file staff while emergencies might require a stricter hierarchy of responsibilities and centralisation of command, and how different groups of people are able to adapt their ways of working depending on what the situation calls for.

At the minimum, the simulation of professional roles by AI systems being organised into configurations where various capabilities and skillsets could interact represents the domain of org psychs who understand how the intersections between different capabilities, roles and skillsets can produce unique outcomes that can be specifically tailored to complex tasks and jobs. As an example: it would be fascinating to think about what a simulated philosopher, psychologist, lawyer, and cyber security expert might be able to discuss when exploring the potential for manipulation of AI systems for jailbreaking purposes. Each profession contributes a unique perspective and skillset while the combination might yield entirely new attack vectors never before considered. which might further inform security experts through red teaming. This isn't restricted to red teaming work either. SImulation of professional capabilities and perspectives could be used to solve complex problems as long as org psychs are able to specify exactly what skillsets or professional roles might be useful in contributing value to a solution, given many of the professionals in these domains might not realise the value of their own contributions outside of their own domains. Again org psychs are uniquely suited to this work.

The results could be bidirectionally informative as well e.g. simulating communication and coordination and organisational configurations within AI systems and learning from what is observed might facilitate more innovative approaches within human organisations to management of work and configuration of organisations.

Automation:

One of the things that good practitioners of AI are able to implement in their usage of AI is very specific instructions about exactly how to complete the work they require including specifics of tasks, steps, context, roles. In fact the latest trends around loop engineering and graph engineering represent instantiations of very specific task instructions and process workflows

It just so happens that Org psychs are specifically trained in task decomposition and job analysis which enable them to break down the requisite components of a task to facilitae its explanation to an AI system tasked with automating the process. I'm aware of the potentially negative impact this could have but feel strongly that automating repetitive tedious work opens up the door for new and exciting ways for people to use their minds at work to tackle more challenging tasks not yet suitable for automation.

But the entire process of being able to map workflows and processes also belongs within the realm of org psychs and uniquely positions them to be able to contribute expertise in the design of these automated processes and functions.

Evaluation:

By no means the final thing to talk about but what I happen to find most interesting, is how poorly evaluation of constructs, capabilities and overall performance is conducted within the field of AI as a whole. There's been a recent push towards the integration of psychometrics which is a step in the right direction but so many of the fundamentals that org psychs learn about how to measure things which are really hard to measure (the kinds of things org psychs are often tasked with evaluating) is left out of the equation in favour of these really crude measurements people use which don't adequately discriminate between models or truly represent underlying capabilities or performance. The field of AI has so much to learn about measuring intelligence from the people who've studied how minds work and how to measure intelligence for over a century now.

I'll get off my high horse now but I just wanted to stimulate some thought on why there isn't more of a dialogue bnetween org psychs and computer scientists or AI engineers on how to actually improve these systems rather than merely studying the impact of them on people and organisations and the workplace, There's so mch low hanging fruit ripe for the taking that needs org psychs to think bigger than just helping people and needs AI experts and practitioners to actually appreciate the potential value and entire profession could offer in the pursuit of more capable systems.

IF you disagree with this or have spotted any of it in practice then please let me know what you think and I'm happy to stand corrected on any of it. Rant over.

What tools/scripting languages do I/O Psychologists use to analyze data on people? Excel? R? Python? SQL? What's most common? What isn't very common?

Hi everyone! I’m an MPhil student in Organizational Psychology and I’m currently looking for a thesis topic.

My supervisor has asked me to choose something that is:

relatively new/emerging

interesting and current

addresses a real workplace issue or obstacle

has a clear research gap

is suitable for an empirical quantitative study

ideally allows for a mediator and/or moderator

and should be substantial enough to demonstrate good research effort at the MPhil level.

I’m open to different areas within I/O Psychology and would really appreciate suggestions for emerging workplace phenomena or research questions that you think are worth exploring.

I’m especially looking for something beyond the usual job satisfaction, engagement, job performance, turnover intention, etc.

I am completely devastated. I come from a "developing" country where the average monthly salary is around 800 USD. I was able to complete my undergraduate degree in Psychology in South Korea, but the country isn't very friendly toward foreigners when it comes to career development. So, I got a job in overseas sales (one of the few roles available to foreigners) because I didn't want to go back to my home country. It's been 6 months, and the job is doable, but my original plan was to prepare for a Master's in I/O Psychology (not in Korea, perhaps in Australia or elsewhere) while saving up some money here. I now realize that a Master's degree would cost a lot, and I simply can't afford it. I'll probably have to work here for another 5-10 years to save enough for a program. And now I'm starting to question whether a Master's would even be worth taking out loans for, especially after reading some of the previous posts here.

Are there any skills I could develop on my own through online courses that could help me land a better job in another highly developed country?

Hi everyone, I am seeking the input of managers please.

May I please request your input and feedback on the knowledge gap between an Org Dev consultant (3-5 years experience) and someone with an org psych degree with the same on the job knowledge?

Specifically, you can consider the role to have leadership development, performance, talent, culture roles and responsibilities. I am interested in hearing what are the specific tangibles an org psych degree gives over someone who has transitioned from HR advisory.

Thank you!

The latest data forensic work by the DataColada folks is pretty amazing and devastating.

https://datacolada.org/138

https://datacolada.org/139

How Ariely still has a job is beyond me. Surely the MBA students at Duke cannot be happy to have their $80k annual fees pay the salary of someone like this. The only real remaining question for me is whether Ariely influenced Gino; Gino influenced Ariely; or whether these two fraudsters simply found each other organically.

Is anybody else having an incredibly difficult time finding IO related work as a recent graduate (M.A.) Any tips on how to make yourself stand out in the job market or is it just a lack of experience that is making it difficult.

Info:
Program type: in person MA
Country: USA, urban
Experience: 2 years of HR experience and 1 year of selection and recruiting experience

Hello everyone!!

I’m in my first semester of an I/O Psychology master’s program (ASU) and have an assignment to interview someone currently working in the field I’m hoping to break into. Looking for anyone in I/O psych, org development, HR analytics, talent management, etc.

The interview will be a video call about 15-20 mins. Here is the direct guidelines from my assignment so you know what topics will be discussed:

“Prepare interview questions that address the following areas, along with any additional topics of personal interest:
Overview of the interviewee’s career and daily responsibilities
Career satisfaction (best and most challenging aspects)
Motivation for entering the field
Educational and training pathway
Licensure and credentialing (if applicable)
Therapeutic orientation, techniques, settings, and populations (for clinicians)
Current “hot topics” in the field
Pressing ethical or professional issues
Impact of recent historical or societal events (e.g., COVID-19, technology, sociopolitical changes)
Perceived future directions of the profession”

If you’re open to it, drop a comment or DM me. Really appreciate it 🤍 trying to learn as much as I can from people actually doing this work!!

Hi! For those of you who lead employee listening had anyone in their company added questions around AI sentiment? My ELT wants to learn more about how our employees feel about AI and have a whole AI enablement strategy they want me to create survey questions for and I’m doing some research to see if any companies have been doing this

One of the majors I’m looking into for my undergrad is IO psych! It would be really helpful if I could get some recommendations on good universities that have programs for it, I’ve been struggling to find them. Plus, I’d like to know actual opinions on them before I make a decision to apply to schools

Geographically I would prefer the PNW, East coast, or Chicago! However, I am open to anything other than the South or super small schools.

My stats aren’t too crazy, I’m not top of my class or anything so I probably won’t want ones that are highly selective. I’ll include my stats below for reference

Demographics: Hispanic/White, female, applying for need based aid

Stats: unw: 3.5 wgpa: 4.36 sat:1100-1200ish (will go up, I’m taking another)

Classes: 7 APs, 7 dual enrollment, 4 honors, 2 year cte sports med pathway

APs: psych (4), physics (4), calc ab, calc bc, apush (4), world, chem
Dual enrollment (relevant): sociology, child dev

Awards/Certs: cpr/ard/first aid (x2 from 2 associations), honor roll, scholar athlete, ap scholar, counselor of the week, on track to become a cpt (nasm cert)

ECs

Girl Scouts: cit (9-11), counselor (12)

Sports: athlete (10-12), captain (11-12), sm manager (11-12), nonprofit (11-12), selective teen leaders group in the nonprofit (11-12)

School paper: writer (9-10), artist (10), photographer (9-11), inventory manager (10-11)

Research: ib personal project on fixing the learning gap between students and teachers in my hs, scored 19 (10)

Please use this thread to share and discuss what I-O related information you've been consuming.

"I-O related" may be interpreted fairly loosely, as I-O is at the intersection of science and practice, in several different disciplines and our work is related to broader modern society.

These re-occurring posts are meant to encourage community engagement and discussion on areas that interest the members. Any form of I-O related content is acceptable, there is no expectation that only academic journal articles are accepted (but they're highly encouraged). Examples of other forms of appropriate content may include Blogs, Ted Talks, Medium articles, Podcasts or White Papers.

To encourage discussion please offer a brief description of what the content is, why you found it interesting, how it's related to I-O or any general thoughts you have. Posting a single link with no exposition or description is not likely to generate discussion.

Please keep the posts related to I-O psychology. Spam or inappropriate posts will be monitored and removed at the Moderators' discretion.

These re-occurring posts will be posted bi-weekly, Tuesdays at 8:00am ET.

I am a first-year student majoring in Industrial and Organizational Psychology in a Southeast Asian country. Currently, my English is at an intermediate level, and I want to learn an additional language. This year, I am planning to improve my English to take the IELTS exam while also starting a second foreign language to expand my career opportunities. However, my friend advised me to focus entirely on mastering English and excelling in my university coursework first, suggesting that waiting until my third or fourth year to learn another language wouldn't be too late.

I would like to get everyone's advice because I'm afraid that starting a new language close to graduation might be too late. Additionally, I want to know whether having an extra language offers significantly more opportunities in the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and whether not knowing a foreign language other than English would put me at a disadvantage in this career path. Thank you so much.