Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
Human ServicesO*NET 19-3032.00United States
Apply principles of psychology to human resources, administration, management, sales, and marketing problems. Activities may include policy planning; employee testing and selection, training, and development; and organizational development and analysis.
- Median annual earnings
- $154,992
- Projected change
- +4.9%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 2.46K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
57.7% of the workforce
Growing to 2.58K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What industrial-organizational psychologists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
- Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
- Develop interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests used to assess skills, abilities, and interests for the purpose of employee selection, placement, or promotion.
- Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
- Observe and interview workers to obtain information about the physical, mental, and educational requirements of jobs, as well as information about aspects such as job satisfaction.
- Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.
- Facilitate organizational development and change.
- Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
- Conduct presentations on research findings for clients or at research meetings.
- Coach senior executives and managers on leadership and performance.
- Conduct individual assessments, including interpreting measures and providing feedback for selection, placement, or promotion.
- Train clients to administer human resources functions, including testing, selection, and performance management.
- Assess employee performance.
- Identify training and development needs.
- Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.
- Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.
- Provide expert testimony in employment lawsuits.
- Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, or motivation to assess organizational functioning.
- Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
- Write reports on research findings and implications to contribute to general knowledge or to suggest potential changes in organizational functioning.
- Write articles, white papers, or reports to share research findings and educate others.
- Review research literature to remain current on psychological science issues.
- Counsel workers about job and career-related issues.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $58,103
- 25th percentile
- $91,158
- 50th percentile
- $154,992
- 75th percentile
- $210,709
- 90th percentile
- $323,823
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $154,992 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+4.9%average or slower
20252,457 jobs
2035 projected2,578 jobs
121 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 57.7%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 30.8%
- Some college
- 3.9%
- Associate degree
- 3.9%
- Bachelor's degree
- 3.9%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Staff Psychologists773 postings
- 02Industrial/Organizational Psychologists80 postings
- 03Behavioral Health Interns50 postings
- 04Organizational Psychologists44 postings
- 05Directors of Behavioral Health14 postings
- 06Psychologists14 postings
- 07Neuropsychologists13 postings
- 08People Managers13 postings
- 09Organizational Effectiveness Consultants12 postings
- 10Inpatient Psychologists9 postings
- 11Suicide Prevention Coordinators9 postings
- 12Behavioral Scientists8 postings
- 13Cognitive Performance Specialists8 postings
- 14Counseling Psychologists8 postings
- 15Organizational Managers7 postings
- 16People Analytics Analysts7 postings
- 17School Psychologists6 postings
- 18Acquisition Analysts5 postings
- 19Clinical Psychologists5 postings
- 20Implementation Specialists5 postings
Top employers
- 01United States Department of Veterans Affairs368 postings
- 02System One Holdings53 postings
- 03Klickitat Valley Health51 postings
- 04University Health13 postings
- 05Father Flanagan's Boys Home11 postings
- 06Herc11 postings
- 07WEX11 postings
- 08Booz Allen Hamilton10 postings
- 09Pacific Northwest National Laboratory10 postings
- 10Brandeis University8 postings
- 11The Mclean Hospital Corporation8 postings
- 12Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center7 postings
- 13Fresenius7 postings
- 14Hampton Va Medical Center7 postings
- 15Michael E Debakey Va Medical Center7 postings
- 16Orlando Va Medical Center7 postings
- 17Uvm Medical Center7 postings
- 18Boise Va Medical Center6 postings
- 19Mass General Brigham6 postings
- 20Massachusetts General Hospital6 postings
Keep looking