Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Median salary

$193,950

Average salary

$170,230

Employment

790

Projected growth

6.3% growth

Annual openings

400

Typical entry education

Master's degree

What Industrial-Organizational Psychologists Do

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. May work with management to organize the work setting to improve worker productivity.

See full salary breakdown & percentiles →

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: Internship/residency
Self-employed: 80.5%

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

How Much Preparation Does This Take?

Job Zone 5 of 5

Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience: Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
Education: Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Job training: Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Source: O*NET Job Zones.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

Personnel and Human Resourcesimportance 4.9/5
Psychologyimportance 4.8/5
Education and Trainingimportance 4.5/5
Administration and Managementimportance 4.0/5
Mathematicsimportance 4.0/5
English Languageimportance 3.8/5
Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.6/5
Law and Governmentimportance 3.4/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

E-Mail5.0/5
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.8/5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.6/5
Telephone Conversations4.6/5
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.5/5
Spend Time Sitting4.4/5

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists98% skill match
Logisticians97% skill match
Financial Managers97% skill match
Survey Researchers97% skill match
Actuaries96% skill match
Urban and Regional Planners96% skill match
Atmospheric and Space Scientists96% skill match
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists96% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 4.1/5
Complex Problem Solvingimportance 4.0/5
Systems Evaluationimportance 4.0/5
Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.9/5
Systems Analysisimportance 3.9/5
Coordinationimportance 3.8/5
Persuasionimportance 3.8/5
Instructingimportance 3.6/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Hot Technologies

Other Software Used

Assessment Systems Corporation XCALIBRE
Human resource information system (HRIS)
Learning management system LMS
Mentimeter
Muthen & Muthen Mplus
Padlet
Psychometric testing software
Scientific Software International BILOG-MG

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

Intellectual Curiosity
Attention to Detail
Achievement Orientation
Innovation
Integrity
Adaptability
Dependability

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

InvestigativeHigh
EnterprisingMedium
ConventionalMedium
SocialMedium
ArtisticMedium
RealisticLow

This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.