Elizabeth L. Shoenfelt - Mastering the Job Market

Series Editor

Nancy T. Tippins

Titles in the Series

Performance Management Transformation: Lessons Learned and Next Steps

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Edited by William H. Macey and Alexis A. Fink

Mastering Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Training Issues for Masters Level I-O Psychologists

Edited by Elizabeth L. Shoenfelt

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Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2021

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Shoenfelt, Elizabeth L., editor.

Title: Mastering the job market : career issues for masters level

industrial-organizational psychologists / edited by Elizabeth L. Shoenfelt.

Description: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2021] |

Series: Society industrial organizational psych |

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020025130 (print) | LCCN 2020025131 (ebook) |

ISBN 9780190071172 (hardback) | ISBN 9780190071196 (epub) |

ISBN 9780197549223

Subjects: LCSH: Psychology, IndustrialVocational guidance. |

Industrial PsychologistsTraining of.

Classification: LCC HF5548.8 .M3744 2021 (print) | LCC HF5548.8 (ebook) |

DDC 158.7023dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025130

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025131

DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190071172.001.0001

Elizabeth L. Shoenfelt

Tara J. LHeureux and Judith L. Van Hein

Sharon Glazer, Simon M. Moon, Roya Ayman, and Rita Berger

Susan A. Walker, Lynn K. Bartels, and Comila Shahani-Denning

Christopher J. L. Cunningham and Nora P. Reilly

Joseph J. Mazzola, Donna Chrobot-Mason, and Cody B. Cox

Mark S. Nagy, Shahnaz Aziz, and Daniel A. Schroeder

I was honored when the Professional Practice Series Committee of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) invited me to propose and then edit this book, Mastering the Job Market: Career Issues for Masters Level Industrial-Organizational Psychologists, and its sister volume, Mastering Industrial-Organizational Psychology: Training Issues for Masters Level I-O Psychologists, both focusing on masters-level industrial-organizational (I-O) issues. The field of I-O psychology has been spotlighted recently by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as one of the fastest-growing occupations in the nation (ABC News, 2014) and continues to be recognized as a top job (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). The American Psychological Association has taken note of the growth in I-O masters programs and the success of I-O masters graduates in the job market (Bailey, 2020). The strong job market for I-O psychologists is predicted to remain so for at least the next decade (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018).

Masters graduate training programs in I-O psychology have exponentially increased in number over the past several decades, from fewer than 20 in the early 1980s to more than 170 masters programs currently listed on the SIOP website (SIOP, 2019). I-O masters programs now outnumber doctoral programs and produce a larger number of graduates. Masters programs and masters graduates outnumber their doctoral-level counterparts. Estimates based on the SIOP website suggest more than three times as many graduate each year from masters programs (1,850) as from doctoral programs (520; Shoenfelt, Stone, & Kottke, 2018). Concomitantly with the growth in masters programs, SIOP has devoted more resources and attention to masters issues, as evidenced by these two books in the SIOP Professional Practice Series. When I contacted I-O masters program directors and faculty to serve as authors of the books, they shared my excitement and enthusiasm for the books focused on I-O masters training and careers. This, the second book, provides data-based insight for I-O masters careers as well as practical guidance based on the experience and tacit knowledge of faculty and program directors from some of the top I-O masters programs in the nation.

Mastering the Job Market: Career Issues for Masters Level Industrial-Organizational Psychologists targets two audiences. First, the book will provide valuable guidance to early career I-O practitioners, I-O masters graduate students, and faculty in I-O masters programs. Our book provides empirically based insight and guidance for all phases of an I-O practitioners career, from initiating a job search and the application process to landing the first job to transitioning to new jobs/roles, as well as continuing education and development during the career. This book is particularly appropriate for a graduate course on professional and career issues.

Our second audience comprises psychology faculty members and undergraduates interested in careers as I-O practitioners. SIOP members lament that I-O psychology is not well known to those outside the discipline (e.g., Ryan, 2003), even by other psychologists (Gasser, Whitsett, Mosley, Sullivan, Rogers, & Tan, 1998). Accordingly, many psychology faculty are unaware of careers in I-O psychology as they advise promising undergraduates. This volume will assist with advising undergraduates and will inform advisors about careers as I-O masters-level practitioners, hopefully bringing interested students into the field of I-O psychology. Our book will provide prospective students with information on jobs and careers available to I-O masters graduates, including essential competencies and experiences for career success, and how to apply for jobs.

Mastering the Job Market: Career Issues for Masters Level Industrial-Organizational Psychologists begins with an introduction to the field of I-O psychology and presents the empirical basis for the book, a large-scale survey of I-O masters graduates and a second survey of their employers. Survey methodology and demographic data for I-O masters graduates and employers are presented. The remaining six chapters of this volume address a myriad of issues related to the careers of masters-level I-O psychologists based on the survey data and insights from I-O masters faculty from top-ranked I-O masters programs.

In on the Graduate Survey data to identify common occupational titles, organizational roles, and salary ranges for both recent I-O graduates and those later in their careers. Job positions reflect a broad range of roles that include talent management, data analytics, human resources, organization development, and consulting. I-O psychology masters graduates overwhelmingly perceive their I-O degree to be valuable and report a high level of career satisfaction.