Business or Industry

Psychology is a helpful preparation for careers in business and industry.  A keen understanding of psychological functions is vital for effective workplace design, personnel management, marketing, and industrial applications.  The interpersonal and research skills that are at the heart of psychology are foundational for effectively navigating careers in business and industry.  Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychologists study the intersection of psychology and the workplace, but one need not specialize in I-O psychology to apply one’s psychological expertise within the business/industry sector.  Careers in this area range from basic and applied research to service-oriented positions and can be found in university, governmental, private, and nonprofit sector organizations.  

With a Bachelor’s Degree
There are quite a few career options for those with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  Some ideas to explore:

• Human resources/personnel departments (e.g., human resources generalists/representatives, employee relations specialists, benefits administrators, benefits analysts, training and development specialists)
• Industrial design (e.g., industrial design assistant)
• Office administration (e.g., office manager)
• Project management
• User experience (e.g., user experience/UX strategist)

With a Graduate Degree
A graduate degree (master’s or PhD in I-O psychology, cognitive psychology, or human factors) provides greater opportunity for advancement in the career tracks noted above, including supervisory/upper management roles, consulting, as well as becoming a usability specialist or design psychologist.  

Preparation: Research and Practical Steps

• Build your research skills through coursework and working in a research lab.  Research skills are helpful in all aspects of business and industry.  From market research to workplace design to user experience, there are many areas of business and industry that rely on the same research skills used in basic psychological science.   
• Identify internships and summer jobs that can provide you with relevant experience in business or industry settings.  This will help you determine whether you actually enjoy these kinds of positions, as well as provide you with industry contacts and opportunities to strengthen your resume.  
• Select courses and extracurricular opportunities that provide you with a solid foundation in the areas of psychology that would be most relevant to your career interests.
  • If you are planning to go into human resources or personnel management, courses in psychological assessment, personality and social psychology, as well as those related to interpersonal skill development (e.g., Group Process & Facilitation) would be highly recommended.  While you don’t need to become a fully licensed therapist, the kinds of knowledge and skills used in therapy are helpful in managing interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.  
  • If you are thinking of going into marketing, courses in how we perceive and think about the world (e.g., cognition, sensation & perception, memory), as well as aspects of social psychology (e.g., persuasion) would be useful.  Additional training in research methods and statistics, including relevant coding and data visualization skills, would be highly beneficial here. 
  • If you are interested in product development and testing (e.g., user experience, human-computer interaction, human factors), courses in cognition, perception, personality, and motivation would be highly relevant.  Strong research skills would also be important for designing and interpreting relevant data, so training in research methods, statistics, and coding skills would be useful.  

Professional organizations:

• Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Relevant courses in Psychology:  

• PSYC 2300 Cognition: Information in the Brain
• PSYC 2400 Social Psychology
• PSYC 3310 Sensation & Perception
• PSYC 3400 Cultural Psychology
• PSYC 3410 Group and Inter-group Psychology
• PSYC 3730 Group Process & Facilitation I
• PSYC 3740/3741 Group Process & Facilitation 2

Cognate courses in all aspects of business and industry (e.g., finance, management, marketing, data analytics) can be found in the McDonough School of Business.  Courses in computer science, statistics, graphic design, and communication can also be very useful in preparing for a career in business and industry.  

Want to find out more?  Chat with Profs. Ian Lyons or Deborah C. Stearns.

References:

Helms, J. L., & Rogers, D. T. (2023).  Majoring in psychology:  Achieving your educational and career goals, 3^rd edition.  Wiley Blackwell. 

Kuther, T. L. & Morgan, R. D. (2025).  Careers in psychology: Opportunities in a changing world, 6^th edition.Sage.

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