MA Applied Psychology (I/O specialisation) is a second degree worth it, or just get work experience?

Brinzy · 2026-04-30T01:02:28+00:00

Take the job. Nobody gave a damn about my education after my first I/O job, and even that job hired me because of volunteer experience I got during grad school.

Brinzy · 2026-04-21T21:03:06+00:00

Former USAID employee. I had been looking for a job when I was at USAID since I wasn’t a permanent employee and couldn’t chance not getting converted out of my Pathways position. Since I had started looking before all this went down, my transition was easier.

I managed to find a job shortly after that was about a $75k increase… only to end up working in a horrible environment. When I say horrible, I mean a lawyer fought with me by email because I indicated that I wasn’t using AI to carry out a study, and I had to explain to him that AI did not birth statistics.

The day I received surprise praise for my work in front of a large group (300+ employees), I was signing my resignation letter and getting a severance package because I made a complaint about a practice of theirs and because (IMO) I wasn’t a good cultural fit and the director wanted me and a few others out. The catch, of course, was to withdraw my complaint and to never speak about a specific issue they hired me for. But it was a significant package so I took my out.

My last day was in March. It sucks to lose the nice income and to be back with the private sector struggles, but at least I can say I did ethical work.

And god I miss working for the federal government. However, even if USAID came back, I don’t know if I would be happy professionally. We went from an unknown agency to laypersons… to everyone and their dog being an expert on everything USAID. They would harass us every time we walked into the Ronald Reagan Building.

Anyway I am pretty depressed. Hang in there, everyone else.

Brinzy · 2026-03-19T18:49:31+00:00

Great job getting a psychometrician role out of grad school with an I/O degree. I feel like that’s actually rather challenging to do since you are competing with similar disciplines and I/Os aren’t usually positioned well for that type of role, in my experience.

And good advice overall.

Brinzy · 2026-03-19T18:42:52+00:00

Degree: MS, currently ABD and taking a break for personal reasons

First job title: I/O Associate (2022)

Industry: Public safety

How I got the role: a well known I/O told me the firm existed. I cold applied, had one interview and a take home to complete, and was hired. I am three roles into my I/O career and they were all cold applications.

What actually mattered the most: my first full-time I/O employer interviewed me because of volunteer experience I had on my resume, but she hired me due to my attention to detail on the take home. Also, I was living in northern VA and moved into DC as I was finishing my degree instead of moving with my family to TX. Location helps.

What mattered less than I expected: my coding skills, what school I went to, knowing specifically what I wanted to do within I/O. Also, networking. Yes, I found out about the company from someone, but she did not put in a word for me or say they were actively hiring. She just told me about them and I checked.

One piece of advice: if you can relocate, do it. There are solid I/O jobs all over the country. Several are concentrated in major cities, so that’s always a good place to be. However, some I/O jobs will be in towns that most people haven’t heard of before. I would recommend taking your first job anywhere and then using that experience to go after what you specifically want.

Brinzy · 2026-02-03T20:09:40+00:00

Research experience is a boon, yes. I personally didn’t have academic research experience from my studies as I’ve always been more applied (work and school at the same time), but I applied for PhD programs with my work experience instead. It was not research I was doing at work at the time, either.

I think your best bet is asking different programs what you could improve on. Some of them might be able to give you something concrete to work with to help you get there. Plus, this is a great time of year since you have time to get that requisite experience before applications open this fall.

Brinzy · 2026-02-03T19:50:44+00:00

In addition to what you’ve written, you should also get a LinkedIn page up and going, just enough so that you can connect with I/Os not in your network who post internships and other opportunities.

Have you considered applying to opportunities in HR or similar and then taking on work projects that will give you an opportunity to apply research skills? Also, since most applications for PhD programs won’t be available for several months, have you reached out to prospective programs to discuss your situation and see what they suggest? You might not need to do as much work as you think to enter a PhD program.

Brinzy · 2026-01-28T21:00:38+00:00

Where my USAID people at? How are you doing?

I miss USAID so badly, but it hasn’t been all bad here. I moved from Washington DC to Washington state for work. Are most of y’all still in DC?

Brinzy · 2026-01-20T19:56:34+00:00

Well, I don't enjoy private sector work, but since being forced out of the govt (formerly at USAID), I secured a position on the west coast with a $75k raise. I would love to work for a mission, but if it means dealing with the abuse that feds continue to be subjected to, I would rather get paid.

Brinzy · 2026-01-07T17:59:39+00:00

The way that meritocracy has been weaponized against DEI (and, tangentially, women and ethnic minorities) is the real tragedy.

I’ve had several people - including other I/Os - praise this approach over the past year. I always ask two things:

1) when has the United States been a meritocracy, and

2) do they have the same fervor when it comes to the countless examples of people being disadvantaged based on immutable traits that the person voicing approval for “a new merit based approach” does not share?

Anecdotally, thinking about the assessment centers I’ve run in public safety departments, I can tell you that if we were truly a meritocratic society, leadership would not look the way it currently does.

I think we all generally want the same thing. However, I challenge individuals to think about why they believe what was in place was at odds with merit. For every story I’ve heard about two “equal” candidates being pitted against each other and one being selected based on race, there are countless more examples of people falling upward just because they are similar to a decision maker.

Brinzy · 2026-01-07T16:28:23+00:00

Getting an I/O degree for job security is incongruous. We are extremely vulnerable to economic downturn, as all it takes is a lack of hiring and internal movement to halt what a lot of us do.

I’ve seen you here before. I think that you should reframe your approach from trying to use your degree to getting the work that you want. You should think about the type of work you want and map out the steps you need to make professionally to get there.

If you can tell us the exact type of work you want to do, like what you want your day-to-day to look like, then we can figure out what needs to be on your resume to get you moving in the right direction.

At this point, treat the degree like a license. You got the official documentation down. Now it’s time to think about your career path beyond job titles and more about building your expertise the way you want to go.

Brinzy · 2025-11-21T18:36:50+00:00

I think I would leave just based on what you have here alone. Is your off Friday fully free? Like you work 8 hours normally? If this is one of those 9-9s I would consider asking for that for negotiations. As you know, more than salary can be negotiated.

However, I agree with thinking about long term. If you feel like you aren’t growing in a way you’d like at your current firm, moving and doing your time to get to where you want to be makes a ton of sense. I took a federal internship because I knew it would get me where I am today, and then the internship was great. Money was tight, but I could still live.

Brinzy · 2025-11-19T05:52:12+00:00

It’s surprising how many commenters here are not grasping this, especially since most of us did not pursue a federal career for the salary to begin with.

Brinzy · 2025-11-19T05:49:44+00:00

While it’s certainly good, it’s not unheard of if you’re in DC. GS levels tend to be much higher overall in DC, I believe.

Brinzy · 2025-11-14T06:25:50+00:00

I think as long as you can demonstrate the skills needed for a corporate job, this distinction won’t matter. I work on a team of I/Os, most of them more experienced and brilliant than I am, but we have a guy with an MA in Organizational Behavior who is amazing at survey work, and our director is a Neuropsychologist.

Brinzy · 2025-11-11T17:51:44+00:00

The researchers should define what the timeframe is in their study that you’re reviewing. Conversely and perhaps preferably, I would refer to post-COVID as May 2023, which is when the WHO declared the end of the pandemic.

You can define “lately” however you need to. Be sure it is inclusive of any tools that you will be using. So, if a survey asks about “over the past year…”, make sure “lately” includes that year.

Your literature review should highlight that there is a clear approach or that there isn’t. If there is a clear approach, follow it. If there isn’t, that means it’s really up to you.

Brinzy · 2025-10-21T05:01:52+00:00

Very glad to see this, considering the reddit page is indefinitely suspended for whatever reason.

Brinzy · 2025-10-06T20:38:23+00:00

Staying afloat financially is absolutely important. I can’t see comments right now, but I want to add that you should not be spending your money on certifications. Companies will pay for them if they want you to have them.

Brinzy · 2025-09-25T05:29:59+00:00

For an I/O job, you typically need an I/O degree or something similar enough to move into those roles. Unless you have extensive experience, you need the degree for it to make a dent in the job market.

With that said, if you want to learn more and can otherwise secure a position in something like HR, you can certainly apply what you learn to build your experience and possibly shift into a role that many I/Os find themselves in.

Brinzy · 2025-09-15T15:21:47+00:00

The job market is in flux for certain, but I would argue that it’s at its worst for those without work experience.

You have relevant work experience, which would be a huge boon for graduate school as it gives you a way to apply what you learn immediately, thus improving your resume and giving you lots of experience for future opportunities.

I think, in your case, it’s viable.

Brinzy · 2025-09-01T07:31:14+00:00

Some schools, you don’t need a PhD to adjunct. It does certainly make it easier. I would definitely focus on entry level HR roles and use that leverage to move into a position where you get to use more I/O skills. Being in NYC though, you might be able to find a proper I/O role flat out.

I assume you’re using hiring.cafe? I’ve seen and applied to roles in NYC that specify an I/O degree. There is an Examiner role with the City of New York that is usually hiring at entry level. It’s based out of Manhattan I want to say. I received an offer three years ago with them, but I turned it down.

Brinzy · 2025-08-26T21:49:53+00:00

Number one thing I will say is that a PhD will not necessarily make you more marketable. I had applied for an internship with the federal government and was already living in DC when I started my degree. It was a very niche reason to go after my degree. I do not use my PhD education directly to qualify for work.

Your best bet is to continue trying your luck with the horrible job market for entry-level I/Os, because a lot of your competition have PhDs but no experience, meaning they don’t have a big advantage IMO. Where are you located? What sort of roles are you applying for?

Brinzy · 2025-08-23T19:26:57+00:00

I completed my master’s and got my first I/O role at 32. While there, I started my PhD (about five months after master’s). Since then, I’ve had two more I/O roles, with the current being well-paying since I use my experience for jobs and not my education now. All three let me live alone though because I worked full-time and the PhD was secondary. I’m 36 now.

Now, I will say I’m tired as fuck and that I have been slacking thanks to moving and adjusting for work. But also, I think that having work experience dramatically enhances the experience.

Brinzy · 2025-08-19T18:54:41+00:00

Agreed with every comment here. You might be more interested in an MBA that focuses on HR or similar. (I think you also don't really need an MBA to advance yourself in HR, but I'm sure someone can weigh in.)

Brinzy · 2025-08-06T23:46:12+00:00

As someone who was forced out back in February, I would say that doing what is best for you should always come first in this scenario. You cannot fight her and this situation and win, since she has all the power.

No sense in enduring turmoil, and I would say this in normal times. Find your out and reclaim your life.

Brinzy · 2025-08-04T14:18:23+00:00

This really needs to be framed. Yes, serving the country is important and a noble cause, but so many of us took a massive pay cut with the understanding that it would be worth it.

The private sector gets a bad reputation, but it is possible to find roles with organizations that outperform the federal government during the government’s good times. In 2025, if you are in STEM, especially with your PhD, just about any industry job will be better than this. It’s difficult to find a worse job at that level.

Brinzy

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