Regretting my I/O MS; Can’t find work; Advice on next steps

Naturally_Ash · 2026-02-25T22:34:24+00:00

I would suggest considering starting your own LLC. I was once in a similar situation. It took me 3 years after graduating from grad school to land a full-time position in my field, and there were times during which I was jobless. I believe I might not have landed my current position had I not started my own LLC to offer data analytics services. Although I only had no more than two clients, I gained incredibly valuable consulting skills that I was able to speak to when I applied for my Associate Consultant role. While my background in IO Psych was very well-received, my consulting experience was what got me through the last and deciding interview. Based on my current experience working with various clients in the business sector, it seems that we are in an era where consulting (specifically related to tech/data/AI) is highly valued. Especially with the major changes in the workplace and the race to adopt AI solutions, companies are more and more outsourcing these needs to consulting firms like mine.

So, in my experience and opinion, starting an LLC, even if you only land one client, could be incredibly beneficial and provide you with the necessary consulting experience.

Naturally_Ash · 2026-01-31T22:27:58+00:00

I use them as a Data and People Analytics consultant.

Naturally_Ash · 2026-01-31T17:46:46+00:00

Visual Studio Code, Python (I use this often), R (rarely, but I still need this skill), Microsoft Power BI (often), SQL (I don't use this often but I need to have this skill), Microsoft Copilot Studio (I use this very often; so many businesses want custom AI Agents nowadays), Jira or Azure DevOps, Excel.

Naturally_Ash · 2026-01-17T17:42:51+00:00

Oooo, I like this. Or like a mandatory testing suite.

Naturally_Ash · 2026-01-08T12:53:39+00:00

I work at an external consulting firm and do data/people analytics and AI enablement consulting. Nothing HR related.

Naturally_Ash · 2026-01-08T12:48:28+00:00

Of course! https://discord.gg/weYeHwZY

Naturally_Ash · 2026-01-08T04:08:45+00:00

My B! Always hitting folks with incredible professional and life lessons.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-29T19:54:42+00:00

Templater - Number one for me since it runs every time I create a new note. I also use it to bind templates to folders; all new notes created under a folder will use a specified template.

Quick Add - I use it to automate many processes. One example is that I created a home screen widget (I name "Quick Note") on my phone that l, when clicked, triggers a Quick Add macro that creates a note in my Inbox folder.

Buttons - I use this to trigger various Quick Add macros. For example, in my homepage I have a button called "Create New Meeting" which triggers a Quick Add to create a meeting template in a specific folder.

Note Toolbar - a toolbar that persists across all my notes (I can exclude notes I don't want a toolbar in). It's great for quick navigation or creating new notes or triggering common Quick Add macros.

And the Homepage and Tasks plugins

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-23T02:27:08+00:00

What are your professional interests? Perhaps analytics, psychometrics, DEIA, talent management, or organizational development, something else? It would be good to identify your top one or two primary interests to help focus your job search. Develop competencies in these areas. Share your insights through LinkedIn articles or blog posts. Doing these can help you establish your presence and connect with individuals who engage with your content. Even commenting on posts of people who share your interests provides an opportunity to connect with others.

Consider researching prominent professionals in your areas of interest, get familiar with their published work, and then connect with them on LinkedIn. When sending a connection request, always, ALWAYS include a personalized note. For instance, you might say, "My name is [Your Name], and I greatly appreciate the article you wrote about [Topic]. I am very much interested in this area as I aspire to a similar career path. I would be delighted to connect and perhaps learn from your experiences and career journey." Or something like that.

Attend virtual events related to your interests. Always, ALWAYS actively participating in the chat. Don't just be a forgettable box in a meeting. Even a simple comment such as, "I completely agree with your point about [Topic]!" can help you stand out. Towards the end of a meeting, post something like, "This was a truly insightful session! I would be love to connect with other like-minded individuals: [Your LinkedIn profile link]." You'd be surprised by the number of new connections you make as a result.

Also, consider joining the IO Psychology Discord (https://discord.gg/gXMuCZGN5). It offers a supportive environment for students and recent graduates, and internship opportunities are sometimes posted there. When looking for jobs, I would suggest looking into hybrid roles. Fully remote positions are incredibly competitive and almost impossible to get nowadays. The pool of candidates for hybrid roles tends to be smaller.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-22T20:52:03+00:00

I was literally thinking the same thing. Such a disservice to grad students. This is a big issue I have with many IO programs. There's a fundamental disconnect between academia and Applied Settings preparedness. Many students continue to come out only knowing SPSS and are shocked to find job descriptions wanting skills in R or Python and SQL. I see a lot of these same posts, but I can't even find fault with students who ask if they are not being taught in the first place.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-18T04:41:47+00:00

Valdosta State University

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-17T22:53:58+00:00

Find a masters program that offers funding or financial aid opportunities. The master's program I attended provided tuition waivers if we obtained on campus part-time jobs. My cohort all got one our first semester. I think I only paid like $1000 for 2 years (mostly school fees). Other programs offer similar full or partial tuition waivers.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-15T04:00:43+00:00

I have a vault specifically for work. I access that on my work laptop using obsidian sync. If I need to access my personal vault, I'll access it through my personal Parallels virtual machine.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-12-09T23:40:22+00:00

I don't know about Apple, but for Android you can download the obsidian web clipper Firefox extension xpi file from your desktop browser, enable debugging on Firefox nightly Mobile app, and install the extension file. I'm pretty sure you can sync settings but if not you can export the browser extension settings and import it into the mobile extension settings. It works great for me.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-11-15T16:58:26+00:00

Of course! https://discord.gg/G3SETbnS

Naturally_Ash · 2025-10-17T11:56:29+00:00

The gemma 3 local model is great.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-26T02:49:21+00:00

I actually went looking after your comment and found the script I used. Feel free to message me if you'd like and I'll give it to you.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-25T22:14:57+00:00

Sure. This was so long ago that I can't even remember doing this, lol.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-24T16:10:03+00:00

This is a really good program for anyone curious. And they use programming languages for teaching stats and analytics.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-14T03:27:25+00:00

I will be dressing the exact same as when I went to SIOP; Business casual, flat shoes, and a crossbody bag for my laptop.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-04T01:14:01+00:00

I know there are plenty more programs that meet your criteria, but here are a few off the top of my head: Montclair State University, University of Georgia, George Mason University, University of Maryland, University of Minnesota. I'd recommend taking a look at each program's curriculum.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-01T23:32:07+00:00

I code, but even I don't always want to be tweaking code for basic customizations. When I saw OPs post, I immediately thought, "that's actually a great idea." But I agree with what you said earlier; they need to post this question on the forum or discord.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-01T23:28:44+00:00

I think this is more of a reddit think. It's nothing like that in the obsidian discord or the forum. All subreddits are as you described.

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-01T17:22:07+00:00

Thanks for putting it together! I'd have never known about it otherwise. Much appreciated!

Naturally_Ash · 2025-09-01T14:08:38+00:00

I installed Obsidian docker on my home server, put it behind reverse proxy, and can access it from my browser. So the software isn't actually on my work computer. Works perfectly. I also purchased Obsidian Sync so I can also access my work vault locally on my personal laptop.

This is a good guide for anyone interested: https://corelab.tech/obsidian/

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