Clinical Psychologists and the I/O Field

[CogNeuroGuy]

Is it feasible or even remotely a trend where clinical psychologists (with either the Ph.D. or Psy.D.) transitioning from mental health into industry? We are all aware of people earning the Ph.D. in I/O Psychology, however I can see many parallels from entering I/O with a clinical psychology doctorate: case analysis, treatment plan development, psychometrics, consulting, emotional assessment, the interviewing process, etc. These are all things I can see as cross-translational.

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[WisNeuro]

I don't see it as much of a trend. It's a small industry, relatively speaking, and who you know matters a lot. Honestly, a business background is a closer parallel than clinical psych for most of the traditional positions. I guess it's possible, although you better have a very strong quant background for the traditional I/O jobs.

 

[erg923]

Needs strong quant and stats background for that, not too mention love of data aggregation. Let's face it, not a strong suit for most clinical psychologists.

The VA has post doc in this within the org development division. Interesting. It's like 20 days of travel a month though, so I don't know how you can do that with a family.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Obviously there are many many types of "consulting". The bread and butter I/O work has almost zero crossover with a clinical psychology program, just ask anyone who has had to study the I/O material for the EPPP exam.

The "I" is where the heavy stats lifting and analysis is most useful, though the application of the information requires an in-depth knowledge of a broad range of topics. A motivated and resourceful enough person could probably shape his/her background to address a couple of the common areas: personnel selection (including IQ testing), develop training programs to cover things like stress management, etc.

Much of the "O" part is where you will hit a roadblock if you don't have extensive experience in a Fortune 500 (often 100) company, as that is where the big fish swim. Most executives are distrustful of people outside of their industry, so a person needs to have a track record of success with other companies…very much a Catch-22. This type of work is almost exclusively referral based, as mid-sized to large companies/corporations want a time-tested proven consultant who has a long track record that justifies the kind of money that goes along w. this type of work. **I'm not sure if this all holds true for smaller companies.**

Most of the premium consulting work goes to "The Big Three" (McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain), albeit the section that an I/O person would do is only a small piece of the larger consulting pie. BCG likes academics though, so that is an option. They actually recruited me hard when I was on fellowship….though I knew their deal from my prior career…basically the quality of life of a junior attorney at a mega firm or a first year/chum at an investment bank. It can be great money, but you really have to want to do that kind of work…which is far far away from anything remotely related to clinical psychology. Even at the management level (what they wanted me to do) it can be a very demanding place, as your team is stocked with super competitive eat your young types…which I can attest is pretty miserable. Maybe it's a different feel in other vertical markets, but the ones I played in were full of people who drove me nuts.

 

[CogNeuroGuy]

Great insights T4C, Wise and erg. With that being said (as a side note), could "you" see someone with a master's in cognitive neuroscience in I/O (akin to the master's level I/O practitioner), or are they better in the HR realm? Basically, I am considering options, since the Psy.D. is something I have applied to, I will also have a master's degree that has been very heavy in theories and measurement of cognition (attention, all forms of memory, perception, learning) and the neurobiology behind this. I am trying to figure out how I can market these qualities, in conjunction with my employment background I have outside of being a musician (recruiting, mortgage, retail management).

 

[Ollie123]

Cog neuro has even less overlap than clinical...I think that would be a huge stretch. Not impossible, but a huge stretch.

If you are just looking for industry jobs for psychologists there are plenty out there. Its non-standard so there isn't a set path, but the skillset lends itself to many types of middle-management/administrative or research positions in a number of fields.That's very different than wanting to practice as a different type of psychologist than what you were trained as though, which is what the original post seemed to be asking about.

My take (and this is very much my opinion as I have nothing to back it up) is that as you move into industry you need to look at what APPLIED skills you have. If we're talking about a general knowledge of memory, attention, neurobiology, etc. no one in industry is likely to care except MAYBE a few extremely select areas (e.g. biomedical engineering firm developing equipment for brain-computer interfacing). You need to capitalize on the more practical skills you get in grad school. Stats training, grant writing, technical writing, supervision of a large team. For the folks I know who went the industry route...this is VERY clearly what got them the job and not their general knowledge base of a certain topic.