How I Stumbled Upon I-O from a Totally Different Career

By Carrie Zapka, SIOP blogger

How does a Microbiologist end up in I-O?  It was not easy. I-O is definitely not a well-known career option. I will share how I stumbled upon I-O (and I hope you will reply and share your story too) because I believe that we should find ways to help more people from diverse non-psychology backgrounds to discover I-O too. 

A few years ago I hit an invisible mental career wall. I was happy when I was immersed in my day to day tasks. When I thought about my future, though, I was anxious and frustrated. I looked around at colleagues who were a few stops ahead of me on my default career path and I just couldn’t see myself in their shoes.

As Barabara Sher would put it, nothing about that future made my heart sing. The overwhelming awareness that I needed to do something significantly different just couldn’t be ignored any longer. I had become a boiling frog.

At first I had absolutely no idea what to do or even how to figure out what to do. Things got much worse before they got better. I wasted time unproductively revisiting the same pros and cons of the short list of career options that I could come up with off the top of my head or that well-meaning others had suggested to me.

Things didn’t start to look up until I realized that I needed to diverge my thinking. I began devouring career advice books and taking every career test I could find to get some fresh ideas. I nearly filled a notebook with the results of my soul searching adventure which concluded with the unexpected decision to pursue I-O.

Nothing was going to happen until I was clear about what really mattered to me. I remember feeling empowered as I stared at the result of diligently working through the self-discovery exercises in Richard Bolles’ amazing book, What Color is Your Parachute?. I adore that piece of paper. Finally, a tangible thing emerging from tortuous intangible feelings, a map that articulated which direction I needed to head.

The dots started to connect.  Another pivotal moment of realization occurred during an exercise in Marcus Buckingham’s book Go Put Your Strengths to Work. After charting when I felt weak and strong at work for months, I learned a disturbing truth: I was weakest when I was doing things that were my job description. No wonder I had hit a career wall!

I was like a caged animal just trying to get used to an environment that was never going to allow me to thrive. I wasn’t able to follow my instincts. I learned that I was strongest when I was doing things that were not officially part of my role, but that used my misplaced untapped talents and passions. I had been carelessly dismissing them as merely distracting curiosities.   

My Epiphany.  I was relieved the night my research led me to stumble upon the specific term and description of the field of I-O. It might have been a little bit like the feeling people who have unknown health problems get after they get a diagnosis. I had loved I-O psychology all along, but I just didn’t have a name for it. If you are not a Psychology undergraduate and if you don’t personally know an I-O Psychologist, how are you supposed to know this career option even exists?

 Please reply. Share how you discovered I-O, why you decided to pursue a career in I-O or some advice for people contemplating a significant career change.

Comments

[Kimberly Smith]

Carrie,
Thank you for starting this conversation. I discovered I-O through various tests, along with pinpointing what exactly I thrived on. I am just starting the academic process, but have been in business for several years in healthcare. Prior to that I was in banking and finance. I look forward to the journey!
Kim

[Nuts4ideas]

Hi Karina,
There are many free tests you can find online to take and a few that you have to pay a small fee for. However, if you are just starting out in your career then my advice is that school is so very different than a working life, that the only way to know what you want to do is to try a few things. Go grab anything that sounds at all interesting or educational. Don’t get too hung up on salary either if you can avoid that. You’ll learn much more about what you were meant to do and what you love and what you are going to be excellent doing by just doing anything, than you will by taking a test. For me, I am on my third job now and each has been very different. I am just starting to learn what is good for me and what isn’t. Even the one job that I completely despised with every cell in my body (I am NOT exaggerating, I was queasy when the alarm went off in the morning!) taught me a lot. I only made it one year, but the saying that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger is so true. I learned to speak well, to think on my feet, to not be so naïve and trusting, and how to be assertive. I would never have grown this way if I didn’t have that experience. So you really can't make a mistake. Every experience has a lesson.
Best of luck!
Carrie

[Nuts4ideas]

Hi Laura,
Thanks for responding and following the SIOP blog.
Tip #1. Never say “impossible” (or always, or never, or any of those black and white words)… it’s bad for your subconscious and usually not true. Nothing is impossible. If it’s hard to get, then you’ll love it all the more when you find it.
Tip #2. Share what you have learned and think you will be great at without using jargon folks don’t get. I feel your pain on answering the inevitable “What is I-O?”. A future blog post will talk about good elevator speeches on this. But not using the word I-O is what I’m learning is best.
Tip #3. Don’t give up. Serendipity will strike. Opportunity has a time and a place and you just have to stay open to it. Tell as many people as you know what you are interested in doing and sooner or later, hopefully sooner, a spark will ignite in someone who has been looking for someone like you.
Please keep us posted!
Carrie

[Karina]

Carrie, i kind of feel like you right now. the only difference is i graduate in may so i have not yet started a career. I am actually a psychology major taking an I/O course right now, but i am still confused as to what i want to do when i graduate. in your blog you said you read books about learning what career is best for you, and took test. what type of test did you take and are they open for just anyone to take them. right now I/O psychology seems very interesting to me, but i am still kind of on edge about exactly what it is, and what they do. i am only half way through the class so hopefully by the end of the class i will have a better understanding. is there any advice you could give me before i just jump head first into the working adult world?

[Laura Shaw]

Carrie,

I stumbled on I/O as a result of a Google search a few years ago. This led to the SIOP site with a list of graduate programs that I started calling upon, which led to applications and grad school. While the thought of I/O is fascinating and valuable, turning it in to a viable career where I live has proved to be impossible. I have found that the majority of individuals in the greater Sacramento area have no clue what I/O Psychology is let alone job opportunities. I am interning at a junior college with a Professor who has been teaching Organizational Behavior and HR Management for years and she had never heard of I/O before I met her last year. This describes the climate I live in.

To change things, I have decided the first step is to surround myself with people who are already doing the things I would like to be doing myself. Just this week I made the decision to attend the annual conference next month in San Diego (you should think about going). They pair first timers up with a mentor and offer great networking opportunities. Perhaps there is more to offer in Sacramento and I’m just not looking in the right place.

Laura

[Nuts4ideas]

Hi Laura,
So how did you end up stumbling upon the name and the field?
Do you have any ideas on how the field can become more visible?
I love Steve Job's wonderful point about how you can't connect dots forward, only backward. He mentioned that if he hadn't taken an excursion to explore his artistic side in college, he's not sure Apple would be what it is today. If he just focused on his left-brained analytical side would it be as loved of a brand as it is?
So do what you love and most likely it will all come together in the end and you'll probably find a unique niche for yourself if you can marry diverse talents. And if it doesn't all connect, so what, right? You'll have a great time on the journey!
You are a great example of what I am very interested in- transdisciplinary studies. The only way to solve truly great problems is to collaborate on a massive scale among many very diverse fields. Never before in history have we had the technology to enable this to happen. I think each one of us who takes the step of combining two very different fields themselves is in my opinion, contributing to this effort. We need to go back to the Renaissance folks who dabbled in everything. The truly great see things from every angle at once and value everyone’s input and ideas. That’s really tough to do!
Thanks for sharing. Good luck to you too!
Carrie

[Laura Shaw]

Carrie,
I share your feelings. Having a BS in Construction Management and then completing my MA in I/O Psychology was definitely a 180. Like you, I did not even know I/O existed initially. In fact, I didn't until about three months before I applied for my graduate program. For years the ideas that fuel I/O were in my head but I couldn't figure out where all of these ideas were being manufactured. Having just graduated this week and still in construction I face a new challenge of how to transition successfully in to my new career. Best of luck to you.

[Nuts4ideas]

Vera,
Thanks for sharing. All of the people who read your post and are in the same situation will appreciate knowing they are not alone. Since these decisions are so personal, what's best for you might be totally different for anyone else? I don’t think I or anyone else can say what is best for you.
For me, I found that as soon as I stopped asking everyone else what I should do, I found the answer more easily. No one really knows how you think and what you are going to be happiest and most fulfilled doing than you do. Of course husbands and friends get a vote, but first narrow the options down, then ask for their input.
As for age, yeah, well, you are not alone. None of us are getting any younger! I struggled with that one too. We are the age we are and we can't change it, so I say there's no benefit in worrying about it. Focus on the positive- you are bringing diversity of experience to your program. If a program doesn't want you because you are "non-traditional" then I guess that means that wasn't the program for you.
Online or brick and mortar? Masters or PhD? These are tough choices that inspire lively debate. We’ll be sure to discuss them in future blog posts. Personally, I chose an online masters program, but that wasn't my first choice, just what I had to do.
Carrie

[Nuts4ideas]

Trudi,
Thanks for sharing your inspiring story. I'm impressed that your boss is "thrilled and excited" about your new found interest- if only we could all have bosses with that attitude about the development of their employees! The healthcare industry is changing so fast. Who better than an I-O with personal experience working in that environment to provide assistance. Sounds like you’re on a great path. Enjoy!
Carrie

[Vera Matthews]

Thanks Carrie for this discussion!!! I am contemplating the field of organizational psychology at this time. I am in my early 40's and have my master's in social work. All of my experience has been in children & families (10 years) and this is different but similar. I always wanted to know how people are motivated in the workplace, what makes people stay at a company for numerous amount of years, etc.
I am in the beginning stage of researching the graduate programs and what should i expect in this new journey. I would like to start an online program but I am unsure as to which one is best? Also, should I start with a master's then my doctorate? (My undergrad is in psychology)
I am apprehensive as I am older and not the "traditional student" so time is not a luxury for me with children, husband, etc. I know this is what I want to do but I want to make the right steps for this career change as i can not afford to waste any time because I am not getting any younger!!! :)
Any advice or words of wisdom??
Thanks
Vera

[Trudi Shouse]

Carrie - I am a BSN RN - the degree with a 1,000 jobs. I have recently happened upon I-O and found the master's degree for what I've always wanted intuitively. Workplace human interactions, policies/politics, structures, measures of success, etc. have long fascinated me. I always took psyche classes as electives because the content was riveting, but I didn't want to be a therapist. I was even a psych nurse for a few years (creeping ever closer to the I-O field). Once I found the name and occupation of I-O psychologist, I knew I'd found the place for me. I immediately came to this site to educate myself further and am now days away from enrolling into my first classes. I am chomping at the bit to get into this field of study. My boss is thrilled and excited for me to get started; we have suspect our company already employs I-O psychologists. I'm just glad I finally found a name (and graduate program) for my passion. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.

[Carrie Zapka]

So the comments so far have all been very positive, we all love I-O. But significant career changes can't be easy. Has anyone experienced or witnessed others move into I-O from a very different field or background and end up hating it? What are the watch-outs?

For example, one I-O cautioned me that the most difficult transition might be in learning new methods. He said that he worked with an MD that insisted on "double-blinded placebo trials" and just dismissed I-O methods as bogus because to him they didn't have the rigor of the hard sciences.

[Carrie Zapka]

BryanB,
Thanks for being the brave first commenter! What a great concluding statement!
I just listened to the book Alex and me by Irene Pepperberg. It's a great story about a very successful whiz chemist that just wasn't fulfilled and her struggle and triumphs on her journey to do something very different, to honor her true passions (in this case it wasn't I-O, but studying parrot communcation, but the concept is similar)
Carrie

[Carrie Zapka]

DRA,
Your story sounds so familiar in general, although the details are different. I think I-O spans all fields in some ways, and many of us "accidentally" take a class or two and fall in love with it.
How might we get more people the benefit of exposure to it? How many folks are out there that would enjoy and be an asset to the field but who have just never heard of it?
Enjoy your Ph.D. journey!
Carrie

[Carrie Zapka]

yandra,
I hope you enjoy your masters program as much as I'm enjoying mine. It's so different than science and engineering- so much more "right brain". I find it refreshing to have people matter as much as facts and data for once.
I'm not the one to ask for advice on getting experience/internships in I-O. I have yet to cross that bridge myself.
I'm not aware of any specific place for non-psychology majors to network. I recommend attending at least one SIOP annual meeting as a beginning student though. It can really open your eyes on the range of possible futures in the field. I was surprised at how many sessions were focused on helping students figure that out. Perhaps we could organize something like a dinner in tandem with a future SIOP meeting for folks like us to meet? Successful accomplished folks who made the leap and those who are just putting their toes in the water like us who can ask questions.
Carrie

[Carrie Zapka]

Swva,
Thanks for sharing. It's wonderful that you found it sooner than later. I had not heard of Lore's book- I will definitely add it to my "to read" list, thanks! I laughed at your comment about loving assessments. My husband told me while I was doing this that I needed to find a job that was "taking tests to find out what job to have" because I seemed to be happier doing that than anything else. So I totally relate!
Carrie

[Swva]

I think it is a wonderful pursuit to help more people from diverse backgrounds discover I-O. I was lucky to have stumbled upon it sooner rather than later, having taking an I/O course in undergrad. However, my major was Communications. I applaud your proactive approach to discovering your passion. Having already had the seed planted, I myself still sought out help from similar books to confirm my instincts. I recommend The Pathfinder by Nicholas Lore. When people are willing to put forth the effort to tap into their untapped talents, or in my case, interests they didn’t think would lead to anything tangible, wonderful things can happen. I’ve spent more hours in my younger life than I’m willing to admit taking online quizzes, hoping I’d miraculously reveal what I was “meant” to be doing. But that in itself was a major clue; I love assessments. And, BryanB’s comment sums up the very reason why I’ve pursued I/O: A chance to hopefully improve human behavior in the place where people spend practically more time than anywhere else. I’m currently working as a Personnel Psychologist in the federal government.

[yandra]

Carrie,
That is an incredible journey.
I am in similar shoes. I am an industrial engineer with five years of experience and I also field that my current job does not tap on my strengths that make me thrive.
I am starting a masters in I/O Psychology on August, but I will love to have some work experience in I/O during or before I star my course of study.
Any recommendations?
Also, is there any where a place for networking for non psychology majors that want to pursue I/o? It will be great that psychology majors could give us a little bit in this journey.

Thank you for your post Carrie.

[DRA]

My B.A. is in the humanities; after graduation I spent a few years working in the not-for-profit sector before I decided that I needed to go back to school. My job responsibilities had included tasks for which I had no previous training, such as creating budgets, program evaluation, and staff recruitment and selection. As part of my master's program in public service management, I was able to take a few classes in my school's graduate I/O program. I loved the classes and decided that I wanted to go in a new direction. After I finished my M.S., I began applying to Ph.D. programs. I will begin this fall.

[BryanB]

Carrie - what a wonderful idea for a discussion. Coincidentally, I was a chemistry major my freshman year, something I was actually quite good at but found more and more boring the smaller the particles got. I chanced on an I/O class and immediately changed my major. A chance to study (and hopefully improve) human behavior in the place that people spend practically more time than anywhere else? Heck yes.