Organisational Psychology

Neuro

I'm considering undertaking a Masters in Organisational Psychology next year and wanted to know from anyone here currently working in the area what are the likely job prospects upon completing the course?

Also, what universities will be offering a one-year, full-time course in the area next year? I know of UL's, but others seem to come and go with frightening speed. Is this indicative of a lack of demand or over-supply of graduates in this field?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

New.White.Socks

Hi Neuro,
I'm doing a 1yr full time masters in Occ Psych at the moment, so not quite working in the area, but having done a lot of looking around before choosing to do it I feel I can help a bit.
I think Cork and Limerick have courses in it, but they're not very established courses and not accredited by professional bodies. I believe this has something to do with courses coming and going.
Having spoken to occ psychologists and uni lecturers I was advised to go to the UK. Best courses are supposed to be Manchester and Nottingham. I chose Nottingham for a couple of reasons, but I've been told that either one, and probably a few more in the UK, are highly rated by employers.
The course is fairly intensive but interesting. Any questions about that?
Job prospects... not a lot. But the thing is your going into the business setting, so you can apply for, and be in a really good position to take a place in graduate schemes in HR or Human capital kind of areas, then get a job with occ psychs... you could go straight into occ psych but you really would need experience (not sure if you've got any or not), and to be lucky. Once you do get in the work is very varied, interesting in my opinion and generally well paid.
I can ask contacts I know any more questions if you've got em and I can't answer.

Neuro

Thanks very much for your reply New.White.Socks - it was very helpful.

I may be wrong about this, but the PSI often give accreditation to courses after they've been running for a few years which applies retroactively to those who completed the course prior to accreditation. Of course the institutions in question would have to be actively seeking accreditation, so this is something I'll have to query with any course I apply for in Ireland.

It seems that many people in this field start out in HR settings within large companies, or within consultancies serving these companies, before finally branching out on their own. Am I correct in thinking this, or are there other career routes?

Although I'd have no difficulty studying in the UK, I'd definitely prefer to work in Ireland upon completing the course, but this would be dictated by economic conditions in 24 months time, which are very tricky to predict. Anyone willing to do some crystal ball gazing?

New.White.Socks

Afraid my crystal ball is out of action! I do know that there are much much more opportunities in the UK for graduates in HR/Human Capital areas, but they are still operating in Ire. If you got that experience where ever it may be, you would be much more likely to get jobs in occ psych.
I've heard that what you said about retrospective accreditation is true, but I don't know much about it. The only thing is it isn't guarenteed that it will be given. Which may not be much of a problem for working in Ireland, but would internationally, but honestly I don't know much about how that would work.
Occ psy graduates often go into the big orgs for experience because the training is relevant and there are many more opportunities in these. It is possible to get your training in an occ psy business, but these are extremely competitive, and relevant experience is needed (hence why many graduates work in HR for a while).
Occ psychs generally work in consultancy, some work for large orgs often involved in recruitment/promotions and training. But consultancy is what occ psych organisations do, and its where most senior occ psychologists end up, be it their own business or in one of the bigger ones.

Sorry I know that post is a bit all over the place... maybe there's something helpful buried in there somewhere :rolleyes:

Neuro

Thanks again for your insight New.White.Socks.

Having done a bit of research, am I correct in believing that the University of Limerick will be the only institution in Ireland offering a full-time, one-year masters in occupational psychology in 2010?

lou91

Can anyone tell me the difference between this
http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/postgraduate-courses/occupational-psychology-masters-msc/course-content_260.aspx

and this?

http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/postgraduate-courses/work-and-organisational-psychology-masters-msc/course-content_79.aspx

I thought Organisational and Occupational were just interchangeable terms, is there actually a difference in these qualifications and the type of jobs you can get from them??

p.pete

RandomUserName! wrote: »

Can anyone tell me the difference between this
http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/postgraduate-courses/occupational-psychology-masters-msc/course-content_260.aspx

and this?

http://pgstudy.nottingham.ac.uk/postgraduate-courses/work-and-organisational-psychology-masters-msc/course-content_79.aspx

I thought Organisational and Occupational were just interchangeable terms, is there actually a difference in these qualifications and the type of jobs you can get from them??

There are subtle differences in the course contents of each - so tease out the differences and see which is of more interest to you. They do seem very similar, even though there's different course contacts. Very interesting.

New.White.Socks

There is basically one important difference between the two, and that is BPS accreditation. Students are in many of the same classes together. With occupational psychology, you've got the first step toward becoming a chartered occupational psychologist, whereas with work and organisational you don't. Occ psych has been around for longer and made a better name for itself as well; it has won various awards and things.
As a result it is a bit more competitive to get into the occ psych class (although there are many more places). The important point about getting into the courses is that the occ psych course requires you to have a BPS accredited (or international equivalent) undergraduate degree. I'm not sure about all Irish courses, but the NUIG, UCC and UCD graduates are eligible for Occ psych, whereas those who do not have a background in psychology may not have the requirements to get in.

New.White.Socks

RandomUserName! wrote: »

I thought Organisational and Occupational were just interchangeable terms, is there actually a difference in these qualifications and the type of jobs you can get from them??

Organisational and Occupational are interchangable names really, but although a lot of the content is the same, there are differences between these courses. The types of jobs you can get are different because you haven't taken any steps toward chartership with org, although the course does cater for a wider range of people.

Cicero

Neuro...not sure of your age/level of experience- assuming post graduate/early-mid 20s-...Occ Psych is a challenging enough area, and the few people I know in it, have a lot of years of business experience and accumen behind them which tends to prove invaluable...many completed their training part time, while holding down a full-time job, and many came from a different dicipline originally.

If you went into a fortune 500 company under a graduate scheme, it is unlikely that you would end up working 'purely' in an occ psych role for the first number of years at least...a small training/consultancy business specialising in the area of human development would be the best thing to aim for- you would get hands on experience of psychometric testing/developing learning solutions etc etc...many grads in a Large Company Grad scheme end up working far away from their specialised college subject (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but just something to keep in mind)

Best of luck with it.

Neuro

Thanks for your advice Cicero - it's very much appreciated.

r.dunne7

Hi guys...


do you know ofr occupationla psychology courses for both Manchester and Nottingham.. what kind of lectures do you ahve.

I have heard its 9-5 for 2 days of the week and independent study but am not sure. I am intrested in doing the full time course

I am Looking to do either of the course but need to work part time to fund my living expenenses.

How iontense is this course, i am after working really hard for a number of professional exams and was hoping to have a rather relaxing year as oppsed to an intense one.

Also is it easy to get a merit, i would like to get a merit as oppsed to a pass but dont want to work so hard if u get my drift.

Roughtly how amny people end up getting merits?

After completing course is it easy to get into consultancy??

Be great if somebody could give me some insight particular to both of the course in manchester and nottingham!