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Industrial & Organisational Psychologist

Business

Apply principles of psychology to human resources, administration, management, sales, and marketing problems. Activities may include policy planning; employee testing and selection, training, and development; and organizational development and analysis. May work with management to organize the work setting to improve worker productivity.

Human ResourcesScience

What you'd do all day

The tasks that matter most in this job, most important first.

  1. 1Provide advice on best practices and implementation for selection.
  2. 2Develop and implement employee selection or placement programs.
  3. 3Develop interview techniques, rating scales, and psychological tests used to assess skills, abilities, and interests for the purpose of employee selection, placement, or promotion.
  4. 4Analyze data, using statistical methods and applications, to evaluate the outcomes and effectiveness of workplace programs.
  5. 5Observe and interview workers to obtain information about the physical, mental, and educational requirements of jobs, as well as information about aspects such as job satisfaction.
  6. 6Analyze job requirements and content to establish criteria for classification, selection, training, and other related personnel functions.
  7. 7Facilitate organizational development and change.
  8. 8Advise management concerning personnel, managerial, and marketing policies and practices and their potential effects on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
  9. 9Conduct presentations on research findings for clients or at research meetings.
  10. 10Coach senior executives and managers on leadership and performance.
  11. 11Conduct individual assessments, including interpreting measures and providing feedback for selection, placement, or promotion.
  12. 12Train clients to administer human resources functions, including testing, selection, and performance management.
  13. 13Assess employee performance.
  14. 14Identify training and development needs.
  15. 15Formulate and implement training programs, applying principles of learning and individual differences.
  16. 16Study organizational effectiveness, productivity, and efficiency, including the nature of workplace supervision and leadership.
  17. 17Provide expert testimony in employment lawsuits.
  18. 18Conduct research studies of physical work environments, organizational structures, communication systems, group interactions, morale, or motivation to assess organizational functioning.
  19. 19Develop new business by contacting potential clients, making sales presentations, and writing proposals.
  20. 20Write reports on research findings and implications to contribute to general knowledge or to suggest potential changes in organizational functioning.
  21. 21Write articles, white papers, or reports to share research findings and educate others.
  22. 22Review research literature to remain current on psychological science issues.
  23. 23Counsel workers about job and career-related issues.
  24. 24Participate in mediation and dispute resolution.
  25. 25Study consumers' reactions to new products and package designs, and to advertising efforts, using surveys and tests.

Also known as

What this job is called on JobStreet, LinkedIn and in job ads. Search these too.

  • OD Analyst
  • Psychologist
  • HR Consultant
  • OD Consultant
  • OD Specialist
  • Policy Advisor
  • Policy Officer
  • HR Psychologist
  • HR OD Consultant
  • I-O Practitioner

How far is this from you?

Roughly how much preparation this job usually takes. In Malaysia your UPU route and the programme's syarat still decide entry, so treat this as a guide, not a gate.

  1. 1

    Entry straight after SPM

  2. 2

    SPM + sijil / short TVET course

  3. 3

    Diploma / TVET (sijil–diploma)

  4. 4

    Degree (ijazah sarjana muda)

  5. Typical entry

    Postgrad (sarjana / PhD) or professional route

Typical educationMaster's degree

Subjects that matter here

The SPM subjects worth your effort for this career, with the reason for each.

BusinessDraws directly on Personnel and Human Resources — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EconomicsDraws directly on Administration and Management — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
Additional MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
MathematicsDraws directly on Mathematics — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).
EnglishDraws directly on English Language — a top knowledge area for this role (O*NET).

What you'd need to know

The subject areas this job leans on most, and the SPM subjects that build them.

  • Personnel and Human Resources98%

    Business

  • Psychology96%
  • Education and Training89%
  • Administration and Management81%

    BusinessEconomics

  • Mathematics80%

    Additional MathematicsMathematics

  • English Language75%

    English

Tools you'd use

Software and equipment that show up in this job, worth learning early.

Where to learn these, free

Scholarships & funding

What the work feels like

Day-to-day working conditions, so you can tell whether the job suits how you like to work.

  • Face-to-face discussionsEvery day
  • Contact with other peopleContact most of the time
  • Dealing with customers or the publicHigh
  • Leading or coordinating othersHigh
  • Handling conflict situationsRarely
  • Indoors, air-conditionedEvery day
  • Outdoors, in all weatherAlmost never
  • Noisy environmentAlmost never

Where this job is heading

Newer tasks O*NET has flagged for this occupation, a hint at how the role is changing.

  • Develop and administer surveys to employees of organizations.
  • Teach industrial-organizational psychology courses to undergraduate or graduate students.

AI and demand for this job

A few real, dated data points — not a single score. AI making some tasks faster usually means a job changes, not that it disappears.

36%

Share of everyday tasks today's AI can already help with (2023)

This estimate is from 2023 — already out of date, since AI moves fast. Treat it as a rough, aging starting point, not the current picture.

0.30%

Of Malaysian Claude conversations, about this kind of work

Measures how much people use Claude for this work, not how many Malaysians do this job — and more AI use can mean people relying on it, not that it's replacing them.

Growing role in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, not Malaysian. Shown because it's the only forward-looking demand estimate we have for this job.

Pay in Malaysia

We don't have a sourced Malaysian salary range for this job yet, and we'd rather show nothing than a number we can't stand behind.

Where to check:

  • JobStreet and Hiredly job ads for this title
  • DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey
  • SSPA scheme tables, if you're aiming for a government post
See pay for a related career: Clinical Psychologist

Check what you may qualify for

Enter your SPM grades and see which routes and programmes you may qualify for. An estimate to plan with, not an offer.

Check my eligibility Not sure yet? Take the quiz

How to get here

Post-SPM pathways with programmes in this career's fields. Tap one to see real programmes and entry requirements.

Matriculation

One or two years, heavily subsidised with allowance. Competitive, quota-based entry.

12–24 months

Asasi / Foundation

One-year runway into a specific university: public via UPU or private direct entry.

12 months

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About this information

This describes what the job involves. Pay, demand and entry routes differ in Malaysia, so check the Pathways and Programmes pages for local requirements.

O*NET occupation: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

Job responsibilities, knowledge areas and work context from O*NET 30.3, US Department of Labor, used under CC BY 4.0. onetcenter.org

Programmes that lead here

Programmes from the official UPU (KPT) and MQA catalogues whose field of study typically leads to this career. Matched by field, not a job guarantee.

Public universities (UPU)

Private institutions (MQA-accredited)

Search the programme catalogue