Exploring Skills, Traits, and Competencies …Exploring Skills, Traits, and Competencies...
28
Exploring Skills, Traits, and Competencies Psychologists Use in the Workforce Garth A. Fowler, PhD Associate Executive Director, Graduate & Postgraduate Education & Training Karen Stamm, PhD Director, Center for Workforce Studies APA 2019 Convention August 8th, 2019
Transcript of Exploring Skills, Traits, and Competencies …Exploring Skills, Traits, and Competencies...
Exploring Skills, Traits, and Competencies Psychologists Use in the WorkforceGarth A. Fowler, PhD
Associate Executive Director, Graduate & Postgraduate Education & Training
Karen Stamm, PhD
Director, Center for Workforce Studies
APA 2019 Convention
August 8th, 2019
The opinions expressed in this presentation are those of the authors and do not constitute official policy of the American Psychological Association.
Slides are available at the APA Center for Workforce Studies website under Presentations http://www.apa.org/workforce/presentations/index.aspx
The presenters acknowledge the contributions of the Center for Workforce Studies, The office of Graduate and Postgraduate Education and Training, and APA Membership.
Agenda
• What you can do with a degree in psychology?
The Psychology Workforce
• Analysis of Job Advertisements• What skills are employers looking for?
The Psychology Job Market
• Analysis of How Did You Get That Job? Interviews• What skills employees use?
A Psychologist’s Job
The psychology workforce
Occupation Types
48% of psychology doctorate degree holders are employed in occupations outside of professional service
Source: 2017 National Survey of College Graduates, National Science Foundation
Professional Service, 52%
Teaching, 15%
Research, 15%
Management, 12%
Sales and Marketing, 2%
Other, 4%
ProfessionalServiceTeaching
Research
Management
Sales andMarketingOther
Primary Work Activity
Psychology Doctorate
Degree Holders
Represents 61 out of 129 different occupational categories
Source: 2017 National Survey of College Graduates, National Science Foundation
The Psychology Job Market
Psychology Job Ads Analysis: Methods
• Almost 7,000 job advertisements in APA psycCareers
• Primary elements analyzed included Company Name, Job Title, and Job Description
The Dataset
• R Statistical Programming• Weighted, keyword-based coding• Decision tree algorithm
Automated text analysis
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Developing the code Three coders started by hand-coding a sample of 50 job advertisements while taking detailed notes on the thought process behind the code. The results were verified and agreed upon between coders and then written into syntax using R, a statistical programming software. The syntax was then applied to the whole data set with extensive checking and iterative improvement to increase accuracy. Logic behind the code The logic was based on a weighted keyword search, meaning that keywords for certain variables that were found in one part of the job advertisement, might hold more or less weight compared to other parts. For example, when coding for “Job Type”, Keywords found in the job title (such as I/O psychologist) weighted more than keywords found in the job description (such as “located in a hospital”) Decision Tree The weighting portion of the code was applied using a decision tree. All possible labels (which indicated both the label and where the keywords were found) were applied to each job ad based on keywords. A decision tree algorithm was then applied to decide which of the available labels best fit the job type.
The Majority of Advertisements were for Faculty and Health Service Psychologist Positions
Applied Psychologist, 4%
Faculty, 41%
Health Service Psychologist,
48%
Researcher, 6%Other, 1%
Source: APA, 2018, 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements: An Overview
Commonly Requested Traits in Job Advertisements
0 200 400 600 800
Adaptability
Ethical
Compassion/Empathy
Positive Attitude
Independent
Motivated
Self Awareness
Proactive
Reliability
Number of Job Advertisements
Pers
onal
Tra
its
Source: APA, 2018, 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements: An Overview
Requested Skills
0 500 1000 1500
Leadership skills
Cultural Awareness
Teamwork Skills
Communication Skills
Data Analysis Skills
Computer Skills
Multi-lingual
Organizational Skills
Critical Thinking
Number of Job Postings
Skill
Typ
e
Top Skills Across Job Type
Source: APA, 2018, 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements: An Overview
Trends in Skills over
Time
Source: APA, 2018, 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements [Unpublished special analyses]
Trends in Skills over
Time
Faculty
Source: APA, 2018, 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements [Unpublished special analyses]
Trends in Skills over
Time
Health Service Psychologists
Source: APA, 2018, 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements [Unpublished special analyses]
How Did You Get That Job? Analysis
How Did You Get That Job? Analysis: Methods
• 18 interviews• Speakers filled out a form with their
responses
The Dataset
• R Statistical Programming• Weighted, keyword-based coding• Decision Tree algorithm
Automated text analysis
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Differences from psycCareers analysis: The same syntax was used but an altered keyword search and decision tree One coder developed the keywords using the text of the 18 interviews The decision tree was weighted based on the questions used for analysis (i.e. for skills, keywords found in the third questions were weighted higher than the second).
How Did You Get That Job? Analysis: Methods
• Provide a short description of your current position, and the work you do on a daily basis.
• In your current job, are there other titles/roles for people doing similar work at other organization, universities, or companies? If so, what are those titles/roles?
• What skills and abilities did you learn in your training, do you find are most useful in your job/career?
Questions Analyzed
The Majority of Interviews were with Applied Psychologists
(Applied Psychologist includes forensic psychologists, industrial organizational psychologists, and human factors psychologists)
Health Service Psychologist, 11%
Faculty, 6%
Researcher, 17%
Applied Psychologist,
67%
Source: APA, 2018-2019 How Did You Get That Job? [Unpublished analyses]
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Program’s goal was to feature doctoral-degree holders working in the works sectors of non-academic research, management, and sales & marketing. Technically, Applied Psychologists fields include I/O psychologists, Engineering psychologists, and Human Factors; We found that titles often did not accurately describe these work sectors – at least not as directly as titles like Faculty member or Clinical Psychologist.
Most Used SkillsDescriptive Language
Source: APA, 2018-2019 How Did You Get That Job? [Unpublished special analyses]
Presenter
Presentation Notes
What skills and abilities did you learn in your training (i.e., graduate school, postdoctoral experience), do you find are most useful in your job/career?
Most Used Skills
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Organizational Skills
Cultural Awareness
Leadership skills
Teamwork Skills
Critical Thinking
Analytical Skills
Communication Skills
Percent of Interviewees
Desc
ribed
Ski
lls
Source: APA, 2018, 2018-2019 How Did You Get That Job [Unpublished special analyses]
Presenter
Presentation Notes
What skills and abilities did you learn in your training (i.e., graduate school, postdoctoral experience), do you find are most useful in your job/career?
Skills Requested vs. Used
0 500 10001500
Leadership skills
CulturalAwareness
Teamwork Skills
CommunicationSkills
Data AnalysisSkills
Computer Skills
Multi-lingual
OrganizationalSkills
Critical Thinking
Number of Job Postings
Skill
Typ
e
Job Advertisements
0% 100%
OrganizationalSkills
CulturalAwareness
Leadership skills
Teamwork Skills
Critical Thinking
Analytical Skills
CommunicationSkills
Percent of Interviewees
Des
crib
ed S
kills
How Did You Get That Job
Work Activities
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Education
Health Services
Appliedpsychology
Research
Management
Percent of Interviewees
Wor
k Ac
tiviti
es
Source: APA, 2018, 2018-2019 How Did You Get That Job [Unpublished special analyses]
Presenter
Presentation Notes
What skills and abilities did you learn in your training (i.e., graduate school, postdoctoral experience), do you find are most useful in your job/career?
Training vs. Workingand theUse of subfields
The subfield you study may not be what you do day to day…
Source: APA, 2018-2019 How Did You Get That Job [Unpublished special analyses]
The subfield you study may not be what you do day to day…
Source: APA, 2018-2019 How Did You Get That Job [Unpublished special analyses]
Discussion and
Implications
A psychology degree offers multitudes of opportunity across many different occupations
Soft skills like cultural awareness, leadership, and teamwork are important on the current job market
Careers in non-academic and HSP fields emphasize communication, analytical and critical thinking skills learned in graduate school
Questions or Comments?
Resources
• American Psychological Association. (2018). 2015-17 Psychology Job Advertisements: An Overview. Washington, DC: Author.
• American Psychological Association. (2018). Careers in Psychology. [Interactive data tool]. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/workforce/data-tools/careers-psychology.aspx
• How did you get that job interviews: https://www.apa.org/members/your-growth/career-development/how-did-you-get-that-job/index
