Can anyone give me an insight on what psychology has to do with Management and technical consulting services?
I am taking psychology classes and apparently this management and technical consulting services is the highest paying position and i would like to know what it is and maybe then i might decide to persue it…
Consulting is all about coming up with changes (improvements), planning for change and executing change successfully in organizations. A major part of any change project is to ensure that those affected by the change (directly or indirectly) understand the change, accept the change and continue to operate successfully under the challenging conditions of the change.
Those who are trained in psychology have the potential to provide insight into how people within the organization can deal with the change successfully. For example, they can offer insight into how to go about communicating to these people most effectively (determining what messages or vehicles for communication would be most well-received by the people).
Another potential for consulting work is the area of "Usability." This field is very small in my opinion but arguably very valuable. When a new computer system is designed, a "usability expert" validates that it is designed in such a way that the user finds it intuitive (i.e., ideally, they should not have to read 100 pages of manuals to figure out how to accomplish their tasks). Again, becoming a usability expert might be a long-shot based on the little demand that I’ve seen personally for them.
Big consulting firms (like the one that I used to work for) are oftentimes interested in hiring smart people who can learn new things quickly and adapt to constantly changing circumstances. If you major in Psychology and go to work for a Management Consulting firm, you’ll most likely be doing a whole host of different projects; most of which will probably not involve psychology.
Consulting is very fun and interesting if you’re cut out for it. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It can also be quite lucrative.
Good luck!
November 29th, 2009 at 10:46 am
You will have to deal with people. And many of those people will have stress. You will need to know how to manage them and understand them. Thats why those clases are needed.
References :
November 29th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Consulting is all about coming up with changes (improvements), planning for change and executing change successfully in organizations. A major part of any change project is to ensure that those affected by the change (directly or indirectly) understand the change, accept the change and continue to operate successfully under the challenging conditions of the change.
Those who are trained in psychology have the potential to provide insight into how people within the organization can deal with the change successfully. For example, they can offer insight into how to go about communicating to these people most effectively (determining what messages or vehicles for communication would be most well-received by the people).
Another potential for consulting work is the area of "Usability." This field is very small in my opinion but arguably very valuable. When a new computer system is designed, a "usability expert" validates that it is designed in such a way that the user finds it intuitive (i.e., ideally, they should not have to read 100 pages of manuals to figure out how to accomplish their tasks). Again, becoming a usability expert might be a long-shot based on the little demand that I’ve seen personally for them.
Big consulting firms (like the one that I used to work for) are oftentimes interested in hiring smart people who can learn new things quickly and adapt to constantly changing circumstances. If you major in Psychology and go to work for a Management Consulting firm, you’ll most likely be doing a whole host of different projects; most of which will probably not involve psychology.
Consulting is very fun and interesting if you’re cut out for it. I can’t imagine doing anything else. It can also be quite lucrative.
Good luck!
References :
15 years as a Management Consultant and Project Manager (10 years for a well-known, global consulting firm; 5 years running my own consulting firm)