Although Diane Damos, PhD, specialized in aviation psychology, these graduate programs are rare. Mark Rose, PhD, followed a different path into the field by studying industrial and organizational (I/O) psychology in graduate school at the University of South Florida, Tampa. There are dozens of schools that offer graduate training in I/O psychology, according to APA's Div. 14 (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology). Rose now works as a research psychologist in the field of pilot selection at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio.
"The Air Force has a strong tradition of doing cutting-edge research in all areas of I/O psychology, and it is exciting to be part of a team that advises Air Force leaders about the indicators they should be using to determine if a pilot will be successful throughout training and on the job," Rose says.