Julian Decius is a Work and Organizational Psychology student in his 3rd semester. He is pursuing the Master of Science degree.
What made you choose this degree programme?
At the time when I did my A-levels, I still didn’t know what kind of subject I wanted to study. Attending a university information day, I visited an event titled “What do psychologists do in the world of business?”. When I left the lecture hall, I had made my decision to study Work and Organizational Psychology – a gut decision that I don’t regret. After gathering additional information about the degree course and about future career chances, I felt I had made the right choice.
In which respect have or haven’t your expectations been fulfilled?
I read up extensively on the Work and Organizational Psychology degree programme in Bochum and approached it without any particular expectations. Consequently, I wasn’t surprised when the first semesters focused mainly on statistics/methodology and (bio-) psychological principles. Several of my fellow students, who had expected a stronger focus on economics, soon enrolled in a different degree course. I'd like to put one matter straight: a psychology degree does not aim at teaching you how to analyse other people, read their minds or manipulate them. Rather, I studied theories that explain organisational processes and human behaviour, e.g. in groups. To me, the most important realisation was that you’ll never be able to precisely predict any of those processes; all you can do is make educated guesses.
Which aspect of your degree programme do you enjoy most?
I like getting a broad insight into the principles of psychology, whilst, at the same time, gaining an overview over managerial economics, management, marketing, labour law and related subject. In short: the interdisciplinary character of the degree programme appeals to me a lot. The things I enjoyed most included hands-on lessons, such as a seminar where we created a training programme from scratch and were given feedback by professional trainers, and a game dealing with business start-ups.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
A major challenge was adapting my revision methods. For the written exams, which are often scheduled within a relatively short time frame at the end of a semester, you have to memorise many details, which requires a different learning approach than the one you got used to in school. The first statistics exam deserves a mention; I didn’t really understand many of the topics until I saw them applied in practice several semesters later. I faced most of my challenges during my work in the departmental student committee, where I gathered truly defining experiences.
What would you like to become after completing your degree?
Many Work and Organizational Psychologists work in corporate consultancy or in staff recruitment resp. HR development in large enterprises, others as (self-employed) trainers and coaches. Even though the focus in Bochum is on organisational and HR psychology, a marketing job is a feasible alternative. I could also imagine pursuing a career in work and organisational psychology research.
Which advice would you like to give to students who consider enrolling in this degree programme?
It’s important to realise that this is a psychology degree course that is complemented by a number of related elective subjects in the field of economics. I consider the fundamental psychological training to be the great advantage of this degree course, but a person who’d like to gain extensive expertise in the field of managerial economics, rather than just an insight into economics, might be disappointed. All in all, I can wholeheartedly recommend this degree programme. Maths and English-language skills are just as necessary as an interest in (current) economic topics; knowledge of biology is helpful.
