Practice Fields
Completing the HPSTS Master's degree opens up a wide range of future fields of activity, including careers in the field of business psychology as an occupational or personnel psychologist, but also activities in educational psychology, for example in counseling or further education. The degree is also suitable for further specialization in the context of traffic psychology, human factors, usability and the design of socio-technical systems from a psychological perspective. The degree also provides an excellent start to an academic career.
The German Society for Psychology (DGPs) presents possible career prospects on its website.
Internships
Internships can be done in the different fields of professorships.
Please find a list of various internship offers here. The FSR also regularly publishes current vacancies for internships and WHK positions.
Experiences of graduates
Anneke Hamann (German Aerospace Center, Institute of Flight Guidance, doctorate on the topic of "Physiological measurement of cognitive capabilities in pilots")
"When I started at DLR, I had to explain - as I often do - exactly what "HPSTS" stands for. HPSTS is exactly the reason why I ventured into flight guidance. During my Master's degree, I learned how to transfer basic knowledge to a wide range of different fields of application. Be it learning how road design influences our behavior or using eye movement to explore how perception changes in virtual reality. And this constant transfer of knowledge pays off. Of course, my studies didn't specifically prepare me for working with air traffic controllers or pilots. But every day I rediscover how much knowledge I can apply here."
Carolina Barzantny (German Aerospace Center, Department of Aerospace Psychology. PhD and air traffic controller selection)
"The HPSTS Master's program is my entry into my current field of work and research, human-machine interaction. As a psychologist at the German Aerospace Center, I deal with the selection of suitable personnel in aviation (e.g. air traffic controllers) as well as the design of socio-technical systems to increase safety in airspace. In connection with my doctorate on the topic of training future aviation operators, I use eye-tracking, which I used for the first time as part of a website evaluation in the HPSTS specialization module Research & Intervention."
Alexandra König (Institute of Process Engineering at the German Aerospace Center. PhD in the field of passenger requirements for alternative operating concepts in public transport)
"What the degree program brought me: Paying attention in multivariate statistics was useful! In traffic psychology too! Statistics and transport psychology are the two subjects from the Master's that I now need the most for my work. For one study, for example, I calculated a structural equation model in Amos. In traffic psychology, I was particularly interested in the topics of driving aptitude diagnostics and choice of means of transportation - I am now working and researching in both of these areas. I advise students to look around to see what specializations and minor subjects are available and to think outside the box. When choosing a job, let yourself be guided above all by what fascinated you most during your studies!"
Gustav Hollnagel (TraceTronic GmbH, TeamMaster/ Occupational Psychologist, Organizational Development and Improvement of Corporate Culture)
"The HPSTS Master's provided me with a broad professional and methodological foundation, which I can now gradually build on in practice. The degree program also makes it possible to delve deeper into certain subject areas and is therefore also suitable to a certain extent for specialization before starting a career. The mixture of technical depth and application-oriented breadth is a difficult but, in my opinion, sensible balancing act. The nice thing about it is that you never know when you might need a snippet of knowledge, but that's exactly what matters: Being well prepared rather than applying ready-made solutions."
Martin Heide (Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE GmbH & CO. KG, recruiter and responsible for occupational health management)
"The HPSTS course gave me important knowledge and skills in psychological workplace analysis that I need in my current job, where I am responsible for occupational health management. The knowledge of structured interviews is also very useful for my job as a recruiter. In general, my studies have enabled me to further develop my ability to read studies correctly. This is not only useful in a professional environment."
