Summer Internship: Navigation and Survey Research

At ACT, Your Work Makes a Difference

Education has power - a power that changes lives forever. It creates opportunities that lift up individuals, their families, and sparks societal change that echoes through generations to come. From our grassroots we have fought the good fight for equity in education, and we remain devoted to helping anyone who struggles to access that power. This is what matters to us and we must do better -- we've never been more sure of our purpose.

ACT team members are part of an organization dedicated to an important mission: Helping people achieve education and workplace success. Advancing the mission internally, by helping team members achieve education and workplace success of their own, is core to our values. ACT values a diverse workplace and is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable environment in which every team member has an opportunity to grow.

We are seeking a Summer Research Intern with our Navigation and Survey Research team.

Location: Candidates can be in-person in Iowa City, IA or remote for the 10-week internship.

Duration: The internship is scheduled to run from Monday June 3, 2024 to Friday August 9, 2024, but can be flexible for the right candidate.

For this position, we anticipate offering an hourly rate of $23.00. The position is not incentive nor benefits eligible.

The summer research intern will work with Navigation and Survey Research team members, within the Behaviors and Skills Measurement group. The Navigation and Survey research team assists learners in "finding their way" along their education and career journeys by conducting research on ACT's navigation tools (e.g., the ACT Interest Inventory), developing career planning measures, and investigating the conditions that support effective education and career decisions and outcomes. The survey research component of the team focuses on providing important insights into "student voice" - students' perspectives and thoughts about current issues in education and workforce. This position is for someone looking to gain research experience working with researchers who have diverse backgrounds in psychology (e.g., educational psychology, I/O psychology) and education.

In addition to gaining experience by working with current Navigation and Survey Research team members to potentially create and refine assessments, surveys, and supporting materials, candidates will have the opportunity to participate in original research studies. Successful candidates will be matched to research studies in their field of study that align with their research interests. Possible research studies for Summer 2024 include, but are not limited to:

Exploring new methods for measuring important aspects of career planning (e.g., Experience)
• Refining existing career planning assessments (e.g., Work Values measure)
• Exploring the use of big data to provide interest-related insights to students

What you will be working on:

• Participate in original research studies related to developing and examining the validity and efficacy of assessments
• Participate in original research studies investigating stakeholder perceptions
• Clean and analyze data
• Write and edit literature reviews
• Design, create, and revise reports
• Run cognitive lab and focus group studies

This could be the job for you if you have (minimum requirements):

• BA in psychology, educational psychology, or related field
• Must be working toward Ph.D. in education, educational psychology, personality psychology, counseling psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, or related field

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel and Word
• Proficient in statistical software (SAS or R preferred)
• Excellent writing skills
• Excellent teamwork skills
• Strong people skills
• Strong work ethic
• Knowledge of:
  • Psychometrics,
  • Psychological assessment,
  • Quantitative and qualitative research methods,
  • Career planning assessment,
  • Personality theory, or
  • Industrial-organizational psychology

When ACT was founded in 1959, it disrupted the assessment industry with a new approach to helping students better understand their readiness so they could take steps to improve it. By leveraging our expertise and authority in assessment and research, we will again disrupt the industry-helping more people learn, better measure their progress, and improve their navigation through life's transitions.

More than ever before, ACT is fulfilling its mission of helping people achieve education and workplace success. We're doing it by pushing the boundaries of learning innovation through the work of our people, who we call team members because we're all in this together.

We know transformation does not come without challenge. That's why ACT invests in a variety of experiences for team members to strengthen their connections, explore ideas, learn from customers, and celebrate success.

Learn more about working at ACT at act.org!