Concentration or general concentration?

[Ideas]

Is it better to have a concentration or no concentration, if the person would seek work that's not in the concentration?

For example, the school offers only two options: 
MA Psychology - General concentration or MA Psychology - I/O concentration
He might apply for I/O work, but is more likely to not work in I/O.

Doing the I/O concentration doesn't require additional coursework, but the I/O would be less interesting coursework (to him).

I know that someone could omit the concentration when they apply for certain jobs, so I'm thinking it's better to add "any" concentration rather than none.

Would non-I/O employers see it as negative that he did 12 credits of I/O (or that the transcript says "I/O concentration") whereas some other applicants had a better mix of courses?

[sanantone]

It depends on what he would miss out on from the general concentration. For example, if he wants to take some mental health or child psychology courses, he may not be able to take them because he has to take I/O electives.

[Ideas]

Yeah, he could study those topics independently but would not have those topics on the transcript.

[allvia]

I say take the path of study that is of most interest to him/her.  Grades will generally be higher in a topic of interest, than one that is taken as a requirement.  Also, if the topics that are not I/O can be studied independently then the same can be said of the I/O subject itself (it too can be studied independently).  It is rare that an employer would want to see transcripts at all. Showing proof of a degree is possible (and the degree certificate itself would likely not reflect the concentration), but to see transcripts to go into detail class by class - that would be very uncommon.

[sanantone]

I've had to produce transcripts many times, but it was to prove that I had a degree. It's rare that an employer will scrutinize your individual classes, but it does happen when you need a certain number of credit hours in a subject to qualify for a position or a certification/license you'll need to acquire to keep the position.

[cookderosa]

Is it better to have a concentration or no concentration, if the person would seek work that's not in the concentration?

For example, the school offers only two options: 
MA Psychology - General concentration or MA Psychology - I/O concentration
He might apply for I/O work, but is more likely to not work in I/O.

Doing the I/O concentration doesn't require additional coursework, but the I/O would be less interesting coursework (to him).

I know that someone could omit the concentration when they apply for certain jobs, so I'm thinking it's better to add "any" concentration rather than none.

Would non-I/O employers see it as negative that he did 12 credits of I/O (or that the transcript says "I/O concentration") whereas some other applicants had a better mix of courses?

I've read a ton of resumes that never even list the kind of degree- it says something like:

Master of Arts, ABC College (maybe a date, maybe not)

Meaning they don't even say what their degree is in at all! Browse LinkedIn or google professor resumes, you'll see this all day long.

In my case, I have a concentration, but I wouldn't even bother listing it unless it was relevant. Here's my official "everything" that makes up my master's-
Master of Science in Applied Nutrition with a concentration in Eating Disorders and Obesity

9 times out of 10, I write MS Applied Nutrition because I work/teach as a chef and the food factor is my bridge from culinary arts- however, if I were applying for work in some type of disordered eating capacity, I would certainly include it and probably even emphasize my Social Science degree maybe even leaving off my work as a chef and culinary degree (hard to say for sure, it would depend obviously) but I think having a concentration or add'l minor or major or area of study or whatever name your college gives it can be an advantage later. There is certainly no ethical dilemma for leaving it OFF if it doesn't fit your career objective.

[Ideas]

I've read a ton of resumes that never even list the kind of degree- it says something like:

Master of Arts, ABC College (maybe a date, maybe not)

Meaning they don't even say what their degree is in at all!  Browse LinkedIn or google professor resumes, you'll see this all day long.

Wow. Is that because they don't want their degree name to stand out next to other candidates? Like their degree is in some history specialty and they're applying for jobs that have nothing do with history?

[sanantone]

I've read a ton of resumes that never even list the kind of degree- it says something like:

Master of Arts, ABC College (maybe a date, maybe not)

Meaning they don't even say what their degree is in at all!  Browse LinkedIn or google professor resumes, you'll see this all day long.

Wow. Is that because they don't want their degree name to stand out next to other candidates? Like their degree is in some history specialty and they're applying for jobs that have nothing do with history?

It doesn't matter what professor applicants list on their CV because they're going to have to produce transcripts anyway. It definitely does not matter what is listed on LinkedIn because LinkedIn is not the job application. If you choose to leave off a relevant major, then you're only hurting yourself. I wouldn't have had an IT recruiter contact me on LinkedIn if I didn't list my BSBA in CIS.

One can certainly choose not to list a concentration when it's irrelevant to the position being applied to, but if I'm going to put in the work and cash to earn a degree, I'm going to take courses that will benefit me. If I'm planning to work with families and children or people with mental illnesses, why would I take a bunch of I/O psych courses? They're taking the place of courses that would teach me something relevant to my chosen field.

[cookderosa]

The first google hit- I typed in "professor bios" and found Stanford's.

You can browse this list and you'll see many examples of just listing the degree, not any kind of focus/concentration.

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-res...glas-abbey

Academic Degrees
MCP, UC Berkeley, 1979
BA, Amherst College, 1971
----
Academic Degrees
Executive Education, Strategic Planning and Organization, Stanford GSB, 2012
JD, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 1981
BA, Claremont McKenna College, 1978
---
Here's a guy the mixes vague with detailed:
Academic Degrees
Doctor Honoris Causa, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 2005
DBA in Quantitative Business Analysis (Major), Managerial Economics (Minor) & Finance (Minor), Indiana University, 1968
MBA, Harvard University, 1964
BS, University of Michigan, 1962
---
Academic Degrees
PhD, University College London, 2001
Masters of Philosophy, Oxford University, St. Peters College, 1996
BA, Cambridge University, Fitzwilliam College, 1994
---


too many to list- but this is consistent with what many people list, and these guys are obviously playing in the academic big leagues.

[sanantone]

The first google hit- I typed in "professor bios" and found Stanford's.

You can browse this list and you'll see many examples of just listing the degree, not any kind of focus/concentration.

https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-res...glas-abbey

Academic Degrees
MCP, UC Berkeley, 1979
BA, Amherst College, 1971
----
Academic Degrees
Executive Education, Strategic Planning and Organization, Stanford GSB, 2012
JD, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, 1981
BA, Claremont McKenna College, 1978
---
Here's a guy the mixes vague with detailed:
Academic Degrees
Doctor Honoris Causa, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, 2005
DBA in Quantitative Business Analysis (Major), Managerial Economics (Minor) & Finance (Minor), Indiana University, 1968
MBA, Harvard University, 1964
BS, University of Michigan, 1962
---
Academic Degrees
PhD, University College London, 2001
Masters of Philosophy, Oxford University, St. Peters College, 1996
BA, Cambridge University, Fitzwilliam College, 1994
---


too many to list- but this is consistent with what many people list, and these guys are obviously playing in the academic big leagues.

Like I said, it does not matter what they leave off their CV. A school is not going to hire you without knowing what your degree is in. Your education is going to be verified somehow. Colleges and universities aren't just going to look at your CV and offer you a job. 

As for LinkedIn, it's neither a job application nor a CV. The purpose of LinkedIn is to network. If you have no experience in tech, and you don't list your major, you are not going to come up in recruiter searches. Some people don't need to list their major because they don't need a job.

The first example you listed is not even a CV; it's an online bio. The third person lists a DBA and MBA, so that's not a good example either. The second person also lists areas of study, and a JD is self-explanatory. If you're referring to their BAs not being listed, they aren't being hired because of their BAs.