Advice for Aspiring Behavioral Scientists

Source: Christina@wocintechchat/Unsplash

I started at Persistence Plus in 2014, and it’s mindboggling to remember how rare it was then for psychologists to leave academia for industry. I went in blind, having no role models to turn to for advice about the transition. Moreover, I was now working in “behavioral science,” a field that barely existed at the time. And while I was figuring out this new me a little bit each day, I had so many colleagues asking me about life outside academia. Folks wanted my advice, and I had no idea what I was doing.

Nearly a decade later, I’m the director of behavioral science and education here, and I’m deeply satisfied with my career choices. I’ve spoken with many grad students and academics about becoming a behavioral scientist, and I’ve built a growing network of behavioral scientists who have shared their stories and guidance for finding success within this field.

Following my most recent conversation, however, I realized that I’ve never written down any of these observations based on my 9-plus years of experience. So, as we approach the most active hiring time of the year, I want to share my advice for Ph.D.s and soon-to-be-Ph.D.s who want to enter the field of behavioral science.

1. Don’t ignore for-profit companies.

Many Ph.D.s despair at the thought of their talent and intellect being leveraged for corporate greed, and, therefore, limit their career search to the nonprofit sector. However, a heuristic of “nonprofit = good; for-profit = bad” is mistaken. In truth, whether a job is rewarding has little to do with the tax status of your employer.

I work at a for-profit company. We sell services that increase colleges’ persistence and graduation rates, and we’ve helped thousands of students earn a life-changing credential. But we can’t do this important work without revenue. Although that inconvenient truth influences what opportunities we pursue, I’ve always felt that our mission is to help students succeed, never just to make money.

Nonprofits, in the best cases, pursue that same mission-driven work. But they still need to sell their value to philanthropies, grant agencies, paying customers, or the public. Nonprofits, therefore, can be as large, hierarchical, bureaucratic, and revenue-focused as for-profits. The point is that the culture of an organization and your fit within it has nothing to do with taxes. Instead, you must do your homework to understand whom you’d work for and whether the role is right for you.

2. Look for organizations built with behavioral science.

The rise of behavioral scientist as a profession in the 2010s manifested in two main ways. Many companies (e.g., WalMart, Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo) added behavioral science into their corporate structures as a way to improve products or processes. Within these organizations, behavioral science may constitute its own department, exist within a traditional department (e.g., product or marketing), or be treated like an in-house consultancy. But in most cases, behavioral science is a tool to enhance a company’s core mission, which is typically to increase sales, profits, and stock prices.

These can be engaging, stimulating, and rewarding jobs, and no one should shame you for using your training to sell more shampoo or sodas. But my conversations with people who have worked for these types of companies have shared a similar refrain:

• It’s difficult for your colleagues to understand what you do and why it adds value.
• You’re often asked to fix broken things, not design from scratch.
• You’re rarely a decision-maker, so your input can be easily ignored.

Unfortunately, these conditions can make behavioral science jobs feel unsteady, and I’ve seen many in my network (especially those working in tech) suffer layoffs over the past two years.

My advice is to work, when possible, for an organization built around behavioral science. This could be a company focused on a particular challenge, a consultancy that works with companies to blend behavioral science into their products or marketing (e.g., Irrational Labs, BEWorks), or a nonprofit that partners with governments and other nonprofits to tackle social issues (e.g., ideas42, the Behavioural Insights Team). Because behavioral science is core to their way of working, these organizations can offer more stability and a clearer role.

Psych Careers Essential Reads

School Psychology: A Forgotten Branch of Psychology

What Mental Health Professionals Should Know About Money

3. Understand the role.

Reading a job description can sometimes feel like it requires a Ph.D. of its own. Between corporate jargon, touchy-feely fluff, and a laundry list of responsibilities and requirements, I’ve certainly seen ads that made me go, “Huh?”

But now having seen a decade’s worth of jobs come and go, I’ve come up with a few important questions to ask when reviewing an ad or discussing a position with a colleague or interviewer:

• Do the required skills match what one learns in a Ph.D. program? Some companies will chase the pedigree of a Ph.D. even though the job doesn’t require one. I suspect such a role would not be challenging or fulfilling. Go ahead and ask, “Why is a Ph.D. required for this role?”
• Do the required skills seem like more than any one human could possess? This could signal a number of things: The company is casting a wide net, they have many needs that they’re praying can be filled by a single hire, or the role is poorly defined. Ask an interviewer things like, “What does a day at work look like in this role?” or “What projects do you see me working on in the first 3-6 months?”
• Where does this role exist in the organization? Find out who you’d report to (and who they report to) and in what department you’d work. You may be told that you’d have flexibility to shape the role—especially if it’s a new position in the company—but realize that your success will be defined by the success of those around you and, most importantly, above you.

4. Jump into the conversation.

I’m happy to report that working as a Ph.D. outside of academia is far more normalized today than it was in 2014, and there’s a healthy conversation across social media around successfully making that transition. Some people who write well about nonacademic careers include Ashley Ruba, Christine May, Jennifer Polk, and L. Maren Wood. Some of these people offer paid career coaching services (I have no financial relationship with them, and I can't endorse their work in that area) but they also share great advice via their (free) LinkedIn pages.

If you haven’t done so already, start building your network today. Follow behavioral scientists you admire online, as wel as anyone doing a job that you might want to do. Once you have your feet under you, connect for informational interviews. Behavioral scientists are often extremely generous with their time and eager to mentor the next generation. Put yourself out there and people will respond.