Career Roadmap
Alex's work combines: Education, Numbers, and Working with Others
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Psychology, General
Grinnell College
Graduate Degree
Clinical Psychology
University of Iowa
Doctorate
Clinical Psychology
University of Iowa
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be an Industrial-Organizational Psychologists:
Bachelor's Degree: Psychology, General
Graduate Degree: Clinical Psychology
Doctorate: Clinical Psychology
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Realizing that I could get an education at a top college (even if my family did not have the financial means)
2.
Realizing that graduate school was a path I could take that would result in a more fulfilling set of career choices as well as more financial stability
3.
Getting exposed to an applied research organization (instead of just academic research) which turned out to be a great fit for me
4.
Being able to pivot in my job so that I could shape it to meet both organizational needs as well as my own evolving/changing interests
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
Go back to Mexico. If you are not a U.S. citizen and you don’t have lots of money, you can’t get a good education in the U.S. Why do you want to get a degree from a liberal arts institution? Why do you want to spend so many years in school?
How I responded:
I feel fortunate to have had a number of good opportunities and supportive people who were cheerleaders throughout my academic and work career (including family, friends, mentors). Overcoming some of the noise was easier because of their support. Further, I realized that the choices that I made were to support my interests and where I wanted to go in life (not meant to please others) and that, if I wanted to be helpful to others, that I could do so by pursuing an area that I loved...