Significant Career Lesson From A Senior Behavioral Designer At A Behavioral Design Firm
Marisa's most significant career lesson centers on the "snorkeler versus scuba diver" analogy, advising career professionals to determine whether they prefer breadth ("a little bit of everything") or depth of specialization in their work. This helped Marisa understand her own career path, where the "t-shaped" approach allows for both broad application of behavioral design skills across diverse projects like "corporate responsibility initiatives" and "sustainable fishing organizations," while also maintaining a focus on sustainability and human rights.
Problem-Solving, Communication, Project Management, Sustainability, Human Rights
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Marisa Nowicki
Senior Behavioral Designer
Behavioral Design Firm
University of North Texas
Carnegie Mellon University: Masters in Public Policy and Management (MSPPM), 2019
Medical, Sciences & Related, Psychology
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Consulting
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Greek Life Member, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Consider if you want breadth or depth in your career (the "snorkeler" vs. "scuba diver" analogy).
2. A T-shaped skillset is valuable; develop general skills and then specialize.
3. Sustainability and human rights are growing fields within behavioral design, offering diverse applications.
Transcript
What is one lesson that you have learned that has proven significant in your career?
The best career advice I've ever received is to figure out if you are a snorkeler or a scuba diver. This means deciding if you are interested in breadth in what you do or if you want to be incredibly specialized.
It's possible to be a bit of a mix. Usually, you develop a generalized skillset first and then specialize a little, becoming a "t-shaped specialist."
In my current job, I'm more of a snorkeler, doing a little bit of everything. I've worked on corporate responsibility initiatives for staff recycling, mechanisms for reporting human trafficking, and design sprints with sustainable fishing organizations in Latin America.
There's a lot of breadth in what I do, but my methodology and approach to problems are the same. The way I communicate with partners, do diagnoses, and design are all quite similar.
A specialist might be very specific, perhaps in academia, focusing on something like sunk cost bias or a particular field. I'm a bit t-shaped, as my specialty is in sustainability and human rights.
However, some people only work on cash transfer programs as a behavioral scientist. When thinking about your career, consider if you want to be a snorkeler, seeing and advising on many different things. Or are you someone who cares deeply about a specific subject and will spend your career working on it or trying to solve one problem?