Career Path of a Program Evaluation Specialist at UC San Diego
Merissa's career path began with a psychology major at UCLA, where "undergrad experience" proved crucial for graduate school aspirations. After a brief detour into market research, internships at UC San Diego led to a full-time research position, further graduate study in psychology, and Merissa's current role as a staff researcher bridging "a fusion of" psychology and public health.
Psychology, Research Experience, Public Health, Higher Education, Career Path
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Merissa Kado-Walton
Program Evaluation Specialist
University of California, San Diego
UCLA 2014
San Diego State University, MA in Psychology
Psychology
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Data and Analytics
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Psychology major with research experience is valuable for further education and career in related fields.
2. Internships and volunteer positions in college provide valuable experience and help clarify career interests.
3. A master's degree can enhance career prospects and bridge interests from undergraduate studies to a specialized field like public health research.
Transcript
Marissa, could you walk me through your career path? Please start with your experiences in college, then any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
Sure, so I went to UCLA and majored in psychology. Throughout my undergrad courses, I found I was really interested in pursuing this longer term. I took the advice of my professors and pursued volunteer or internship positions on campus, in research labs, or any opportunities that would get me more research experience.
Psychology is one of those fields where you definitely want undergrad experience if you want a career or grad school in that specific field. So I did that my last two years in college. I took a break from psychology a bit and actually interned in market research, just to get the feel of a different research experience.
I quickly realized that psychology had my heart. That led me to a different internship opportunity, part of UC San Diego, that eventually led into an entry-level position and gave me a ton of experience in research, working on different projects.
I decided I wanted to do more than just work in my current position. So I went off to grad school and got my Master's in psychology, which inevitably led me to where I am now. I'm working as a full-time staff researcher at UC San Diego, working mostly in public health.
Quite a few of my projects also have to do with psychology. So I felt like I kind of bridged what I wanted to do in undergrad to where my interests inevitably led me, which is kind of a fusion of the two.
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