Behavioral Scientist Urges You to Stay True to Who You Are

Name: Nikkita Sarna

PhD: Business (Marketing), University of Texas at Austin, 2023

What is your current job?

I am a Senior Behavioral Scientist at Blue Cross Blue Shield, based in Austin, Texas.

My job entails:

• Applying academic literature and consumer behavior theories to design interventions/strategies

• Creating hypotheses for why people aren't doing a certain behavior

• Marketing the team to others across the organization (build slide decks and presentations)

• Mentoring junior teammates on the team in communication and client management

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love the mission of the organization - to make healthcare more accessible and affordable.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Confidence - the sense that if I don't know something, then it's worth asking because likely others don't know or we're basing decisions off of what was done in the past but was never questioned.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

I read A LOT to better understand the healthcare sector and how insurance works. It wasn't a skill set of mine but I needed to have a basic understanding so I could speak intelligently with what I was doing.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

LinkedIn- I saw the job as soon as it was posted and applied immediately. I think I may have been one of the first to apply.

PhD Graduate (defended August 2023) ➡️ Sr Behavioral Scientist (Jan 2024)

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Get opportunities (volunteer, friend/family's company) where you can show how you applied cool behavioral science principles to improve a communication or intervention and tested the impact of it. Put that on your resume even if it failed.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

I made the decision in my 4th year. Job prospects weren't looking good, I'm a city girl and had strong location constraints, and I felt lonely in academia. I'd also worked in industry before and missed it.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Talk to people!!! It doesn't even have to be in the name of "networking" but as a PhD you should treat moving to industry like a new research project - learn about what's out there, diagnose what skills are needed vs. what skills you have, and get a good understanding of what makes someone successful. Once you feel like you truly understand the landscape, it's a lot easier to ace interviews and tailor your resume.

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

Everyone's journey is different and remember that as you get advice from varying people. Definitely take the advice if helpful but also stay true to who you are and what you believe.

I also started my career hunting in 2022 (while in the PhD program) and practiced applying, interviewing, etc. I think that helped me when I was eventually on the market in Aug 2023 to hit the ground running and learn what would work best.

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

I studied human behavior and decision-making. I used experimental design to create new human behavior theories to better understand how and why consumers were making the decisions they were with their products, social relationships, and purchases.