Research Lead Stresses the Value of Being Open and Positive

Name: Helia Taheri (she/her)

PhD: Design (Human-Building Interaction), North Carolina State University, 2021

What was your main area of research?

I studied teachers' behaviors in K-12 schools to understand how the design strategies can facilitate those behaviors to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality in the classroom (before and during COVID-19 pandemic).

What is your current job?

I am the Human-Centric Research Lead for Arcadis Inc. in Washington, DC.

I lead and conduct mixed-methods research in client projects (i.e., workplace, retail, residential, etc.), lead research initiatives (i.e., KPI-Driven Design Toolkit, and Post-Occupancy Evaluation Toolkit), mentor, and present at conferences.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I get to conduct human-centric research on projects, share the findings in conferences, and be a thought-provoking researcher.

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

• Dealing with uncertainties

• Leading projects and setting deadlines for a project and yourself

• Be open to ideas even when they are different than yours. Be open to learn new things, and be good at it.

• Use data collection methods purposefully to answer the research question

  • Having a lot of data is not always good, right data matters.

  • Always use more than one data source (three is even better) to account for biases in the data.

  • It is okay if the data shows that the hypothesis is not working.

• Become a self-learner

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

LinkedIn and my network

Internship during my PhD time ➡️ Building Scientist ➡️ Research Strategist ➡️ Human-Centric Research Lead

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

Grow your network as much as you can. Don't be shy to ask for help and even for referrals, most people want to help you!

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

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to do industry. The practicality of research is important for me.

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

• Attend conferences where people outside of academia are attending (attend EDRA and IAPS if you are in the built environment field) and connect to them and ask for an intro call with them.

• Be prepared for the informational interviews, don't speak jargon, have a quick intro to yourself and your PhD, and don't go into details because the person will forget that. Think about something that people would remember about you.

• Smile. Positive energy is contagious and goes a long way.

• Be comfortable with tight deadlines.

• You don't have to make things perfect, sometimes good enough is good.

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

My Clifton Strengths are Positivity, Relator, Competition, Maximizer and Arranger, and I value kindness, learning and curiosity, and beauty. I think these helped me to move forward and connect with people.