Why did you decide to study Psychology?
Before I started the Psychology bachelor, I had already completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree in my home country. I had worked for a few years with children, outside of my study field, and really loved it. I was interested in developmental psychology and knew that I would need to go back and study again to get into the field.
Where are you currently working?
I am currently a PhD at VU Amsterdam in the department of Biological Psychology.
Have you always wanted to do this?
I originally studied history and wanted to be a teacher! I ended up working with pre-school children for a number of years and was so fascinated with watching kids grow, develop, and learn. That motivated me to turn towards psychology. However, I was pretty positive I didn’t want to pursue a PhD. During the course of the bachelor program, I became more interested in behavioural genetics and did my bachelor thesis in the department of Biological Psychology. My supervisors really encouraged me to apply to the Research Master ‘Genes in Behaviour and Health’.
What inspired you to choose the Psychology programme?
I was already living in the Netherlands, but knew that my level of Dutch was not good enough to complete a university degree. I liked the variety of courses offered in the VU international psychology bachelor program. I also already knew I didn’t want to go the clinical route, so having many options that were not directed at a clinical career made the VU a good fit for me.
How did the programme fit in with this? Was it what you expected/hoped for?
I ended up moving away from developmental psychology and towards biological/behavioural psychology. There were a few moments during the programme where courses made me question which direction I wanted to take for my education and career. I entertained the idea of becoming a therapist, or following neuropsychology. I ended up choosing genes, cognition, and behaviour as my specialization in the third year and followed the bachelor prgramme with a research master’s degree, also in behavioural psychology. In this sense, the programme was even more than I hoped for. I went in with a clear goal of what I wanted out of it, but ended up finding something that, I think, fit me even better than my original plan.
Which master's did you choose? How does this differ from the bachelor's?
I ended up chosing the VU Research Master ‘Genes in Behavior and Health’. It is a psychology programme, but is very focused on the biological/behavioral arm of psychology. It followed directly from the Genes, Cognition, and Behaviour specialization of the bachelor programme. The research master is very much a practical programme, and is very methodologically/statistically heavy.
How did you experience the programme at VU University Amsterdam? What did you find most challenging and most valuable?
I enjoyed the programme. There was a lot of variety in the courses, not just in the topics and themes covered, but there was also a mix of theoretical and practical that kept me interested.
One of the challenging parts of the programme is how quickly the periods go. There is so much information being taught to you in the 7 weeks of a class, that you really do have to work hard to keep up. However, it is doable if you have the motivation and put in the work.
For me, the most valuable thing I took from the program was finding a career path that I was really drawn to and that felt like it fit me. It wasn’t the plan I came into the programme with, and there were a few times where I thought I might do one thing, or another. But at the end, I knew that if I was going to continue with psychology, it would be within behavioural genetics.
Were there any specific courses or projects that you found particularly interesting?
When I began the bachelor programme, I was dreading the statistics and methodology courses. My background was not at all statistical, and the last time I had done anything related to math and/or statistics was quite a few years before. I figured statistics and methodology would be courses I would just have to get through to be able to enjoy the more ‘psychology’ based courses. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The first-year statistics course was so fascinating to me: to learn that you could say something (hopefully meaningful) about data after applying a relatively simple formula felt so wild! I completely forgot why I had been afraid of these courses. Of course, it wasn’t all easy sailing, but I found myself eager to learn about the next statistical model and how to apply it. I wanted to really understand.
I also really enjoyed working on the B-thesis. Having the opportunity to work on a real project from start to finish opened my eyes to the realities of research: there are difficulties - cleaning the data, not having the type of data you might expect, etc., - but it is so satisfying getting results and then interpreting them and fitting them into the wider picture. And at then, wrapping the whole process up into something tangible – a paper - felt really good.
How did the programme prepare you for your career?
The programme gave me a solid background in the various psychological fields and the types of questions that are asked in the different branches of psychology. I also learned the basics of writing a research report, and the role each section plays in making the scientific process transparent and reproducible.
The focus and organization and motivation I needed to get through the bachelor programme are also skills that I use now. Of course, I use the knowledge I gained from the methodology courses to make sure my projects are well designed, and I need to know about and how to use different statistical methods to analyze the data in a meaningful way.
Which skills or knowledge from the programme do you use most in your work? Can you give a specific example?
I think many bachelor students underestimate how important a good understanding of methodology is. When you are designing a project, you have to find the best way to structure your research and analyze your data. For example, we had initially planned to use an ANOVA analysis for my project, but found that the exclusive groups required in an ANOVA did not fit the real-world data we would be using. In this case, we found that a regression model would be the more suitable analysis tool.
You can have a wonderful theory and research question, but if you don’t know the proper methods needed to test the theory, your research will not go far.
How does the knowledge and experience you gained during your studies contribute to your current work?Beyond the basic background knowledge of psychological concepts, I also learned through the programme how to read a psychology paper. This sounds kind of obvious, but it’s important to be able to tell good research from bad research, and be able to articulate why some is good and some is not. If I want to answer new research questions, I have to build on already established theories and knowledge. I’m not starting from scratch. I need to be able to parse out what is strong knowledge that I can build my project on while also pointing out potentially problematic issues or things that I think might not be wholly correct. Science is about building on each other and questioning each other and working together to find the answer.
What are some surprises or insights you have gained during your career so far?
The research process is slow and full of roadblocks! You might have an excellent and well laid out plan, but there is always something that can go wrong. You have to be flexible and be able to work around the problem to move forwards, sometimes.
Can you give an example of what you are currently working on in your position?
My project is part of a larger consortium called SCANNER that is focused on investigating sex differences in autism. In particular, I am looking at sex differences in motor development in autistic children. I’m using data from the Netherlands Twin Register to see if boys and girls with many autistic traits, ADHD traits, and dyslexia differ in the kinds of leisure activities and sports they participate in.
What do you like most about your current job? What gives you the most energy?
I enjoy the whole research cycle! My supervisors had already devised a research question, but I didn’t know much about the topic at all so I had to start at the beginning, reading everything I could to teach myself about the field. My favourite part, though, is getting my hands on a big data set and diving in – exploring it, checking out the variables, analysing them, and seeing what kind of story they tell!
Was it easy to find a job? Did you already know what profession you wanted to pursue during your studies?
I changed my mind a few times throughout the bachelor programme, and even during my master’s, I wasn’t sure I wanted to do a PhD. It was always an avenue I kept open for myself, and so about halfway through the second year of the master, I started to look at what type of positions were available. I was lucky in that there were quite a few PhD positions I was interested in open around the same time. I applied to everything I could and had quite a few interviews. For the position I got,
What are your ambitions for the coming years? Are there any particular specialisations or projects you would like to work on?
Right now, I’m very focused on my PhD. I have a number of small projects planned that I am very excited about.
How do you hope to contribute to society with your expertise?
I hope that my research can make a difference in the diagnosis of autism. So many people – especially girls – are misdiagnosed or not diagnosed at all because of the perceptions we have about what it means to be autistic. I hope my research, and similar research being done by the SCANNER consortium, can help make a difference in people’s understanding of autism, and perhaps more importantly, can influence the clinical diagnostic process.
Do you have any tips for current students who are considering working in the same field?
If you are interested in doing psychological reasearch, there are a number of different research groups around Amsterdam that organize talks and symposia and other events. Find some that interest you and attend their research meetings and guest lectures. Find out what people in the field are working on, learn as much as you can, and find what really interests you.
Do you have any advice for alumni who have just graduated and want to start their careers?
Don’t be shy about talking to people! Ask your professors if they know of any opportunities. Contact people who gave interesting guest lectures. Do your research on the type of opportunities that are open for you. Be open and curious and flexible! You might not find the very specific thing you want to work on, but if you are flexible, you will find something interesting and something that you will be motivated to work on.
Read more about the bachelor Psychology
