From CSI and forensics to product marketing and consumer psychology: The story and career lessons of a psychology intern at a global professional services company. Five Lessons from a #FutureofJacobs Intern
Let’s start with the question you want to ask: how did a Psychology student like me end up with an internship in marketing & communications at Jacobs?
Well, it all started with CSI. The hit Crime Scene Investigation television series, along with its famous opening song by The Who, was a seminal part of my childhood. I loved those kinds of shows and crime documentaries. I was fascinated by criminals and what made them tick.
This fascination led me to a beautiful part of Scotland. I spent four years discovering Applied Psychology in the halls and classrooms of Glasgow Caledonian University. The goal: to become a forensic psychologist, a modern version of Sherlock Holmes. Or, in this case, a real-life Horatio Crane or Gil Grissom from CSI!
However, as much as I loved the forensic side of psychology, I was privileged to learn about the other aspects of psychology during my studies. My biggest surprise was discovering just how much influence psychology has on our everyday lives. It widened my horizons, and suddenly it wasn’t about post-mortems and crime scenes. I wanted to see how psychology influences all our day-to-day decisions — not just those of criminals.
How to graduate like a rockstar
After four long years of sweat and tears (thankfully, no blood!), I finally graduated on July 7 with a first-class Honors degree. My biggest graduation highlight was sharing the platform with Biffy Clyro front man Simon Neil — the talented musician received an honorary degree for inspiring creatives worldwide.
As part of my studies, I acquired several transferable skills, such as researching and analyzing information and improving my verbal and written communication skills. However, as an intern with the product marketing team, I quickly realized that my psychology skills offered a different kind of benefit.
Lesson 1: Psychology helps you understand your customers better
Understanding human behaviors is a critical part of marketing, as it helps us understand why people behave in specific ways. I realized these skills could be applied to support a role in marketing and communications, especially in branding and reaching target audiences.
I’ve discovered that marketing at Jacobs is part of a fast-growing, progressive industry comprising many exciting, versatile career paths. It also gives me a brilliant opportunity to put my behavioral understanding into practice. But rest assured, I’m not going to psycho-analyze everyone I meet!
Lesson 2: Working with good people helps teams achieve good things
I was drawn to Jacobs as I’m passionate about climate change. Jacobs was the first consultancy to produce net-zero targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, and it’s constantly striving to make positive, practical global impacts across the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. My first impression of working for Jacobs is of a company that authentically lives up to the hype. They’re all about actions, not just words.
But it’s not just about the environment; I was also drawn to Jacobs’ dedication to its people and communities. Being dyslexic, Jacobs appealed to me as a champion for equality through its commitment to inclusion and diversity. On a personal front, I couldn’t feel more supported and included as part of the product marketing team.