Alumni Spotlight: Nora Luetmer

  

A photo of Nora Luetmer, smiling against a grey background, wearing a black formal jacket

Nora Luetmer (she/her)

Major: PSY BA & Finance BS (Spring 2021)
Position: Analyst
Employer: Solstice Strategy Group

What is your work like? What are your duties?

I work as an analyst for a life sciences management consulting firm based in Minneapolis. We provide a range of professional consulting services for biotech, life science, and other healthcare companies including strategic support, market assessments, project management, etc. I work directly on projects with clients to assess their strategic needs, gather resources, perform analysis, and generate valuable insights that are tailored to their specific project needs.

How would you say your psychology degree has helped you with your current job?

My psychology degree has helped me in this role in two major ways. First, developing an understanding of the clinical aspects of psychology has helped me move into the healthcare field with a good base understanding of key concepts that include interpreting and synthesizing academic research, understanding clinical trial publications, and creating and presenting professional research. Additionally, studying broader psychology concepts like organizational psychology and personality studies facilitated better leadership and interpersonal skills, which I am able to utilize in my client-facing role across multiple organizations.

In what way has your major complemented your current job?

I received two degrees in undergrad—one in finance and one in psychology. My finance degree was critical in helping me understand concrete business and financial concepts, but my psychology degree was critical in rounding out my education. In addition to providing background on my industry and developing leadership skills, concepts that I learned in the psychology program come up in my everyday consulting duties. Fundamentally, many business roles are about working with and understanding people and having a psychology background gets you thinking deeper about the people and organizations with which you work. 

How did you find your current position? Please include any resources you may have used (UMN or otherwise)

Handshake! I interned for Solstice my junior and senior years of school and then joined on full-time after I graduated. 

What advice do you have for our current psych students and recent grads?

Begin thinking critically about how you want to use your psychology skills in the future. As psychology graduates, you will have the opportunity to work in many different industries and positions. It is important to assess both where your interests lie and what skills you possess that you can grow and leverage as a job candidate. Once you have identified some potential career paths, take steps while in school to get your foot in the door of positions or industries you are interested in (ex. intern, join a relevant club, ask people in the field to chat over coffee, etc...). Furthermore, I found it valuable to supplement my psychology degree with additional education in my chosen career field (consulting -> finance degree). 

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