Alumni Spotlight: Varun Murugesan

Varun Murugesan

Varun Murugesan (he/him)

Major: PSY BS (Spring 2016)
Position: Associate Research Manager
Employer: Best Buy

What is your work like? What are your duties?

  • plan the research roadmap for the future of in-Home and in-Store Services
  • manage and mentor junior researchers 
  • conduct qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and data science research
  • present research findings to senior leadership (in product, business, design, etc.)

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

Gave me a foundational set of knowledge to build on top of; helped me get out into the world and apply psychology and science thinking

In what way has your major complemented your current job?

made it easier to talk research with other researchers; gave me confidence when working with stakeholders who don't like research

How did you find your current position?

Networking at a local conference (World IA Day in 2017)

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

  • Apply what you've learned in the real world towards problems that are meaningful to you
  • Get good at R or Python because it opens up job opportunities, new/challenging problems and allows you to do a ton
  • Get good at writing and speaking about your research

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