Alumni Profile: Abrianna Barca ’11
Degree(s): BA Psychology, UW-Madison, 2011 | MBA, UW-Madison, 2018
Current Occupation: Associate Director, Identity and Access Management,UW-Madison Division of Information Technology
What are some of the benefits of your psychology degree?
Critical and analytic thinking, understanding learning and motivation
How did you find your way to your current profession?
When I graduated, I didn’t have a dream job and was open to a number of different opportunities. I ultimately accepted a job at Epic as a Corporate Trainer. I wasn’t planning on working in IT specifically but the job was a great entry into working in IT. After working there for three years and learning a lot, I accepted a job managing the Help Desk here at UW-Madison. A few roles later, I now lead a team of engineers who do identity and access management for UW-Madison and UW-System. Along the way, while working, I earned my MBA.
What advice would you give to students graduating with a psychology degree?
You are likely to have a number of different jobs and potentially even multiple careers. Your first job won’t be your last job so, as much as possible, relax and focus on finding a role that is interesting to you and provides opportunities to learn and grow. From there, you can keep figuring out what’s next.
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