Carlye King ‘11 is a neuroscience-loving psychology alumna-turned-tech-sales-executive, who has built her career not in a lab or counseling room, but in the evolving world of programmatic advertising technology.
As a Senior Account Executive at Amazon Ads, she helps agency clients make the most of Amazon’s advertising tools—a role that blends technology, consulting, and relationship-building. She attributes her creative problem-solving abilities to the foundation she built as a psychology major at UW–Madison.
“You have to be able to treat every problem like it’s brand new, even if it’s something that you’ve experienced before,” King said. “My psychology degree taught me that there’s no one cause for anything. Any issue can have multiple factors and multiple solutions, and I think that’s beneficial to understand in any sort of business, corporate, or sales career.”
King entered UW–Madison without a clear sense of direction. Unsure what to study, she followed her advisor’s suggestion to try an introductory psychology class, and was hooked.
Her interest in psychology bent towards neuroscience, leading her to a position in Richard Davidson’s Laboratory for Affective Neuroscience, where she developed research skills she hoped to one day apply in graduate school.
But life had other plans.
After several graduate school rejections, King pivoted into the workforce–first as an analyst at Tetra Tech, then a solutions consultant and account executive–where her growing experience led her to an unexpected new field: advertising technology.
A company layoff eventually led King to a job at AppNexus, where she translated complex technical solutions to a sales perspective. When AppNexus was later acquired by Microsoft, King gained firsthand experience in transitioning from the management of a small private company to a global tech giant, which she credits as a defining moment in her career.
Wanting a new career challenge, she later joined Amazon, where she now works at the intersection of psychology, strategy, and technology.
While it may seem like her work is distant from her early love of neuroscience, she finds her work is deeply informed by her psychology roots.
“I think being able to read people, understand sentiment, and be perceptive to nuance is beneficial in sales because you need to be able to pivot with new information at the drop of a hat,” King said.
She uses her psychology knowledge daily in both client communications and internal collaboration, and credits her psychology studies for sharpening her ability to communicate complex ideas simply— an essential skill in sales and consulting.
For current psychology students, King’s message is clear: your psychology degree can take you anywhere.
“You have a psychology degree and a skillset that’s very transferable. With those skills and that knowledge, you can go a lot at different places,” she said. “A big thing is just shooting your shot. Apply for the job that you’re 70% qualified for, and then understand what you need to do to close the gap.”
For King, the most valuable part of her journey isn’t just the work, but the people she’s met along the way.
“Advertising is dynamic, interesting, and evolving constantly, and I enjoy working in this space, but it’s not saving lives,” she said. “It’s the people you meet along the way with different experiences from you–who challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone–that is the most valuable bit in your career.”