Today’s episode is all about the career paths not taken, the decisions you make that steer you from one path to another - and how it all seems to work out.
I’m honored to have my mentor, social psychologist Dr. Saul Kassin, join me on the podcast. Dr. Kassin is a Massachusetts Professor Emeritus at Williams College, a distinguished professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the pioneer of the scientific study of false confessions. He’s also the reason I became a psychologist.
Dr. Kassin and I discuss:
* The seemingly accidental decisions that take us one direction or another
* The importance of a supportive mentor
* The value of a non-linear career path
We also discuss his bombshell book, “Duped: Why Innocent People Confess and Why We Believe their Confessions” and his upcoming talks in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Hello everyone and welcome to the CareerSequel podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Lee Koles and this is a special time of year for me - it’s my birthday week (shout out to all you Scorpios out there!). I love birthdays - my friends know that I believe in “Birthday Month” - that you should celebrate yourself, treat yourself, be good to yourself for your entire birth month. Otherwise you put too much pressure on everything being perfect on your actual birthDAY. So, I’m having fun in November!
Birthdays are also a time for self-reflection. You think about the decisions you’ve made and the people who came into your life and influenced the choices you made. In the context of your career, you can think of the people who paved a path for you - or who took you by the hand and steered you in a completely different direction.
For today’s episode, I want to introduce you to someone who changed the trajectory of my life and career.
When I first came to Williams College, I figured I’d be an English major. This was mainly by default - I loved to read, I loved to write, I didn’t like Math and I got queasy discussing blood and guts in Biology class. Luckily, Williams is a liberal arts school, which means that you have to take an assortment of classes from all disciplines and you don’t declare your major until the end of sophomore year.
I signed up for Psychology 101 second semester of my first year. My life completely changed when Dr. Saul Kassin stepped onto the stage of the auditorium.
His name is Dr. Saul Kassin. Dr. Kassin is a Massachusetts Professor Emeritus at Williams College and a distinguished professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Dr. Kassin pioneered the scientific study of false confessions and received prestigious lifetime contribution awards from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychology-Law Society and the European Association of Psychology and Law. Along with hundreds of articles, Dr. Kassin has authored several textbooks and scholarly books. His latest book, Duped: Why Innocent People Confess and Why We Believe their Confessions - just hit the shelves. It has received accolades from best selling author John Grisham, award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, among others.
Today’s episode is all about the career paths not taken. The decisions you make that steer you from one path to another - and how it all seems to work out.