Jiska Jonas

Our sixth alumni presented in this series of Alumni of Psychology is Jiska Jonas. She graduated from her master Risk- and Conflict Pschology in 2016. She works as a PhD-student at the University of Twente were she examines why and how participation in victim offender mediation reduces the risk of re-offending.

How long did it take to find your first job?

I started my first job 2 months after I graduated, which was a traineeship. A year after that I started my current job.

What are your tasks and responsibilities?

As a PhD-student it is my responsibility to finish this research and to make sure that every practitioner involved is doing what he/she is supposed to do.   

What have you taken along your study which you now profit from?

I now work as a researcher, which is a very logical step after finishing a master degree. This means that I use almost every skill that I learned during my education (scientific writing, setting up a research, developing questionnaires, drawing conclusions, critical thinking).

What do you hope to achieve in your career?

Of course I hope to get my doctor’s degree in about 3-4 years. I am not sure what I want to do after I finish my PhD. I might continue in academics, but I am also interested in more practical research for example criminological research for a police department.

If you think about your study time, which memory comes to mind?

The amount of spare time I had! Only three days of college…  I loved that you had  a lot of autonomy and responsibility in planning your education. 

Which tips and tricks would you like to give to current students?

If you need to decide which direction you want to go in your education or carrier and you’re not sure what your ultimate goal is, my advice would be to focus on what you’re interested in now. Focus on the things you love to do, things that give you energy. Don’t worry if you’re not sure about what you want to accomplish. I also didn’t know what I wanted to do with my psychology education, but still I managed to find a very interesting job. Because I choose to do the things I like. And in four years, when I finish this job? I think I will decide then what I want to do with all the things I learned. It really depends on what the future me is interested in.

Jiska graduated writing a master thesis (in Dutch!) about the perception of organic food. It was studied which effect information had on the perception of organic food, given at different moments.

This alumni has given the opportunity to answer questions about his/her work. If you have a question you are invited to mail this questions to amygdala@utwente.nl. Our moderator will bring you in touch with the alumni, who will answer your questions. For direct career opportunities you are advised to get in touch with the Human Resources department of the employer.

Do you know someone who has a nice job, has an inspiring career of otherwise is interesting to join the Humans of Psychology series? Please get them in touch with us. To be able to keep this weekly series going more alumni are needed

Published: November 19th, 2018