Career Anchors, Edgar Schein, and Me

Abstract

This essay is a “thank you” to Ed Schein whose research on career anchors (and many other topics) shaped my own career directions. It starts with a choice between paleontology versus psychology and ends with my career identity as a scholar-practitioner. Throughout, Ed was a personal and vicarious influencer, challenger, thinking partner, and friend. The “data” comes from conversations and interviews with Ed (my own and other's) and a personal reading of his studies, his career, and my own.