Bio of Janet Scarborough Civitelli, Ph.D., Career Advice Strategist and Workplace Psychologist

Hello, I'm Dr. Janet Scarborough Civitelli. I am a workplace psychologist (TX #34252) specializing in career counseling and organizational psychology. My expertise is helping clients create work that they love and employers create successful and effective workplaces. Via VocationVillage.com, I offer career advice through my "Ask A Career Coach" column and through articles. To write the content on this site, I partner with guest experts from a variety of industries and fields to offer helpful information about careers, leadership, entrepreneurship, and workplace psychology.

My educational background includes a B.A. in Economics from UCLA, a M.Ed. in Counselor Education from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. My dissertation research found that changeable aspects of personality are predictive of overall life satisfaction.

My first career was in high tech at IBM, MCI Telecommunications, Arthur Andersen, and Novell. My second career, in counseling and vocational psychology, includes work at universities, community mental health agencies, hospitals, corporations, and start ups. My current interests include career and personal happiness, the science of positive psychology, leadership development, technology, and entrepreneurship.

From 1999 to 2008, I ran a Seattle area career consulting and executive coaching firm. During those years, I became certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association. I also attained Certification as a Master Personal and Executive Coach through the College of Executive Coaching, the leader in coach training for professionals with graduate degrees.

In 2008, my husband's career prompted a relocation to Houston, TX. In January of 2009, I accepted a job at the University of Houston as Associate Director, University Career Services. In this job, I manage the career counseling staff who serve 37,000 students and 200,000+ alumni. The opinions and advice expressed on this website are mine alone and not those of the University of Houston.

In all of my work, I adhere to the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association and the National Career Development Association and I maintain membership in both organizations. I am also a member of the Society for Vocational Psychology and the Society of Consulting Psychology.