Many people discover a passion for qualitative research after years in another role at an agency or on the client side. I’m a rare researcher who landed in this field upon graduation and haven’t really left (well, except for a short hiatus … but that’s another story.)

In case you don’t know the backstory, here are the three deliberate career moves that I made that set me up to become an independent researcher:

1. Shortly after graduating in 1991 with a BS in Marketing, I was hired by The Greenfield Consulting Group as an assistant field director for a group of qualitative consultants. In that role, I learned about recruitment, project management, and what life was like as a moderator.
2. Next, I accepted a position at Sun Research Corporation as an assistant researcher, a junior moderator of sorts, where I learned about moderating, interviewing and report writing.
3. Then, I became the research director at a management-consulting firm where I learned about what it takes to be a successful consultant.

Becoming an independent qualitative researcher was the natural iteration of my career. I launched my own firm in 2000 (K Company, LLC … anyone here remember that?). This past year, I re-incorporated as Karen Lynch & Associates because over the last decade I’d changed, my clients had changed, the industry had changed … and I wanted a name that referenced and honored the associates I am blessed to collaborate with (colleagues, clients, suppliers, etc.).

What’s your qualitative journey? Please do share, in the comment section below. I’d love to know where you are today and how you got to this point.