David McClelland earned various degrees including a BA from Wesleyan University, an MA from the University of Missouri, and a PhD in experimental psychology from Yale University. He taught at Connecticut College and Wesleyan University before accepting a position at Harvard University in 1955. After 30 years at Harvard, he moved to Boston University in 1987 where he was a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology until his death at age 80. McClelland proposed that an individual's specific needs are acquired over time through life experiences. His theory identified three basic needs: need for achievement, need for power, and need for affiliation. The needs are measured to suggest what types of jobs a person may be well suited for.