Alumni on Success

Ryan van den Berg

Make sure you're able to communicate your academic work to the broader public. This means learning the skills and dispositions necessary to tailor an idea to the right audience, but it also requires you to reflect on why your work matters. Hopefully, this will sharpen your...

Randy Wollf

Keep your options open, connect with students and professors. They may be references, co-workers and even bosses down the road.

Luna Ferguson

In my Ph.D. work, I realized that my research area was beginning to parallel my process of exploring my non-binary trans subjectivity. I knew that pursuing a Ph.D. would provide me with the necessary time and the tools to think out my complex trans identity and to finally...

Kevin Johns

Be flexible with what you want to do. Consider all options. Don't burn any bridges. Network.

Kenneth Tupper

In the words of Joseph Campbell: "Follow your bliss" (i.e., find and pursue something you're passionate about).

Steven Maltby

Follow the path that inspires and motivates you and work hard. However, don't get lost in the details of your specific project. It is equally important to look around more broadly at what opportunities are available around you and what other skills you can develop.

Tracey Stott

Be open to all possibilities. Don't limit your thinking to traditional career paths, or what people say you "have" to do.

Michel AlSharidah

Finish fast, don't waste time, and study what you enjoy.

Sharon Fortney

Do not graduate without practical work experience. If you cannot get a paid position, consider finding a day a week where you can gain professional experience while volunteering. It is helpful to have professional people write your reference letters for grad school and/or...

Julie Belanger

Keep an open mind because you never know where your career will bring you, don't close any doors too early. Take advantage of the students who are ahead of you by a few years - keep in touch with them to learn from their experience.

Michael Wrinch

You are not the smartest person. You will never be. Listen to others and admit how little you know. That is your strength.

Lucía Terra

Take the time to make the most of your time as graduate student: enjoy!

Kirsten Dalrymple

Take your time to learn. You may feel pressure to finish your degree, but this is the only time that you'll have this type of freedom to learn and grow.

Mehrdad Fatourechi

Do what you are passionate about and not necessarily what is currently hot in the market or your parents/friends want you to do. Learn to code and figure out what the industry really wants. Look for a company where you feel you will love the culture.

Rochelle Hines

Explore career possibilities outside of academia early on, tenure track faculty positions are becoming difficult to obtain in some fields of work and it is important to be realistic about what other amazing options are out there.

Michael Hoff

Always take the time to test out possible careers, through internships, volunteering, summer jobs.

Sherry Zhao

Be open-minded to other people's advice and always reflect on your own experiences.

Jean Michel Lauzon

Pursue what you like and be honest with yourself about what you don't like. I felt a little trapped since I didn't want to become a researcher but the whole system is set up to train you to become a researcher. I found talking to people that were research-adjacent helped me...

Costanza Casiraghi

I think that the key word for success in science today is "networking.” I was able to secure good post-doc positions by attending national and international scientific conferences where I presented my work. Volunteering activities are also very important to make connections...

Vanessa Timmer

Find your kindred spirits even if they are not at UBC - look for your colleagues worldwide. Keep your research focused but also poke around to other topics and disciplines and ideas. Contact your favourite thought leaders and interact with them.

Samer Al-Kiswany

Graduate study can open multiple career options for you; from academia, industrial research, startups, to specialized highly trained person in the industry. Figure out early what do you like to do after your PhD and tailor your PhD to best help you in your career and to...

Kaela Jubas

Regardless of anticipated career direction, take advantage of relevant networks and look for opportunities to engage and serve with them. If it's an academic career you're after, seeing that engagement through to publication is crucial.

Jasna Jankovic

Always keep a good track record behind you. Leave as best impression as you can on everyone who you worked with or interacted with. Be honest, hard-working, responsible and ethical. Also, stay in touch with your contacts.

Elisabeth Ormandy

It's ok to not have a plan and to follow your passions and see where they take you. A grad degree (especially a PhD) simply won't be possible to complete unless you are passionate about what you're doing.