Graduate to Professional: Career Conversations by Early Career Professionals to Support HFE Students

Abstract

Career opportunities for students in HFE, and related fields are plentiful across academia, government, and industry, but a graduate student choosing a career has limited opportunities to understand what these careers involve, especially as an early career professional. This gap often results in students having to make a career choice with little information about what to expect in their new jobs. Early career professionals (here referring to those with <4 years of professional experience) who are experienced enough in their professional lives but close enough to remember their graduate school experiences are in a unique position to offer advice to graduate students about motivations/experiences in graduate school that shaped their career choices, and their current responsibilities. Additionally, with the COVID-19 pandemic, starting a new job and establishing a career that is remote/hybrid and poses new challenges which will be addressed by the panelists, many of whom onboarded under these circumstances.