Duke Graduate School

Creating solutions to problems is hard enough on paper, but what happens when you put aside your pencil and tackle practical problems in the lab? Ricky Hollenbach, Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering, shares how his experience working collaboratively on experiments as a first-year graduate student changed his perspective on research and project management.

"Whether you feel you are leaving your training behind depends on how linear you think that value proposition has to be... The background and the credentials don’t stop being valuable, the value just changes."

“’Don’t sell yourself short.’ This piece of advice from my Ph.D. advisor always sticks with me and helps me to overcome challenges. Keep learning and expand your skillsets. Your career will not be limited to what you have been doing during your Ph.D.”

Skeptical about what speed networking can do for you? Xiaoxuan (Jessie) Yang shares how the opportunity to interact efficiently and enthusiastically with distinguished Duke alumni from The Graduate School's Board of Visitors increased her confidence and allowed her to establish valuable professional connections.

"I want to change the dominant professional metaphor from a career ladder to a career lattice. Just because you start on one path doesn’t mean you can’t switch to a different track."