Advice from the WiMSE Career Panel

The Women’s Center at the University of Wyoming is striving to encourage young women to pursue degrees in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields and to support college women already in these areas of study. As part of their effort, they have been organizing Women in Math Science and Engineering (WiMSE) lunch events throughout the academic year. The first WiMSE event of 2013, on January 30th, was a career panel featuring women graduate students, post-docs, professors and professional academic lecturers. These inspiring and motivating women shared their stories about navigating their chosen career paths as well as the positives and negatives of their experiences. Each woman had something valuable to share with young women and men alike. Here are some of the highlights from their stories:

*What you study in graduate school may not, and does not, have to be what you do in your career, so don’t worry if it does not seem to be exactly what you want to do.

*Spend time in the “real world” after completing your undergraduate degree. Explore and learn more about what you really enjoy doing.

* In anything you do, learn from your colleagues and grow by gaining new skills, which will assist you in finding and working in exactly the area that interests you the most.

*Don’t let math stop you from pursuing a career in science. Math is a skill that you can build up bit by bit. 

*Explore options! A new perspective on or experience in science or your field of interest can clarify your path.

*The path forward is not always straight. It is ok to take turns and see where they lead you.

*Volunteering can be a way to take a fresh start in science. It is so much easier to start a new job or enter a graduate program if you get a foot in the door and meet new people. Volunteering can be that foot in. 

*Let your success and your passions go hand in hand. Stay connected to and aware of your feelings. Eventually you will walk into what you end up loving.  Stick with it and stay tuned in.

The next WiMSE event will be held February 6^th from 12-1 in room 221 of the Wyoming Union. This is a career and internship preparation session. Bring a friend and join us for a free lunch. You can find out more information at http://www.uwyo.edu/womenscenter/wimse or RSVP at WiMSE@uwyo.edu. We hope to see you there for another great session about women in STEM. 

By Wyoming EPSCoR staff