On October 10, I was a panelist at a Career Planning Day event at Malmö University. The event was geared towards doctoral students at the Faculty of Technology and Society (TS) who were interested in careers in industry or academia. We discussed questions about what doctoral students should be thinking about during different stages of their journey, as well as any obstacles we faced and how we overcame them. In the hopes that it will help in a student’s own career planning, I wanted to share some of the advice I shared during the day.

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that a career journey is just that—a journey. There will be ups and downs, detours and roadblocks, but if you keep your eye on the destination and you persevere, you will eventually get there.

One piece of advice is to define goals. The first step to any successful career journey is to have a destination in mind. What do you want to achieve? What are your long-term goals? Once you have a clear idea of where you are going, you can map out a plan to get there.

The second piece of advice I gave is to start networking early on. Get to know people in your field, both in academia and in industry. Attend conferences and events, and do not be afraid to reach out to people you admire. You never know when one of these connections will come in handy.

Finally, one should not forget to take care of yourself along the way. A career is a marathon, not a sprint, so it is important to pace yourself and take care of your mental and physical health. If you burn out, it will be that much harder to keep going.

I would also advise against comparing yourself to others. It is easy to get caught up in what others are doing and to think that you should be doing the same thing. But everyone’s career journey is different, so focus on what works for you.