Key Takeaways 

Part 1

• As a mental health clinician, Phil’s job involves one-on-one and group counselling, similar to a psychologist, and he earns 80-90k annually. In contrast,  as a mental injury specialist, Phil works with an insurance company to help mental healthcare providers deliver the best possible service and results, and earns 90-110k annually.

• Phil finds working and studying part-time enriching because he can reflect and see how he has been improving and gaining new skills with his work. However, between working 2 days at one job, 3 days at the other and studying at night, this arrangement has a high workload.

• Generally, Phil attends 4-5 counselling sessions per day as a clinician, spending the rest of his time reading case notes and attending meetings. In contrast, a mental health clinician has more meetings and requires extensive collaboration with different stakeholders.

• Phil has had a non-linear career path, where he dropped out of his business degree and took a 3-year break in his studies. Whilst these changes may have temporarily halted his career progression, they allowed him to explore different options and settle on a career path that suited him

Part 2

• The importance of accepting uncertainty is emphasised. As uncertainty is a constant in life, accepting it increases flexibility and adaptability.

• If Phil were to advise his younger self, he would focus on being compassionate and understanding the tribulations and obstacles his younger self experiences. He would stress the importance of being flexible and fluid so he can respond to challenges in his life, learning and developing from them.

• Finally, Phil states that forming and maintaining social connections is important in maintaining psychological health, and that he has witnessed a growth in his ability to connect with people over the past decade. He believes that compassion and emotional maturity is a continually developing facet of human behaviour, and that a lot of his growth in the next 10 years will relate to his ability to form connections with others.

Key Takeaways 

Part 1

• Although Dr Caldwell was ecstatic when she graduated with a Bachelor of Science, she found she didn’t have any goals afterwards, so she didn’t know what to do initially. In the end, she decided to enrol in a master’s degree in Wollongong so she could follow her partner. This was the first time Dr Caldwell lived independently, presenting several new opportunities. This new living situation required her to find new friends and to figure out how to live independently.

• Finding new friends was initially a challenge for Dr Caldwell, as she lived far away from her university.

• Dr Caldwell recommends following topics that interest you, as this will lead to more positive results and opportunities.

Part 2

Dr Caldwell has had several jobs

• Respiratory function technician

  • Dr Caldwell earned $30/hr in this part-time role.

  • This job involves testing patients for lung disorders, using equipment such as body plethysmography. Dr Caldwell also conducted saline tests as part of this job.

• Defence science and technology

  • In this role, Dr Caldwell worked with the government as a post-doc, making 80k annually. She did not enjoy the work culture here as employees followed a set schedule which was different to her preference, as well as the “red tape” present in this role.  

  • This job improved Dr Caldwell’s teamwork and time management skills as meetings were common and working groups could be difficult. “People skills” were important as many stakeholders had a military background, which created interpersonal tension.

• There are 3 main types of academic roles: T&R (teaching and research), research-focused, and education-focused.

  • Although Dr Caldwell is in a T&R role, she spends most of her time teaching, spending only 15% of her time on various projects

  • She was able to integrate knowledge from her military job into her research

  • Working part-time 3 days a week, Caldwell's schedule is tight. She spends 2 days teaching students practicals and spends the remaining day catching up with emails and attending to her research projects.

  • Dr Caldwell finds teaching rewarding, specifically when students have an “aha” moment when they understand a difficult topic.

  • The stress of meeting deadlines and planning is a significant negative aspect in the life of a researcher.

• Several pieces of advice from Dr Caldwell:

  • Follow what interests you; if you are struggling severely in a degree, you should probably move on.

  • There is more to life than a career. Dr Caldwell now prioritises her family over her career.

  • There is more to a science degree than the stereotypical jobs that follow.

Key Takeaways 

Part 1 

• Dr Ashley Reynolds has a long work day, waking up at 6 am and working until she feels she should stop, which is 10-12 hours a day

• Travelling to the UK to begin a Bachelor’s of Medicine, Dr Reynolds experienced a period where she needed to study for her med degree whilst also completing her honours thesis. This tested Ashley’s organisational skills, requiring her to wake up early to work on her thesis and meant that she couldn’t socialise with her UK cohort. 

• Dr Reynolds believes that her medicine degree taught her how to achieve her goals, whilst an undergraduate degree is more useful in finding goals and redefining your priorities to meet them. 

• As a neuroscientist, Dr Reynolds works with many specialists, exposing her to many differing perspectives and types of expertise. Her research aims to improve the drug management of epilepsy by leveraging mathematical models.

• In Australia and the UK, medical graduates must complete an internship year, after which, they choose a specialty, such as psychiatry or surgery. They must then pass an exam that requires balancing full-time study and work. Currently, Ashley is at a mid-level basic physician trainee level. 

• Dr Reynolds states that there are many benefits to obtaining a university degree outside of the accreditation. This includes being exposed to a diverse group of peers, subjects and being taught by leaders of a field in cutting-edge technology. 

• However, she also enjoyed life outside of university, and states it is completely different to life in uni.

Part 2

• Dr Reynolds thinks the only certainty in life is death, so working towards the things you value and enjoying the pleasures of life is important.

• Whilst she is lucky to have known her career goals, Dr Reynolds understands how some people may not know where they want to go after graduating from university. University helped her pin down what she wanted to do, as exposure to different lecturers allowed her to see the differing career options she had. She supports having a non-linear career (assuming it is financially viable) as it allows graduates to test different options. 

• Studying internationally gave Dr Reynolds a chance to meet new people, perspectives and opportunities. However, it did set her career back, as she would currently be at a consultant level if pursued her medicine degree here. She also had to negotiate with the differing requirements for becoming a doctor in the UK vs Australia. 

• Dr Reynolds was suggested to read Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by the head of neurology, which implores women to take an assertive approach to work. Whilst Dr Reynolds doesn’t think all women would be comfortable with this specific type of leadership, she agrees with the theme of being proactive to create new opportunities. She also emphasises the importance of balancing your work and household responsibilities, especially when living with a partner. 

• Whilst she used to enjoy art in the pandemic, Dr Reynolds grew tired of it and now uses her creativity in her PHD. 

• As a doctor who specialises in 2 fields, Dr Reynolds can solve more difficult problems that require a multidisciplinary approach.

Key Takeaways

Part 1

• Decided to complete a Master's in Audiology after a presentation in his second year of studies. 

• He decided to change his career after becoming an audiologist, taking classes while he worked his day job.

• Although he was proud to have become a lawyer, he felt regret for not being able to work as an Audiologist

• When an opportunity at Specsavers presented itself, Tass was happy to take a position where he could use both of his areas of expertise.

Part 2

• Tass was grateful he made his career switch early, as he was losing interest in being an audiologist

• Studying and working at the same time presented continuous challenges for Tass, as it took up most of his time, depriving him of his social life. 

• Tass had a support network of friends and family that encouraged him in his new studies.

• As a father, Tass feels he would not be able to make this transition now, as he has additional responsibilities to his wife and children.

Key Takeaways

Part 1

• When he was studying for a Bachelor of Science, Zen Lee did not know what career path he would take after graduating because he was only studying due to parental pressure.

• Due to his poor performance, Zen failed his science degree and was forced to redo it. Due to this, Zen was interrogated by the academic board, describing it as “frightening”. These meetings are conducted to determine whether poor-performing students should continue studying.

• As an international student, Zen needed to learn how to care for himself independently at a young age. 

• Whilst Zen did not pursue a career in counselling after 7 years of studying, he doesn’t think that time was a waste, as he grew and developed during that time. 

• Before changing careers, Zen volunteered at Lifeline and as a school counsellor. It was this industry experience that led him to believe that he must make a career change.

Part 2

• Door-to-door gas and electricity sales

• Identified strengths through different jobs

• Dropped all of the volunteer work and education qualifications (7+ years) to go into banking

• Lots of work behind the scenes to climb the ladder

• Wishes a mentor figure had told him that it was all going to be ok 

• Break down your career goals into small steps, figure out what you can do now and do it

Key Takeaways 

Part 1

• As a doctoral program coordinator, Dr Alwis helps to manage graduate programs. Specifically, she oversees educational programs such as professional development activities and career work.

• Dr Alwis used to be a scientist.

• She enjoyed working in a lab and working with people, but decided to change her career due to the stress and competition in her field. She cites the instability of constantly needing to find new projects to receive funding as the main reason for her pivot.

• Dr Alwis states that developing critical thinking skills was one of the core benefits of taking a PHD. Whilst an undergraduate degree may improve skills such as communication and project management, they are greatly refined in a PHD program.

• Using to-do lists is important to managing the many competing deadlines and projects in a PHD

• The normal salary at Dr Alwis’s current position is 120k annually.

Part 2

• Dr Alwis found her honours degree was extremely difficult due to the workload, but enjoyed the research component, so she decided to get a PHD.

• Whilst she experienced burnout during her PHD, which is common, Dr Alwis also had limited time as she was dependent on a scholarship.

•  One major difference between uni-life and high school was the emphasis on independence and freedom in university. Dr Alwis found she had to figure out a lot of things on her own.

• In her post-doctoral degree, Dr Alwis had the opportunity to join the Australasian Course in Advanced Neuroscience (ACAN) at North Stradbroke Island. Dr Alwis greatly appreciates the intense training she received in this program. 

• Dr Alwis believes that there are pros and cons to having a child earlier or later in life. Whilst having a child earlier means that you miss out on career opportunities early on, having a child later means that you have to juggle your career and housework. 

• Early in her career, Dr Alwis was somewhat nervous and suffered from elements of impostor syndrome. Now, she is more willing to look for feedback, but still doubts her competency sometimes.