The job market isn’t always straightforward. Whether you’re aiming for academia, government, or industry, hearing how real people built their careers can be surprisingly eye-opening.

CIRES presents a panel discussion “Beyond your Degree: Real-World Pathways to Purposeful Careers”

Join our interactive panel discussion, where three professionals from the public sector, research, and academia share what they wish they’d known as students.

Topics include:

• How hiring really works across different sectors
• Common mistakes in resumes, interviews, and career planning
• What matters more: soft skills or technical skills?
• What it’s actually like to work in government, research, or industry roles

Our panellists:

• Dr Rocky Chen – Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow, UQ
• Dr Nikolai Kinaev – Leader, Hydrogen Energy Systems Future Science Platform, CSIRO
• Dr Catherine McTavish – Director, Queensland Department of Education

Who’s it for: HDR students, coursework students, and anyone curious about career options — even if you’re still figuring things out!

Bring your questions or just listen in — we’d love to see you there.

Organised and Moderated by CIRES Researcher, Dr Zixin Wang