The Infinite Careers Alumni Speaker Series—a collaboration between CAPD and the Alumni Association—hosted its final event of the school year featuring Lynne Tye ’10, who spoke with students about the experiences that led her to found her own company, Key Values.

This year, Infinite Careers hosted 11 wonderful speakers, each of whom had a distinct relationship with unexpected career turns. From a mechanical engineer whose participation in MIT’s Ridonkulous led him to be a choreographer, to a biochemist whose love of art and design prompted her to start her own science illustration company, each speaker presented students with the idea that an MIT degree isn’t a prescription for a linear life path—and that’s a thing to be celebrated.

Overall, 98 students attended Infinite Careers events, of whom 44% were undergraduates, 54% were graduate students, and 2% were postdocs. In our feedback surveys (a 73% response rate), 97% of participants found the content of the events to be either helpful or very helpful, 99% would recommend the event to a friend, and 78% found the events to be useful in terms of exploring majors or careers. One graduate student, after hearing Steve Baker ’84 MArc ’88  speak, reflected that “Just hearing about the experience of someone really helps me evaluate what I’m doing and where I’m going in the future.”

Our surveys also revealed another interesting trend: student attendees brought a wide range of perceived career-readiness to the table. Half of our attendees claimed to be only somewhat (43%) or not-at-all (7%) confident in their ability to determine the steps they need to take to be successful. Their personal uncertainty—and their positive response to the Infinite Careers Alumni Speaker Series—only further highlighted our student community’s continued need for this series in the years to come! If you would like to collaborate or recommend a speaker for next year please contact Tianna Ransom at transom@mit.edu.

— Tamara Menghi, Career Advising & Professional Development