>> So I would say specifically with that question, for an undergraduate,
and I wish I had this advice when I was an undergraduate.
I would say whether you're going to go directly into the career route,
or you're going into the graduate route, you want to think of developing a specialty
that will make you and expert in whatever it is you're interested in.
And that's a very clear combination between the two.
You have to have that research interest.
You have to have this real intellectual curiosity to say, you know,
no matter if I'm going the academic route or I'm going the career route,
you have to say, this is what I'm interested in.
These are the questions that I'm so passionate about answering, and once you sort of develop
that interest and you develop the research skills to be able to, you know,
write or present a finished product
that other people will be interested in, that's your calling card.
So I would say for an undergraduate, find that thing that you're interested in and start
to build a portfolio based on that topic.
That's going to be the thing that sets you apart in terms of a graduate school application,
or that's going to be the thing that sets you apart in terms of a stack of applications
for a job that you're interested in.
So I would say, develop that area of expertise as early as you can.
Lean on your professors.
That's what they're there for.
Talk to alumni about how they got to where they are.
And good luck.