Epilogue: Where Are They Now?

The experiences of the eight early career researchers are at the heart of this book. In sharing their stories so generously, they have provided first-hand insights to guide you in forging your research pathway. This Epilogue continues the stories of five of them, illustrating how life (and career) goes on post-doctorate in all sorts of interesting, challenging and rewarding ways.

Amy spent her career working for a multinational corporation, proudly following in her father’s footsteps. Over the decades, she collaborated on high-impact innovations and services, worked on interesting and challenging problems and developed great friendships. She was highly valued for her expertise, managerial skills and organisational knowledge and received numerous internal and external awards for her work. When family commitments allowed, she enroled in a doctoral programme to enhance her personal capabilities and value to her employer. This study enabled her to transform her thinking about the intersection of humans and technologies by understanding and applying theoretical methods and frameworks. She found it powerful to reflect on the abstractions of practical work experiences, develop new intellectual approaches and apply conceptual layers to real-life situations.