Polina Sorkin

What skills did you gain that you found to be advantageous from being part of the group?
Working at a large organization, I apply more of the content-related skills related to Organizational Psychology rather than the contextual skills of working in a research group.  However, when I have to investigate a solution and write-up a proposal, it probably helps that I gained some of that experience being part of the group.

What have you been doing since you graduated?
Since graduation, I've been working fulltime at UBS Financial Services, Wealth Management US.  First, I was an IT Project Manger for almost 2 years, then for the past year I've been a Business Analyst within our Operations department.

What are you doing now?
As a lead Analyst, I gather information about the current state of operations (specifically Documents Processing) and propose solutions to enhance existing systems/processes by exploring opportunities to streamline them to be more efficient and effective.  I also have to consider the strategic aims of the organization for future growth and other related initiatives that may impact my design.

Do you have any tips for current lab members?
Make the most out of their education.  At the end of the day, they will only get back what they invest in their studies; so, they should take it seriously and learn as much as they could.  Also, it is not necessary for them to be certain of exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives, but it is very important that they continue to think about it (always have a general strategy of the direction you want to go, but keep evaluating it just in case you change your mind).  The research they do now and the skills that they gain might end up impacting them more than they know.