The dreaded question. . . [GOLD]

Abstract

All good things must come to an end, including a thesis. After years of reading countless journal articles, scouring through textbooks, listening to hours of lectures, attending annual IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) conferences, meeting numerous clinicians, coding at all hours of the night, and dissecting draft after draft after written draft, there comes a time in every graduate student?s life when the thesis is ready for the print room. Engineering graduate students around the world spend years of their lives striving toward the goal of a finished thesis product, one which contributes novel ideas and techniques to the scientific community. However, upon reaching the pinnacle of their early careers, it is almost a certainty that every student will be faced with the dreaded question: "Now that you have finished your thesis, what's next?"