A decade of preparing scientists for what's next

Briana Konnick serves as the senior director of career development at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), where she offers holistic support to graduate students and postdocs by preparing them for the next steps in their career. She draws on her background in career development and institutional knowledge from nearly 10 years at the University to bring a unique perspective to career advising for a dynamic group of trainees.

Q: Can you describe the work you do at the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering?

At UChicago PME, I oversee both career development and employer engagement for all of our master’s students, PhD students, and postdocs. That means I work to establish and manage employer partnerships aligned with our strengths, while preparing our trainees for those next career steps. My work touches on career and professional development, recruitment, experiential learning, curriculum development and alignment, and strategic planning as our school grows and changes.

Q: How long have you been with the University of Chicago, and what drew you here?

I started here in September of 2016, so I’m actually coming up on 10 years at UChicago! My husband founded a startup company based in Chicago, so we moved across the country from South Florida for that opportunity. As I was networking and learning about Chicago’s higher education landscape, I connected with someone here, which kicked everything off.

Q: How has your role changed since you started?

When I started at the University, I was part of the Office of UChicagoGRAD — an amazing central office dedicated to supporting all graduate students and postdocs. I started as an assistant director of graduate career development there, supporting all of our STEM programs and departments, and was later promoted to associate director, where I began managing others. About five years ago, the job I have now was created at UChicago PME, focused on intentionally building career development and employer engagement from the ground up. It’s been an amazing experience to think holistically about these concepts and experiment on what works best for a young, dynamic school.

Q: What are some highlights of working at the University of Chicago?

I’ve worked with some amazing people and on some really interesting things over the years! A few things that stand out: while at UChicagoGRAD, I grew an annual STEM recruitment event from one that served only a few programs to one that now serves every STEM PhD student and postdoc at the university — greatly expanding its impact and significance. Another one is from my time at UChicago PME, where I partnered with several colleagues to create a really unique professional development program called Communication Skills for Industry. This program filled an important preparation gap for our trainees entering industrial and business-based career paths and allows us to partner with industrial mentors in fun ways outside official recruiting activities.

Q: You have had a great impact on the University, how has the University impacted you?

In my experience, the places I’ve worked on campus have had a culture of combining creativity with a focus on assessment and optimization. This has truly been a great fit for me as I’ve grown in my career — emphasizing strategic innovation, in a way that’s both supportive and pragmatic. In addition, I’ve had a great deal of support and opportunities to develop other professional skills — from taking classes in project management and relationship intelligence through UCPE and Booth to completing the outstanding Executive Program for Emerging Leaders (EPEL).

Q: Can you share a bit about a project or initiative you are currently working on?

One of the really fun aspects of my job is taking the feedback we receive from our employer partners on what makes someone well prepared for their careers and bringing it back to our programs. Lately, this has really come to light as we grow our master’s of engineering program and continue efforts to align it with industrial expectations.

Q: Beyond your role, how else do you like to spend your time?

I live in the western suburbs and really enjoy exploring all the forest preserves we’re so lucky to have here. Additionally, I’m a voracious reader and work out most days — trying out kickboxing has been a fun (and cathartic) recent adventure!