We rounded up Assembly contributors’ best tips for navigating your professional life.

Choosing a career path can be overwhelming. From figuring out which jobs match your skills to navigating opportunities in a brand new field, it can be hard to know where to start.

Luckily, we have tips from past Assembly contributors to guide you as you work towards your professional goals. From Dr. Chiaki Mukai, the first Japanese woman in space to Susan Sarpomaa Owusu-Ansah, Ghana’s top female sports journalist, nine trailblazing women share their advice for finding — and building — a career you love.

“The world is large, not small. Whatever you want to do, you can achieve it. You just need to believe in yourself and set your mind towards it, even if you are shy or afraid of public speaking. Trust me, it took me a long time to come out of that shyness. But there’s no need to be scared. You will make errors and people will laugh at you, but it won’t end your world. You will learn from it and move on and improve. But if you keep yourself indoors then no one is going to correct your errors for you. No one is even going to know what you are capable of.”

— Susan Sarpomaa Owusu-Ansah, 23-year-old Ghanaian sports reporter. Hear more from Susan about how she found her voice on and off the field.

“Don’t be afraid and embrace the inventor in you! It's okay to fail and lose many battles as long as you keep your dreams alive in your heart. Always remember, inventors do not limit their imagination — I studied architectural engineering and all of my inventions have been in other fields!"

— Reem Al Marzouqi, Emirati engineer and inventor of a foot-controlled car. Read on for more career advice from female execs from Apple, SpaceX and more.

“In life, you get so many distractions and you may get discouraged by people who don’t understand what you want. I was able to achieve my dream of contributing to the conservation of mountain gorillas and other wildlife in Africa by remaining focused and fighting for what I believed in, and the right people came along to support me to accomplish my dreams. I encourage you all to dream big and to follow those dreams. It will take hard work and dedication and you will find challenges along the way, but when you are working and succeeding in a field you are passionate about, it will all be worth it.”

— Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, conservationist and founder of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH). Read on for more leading women’s advice for recent graduates.

“It's really important to start building a network of people you can reach out to. Talking to your university’s career services center about alumni working at nonprofits is a great place to start. Once you have a list, you might contact a few of them and see if they’re willing to have a short chat with you about their career and share any advice. Doing so will not only help you get useful information about how they built out their careers, but also they might remember you wheln an entry-level position opens up at their organization.”

— Bhumika Regmi, Malala Fund's digital manager. In her edition of “Ask Assembly,” Bhumika answers career questions from girls around the world.

“[Going to school] educates you how to research, it educates you how to learn. So even though the books I read weren’t 100% relevant, at least I know how I can find that information. So academic education, strangely enough, is relevant even in the creative industry.”

— Aya Suzuki, Japanese animator. Hear more from Anya about her work bringing your favourite films to life.

“Crucial tip #3 for getting into the media and entertainment industry: Take pride in and emphasize the portions of your identity that you find most valuable. Whether that is being a disabled athlete or former beauty queen turned gamer girl, highlight those aspects of yourself so that casting teams can make quick, face-level placements for roles.”

— Shriya Boppana, 22-year-old casting intern at ViacomCBS. Curious about tips #1 and #2? Read more about a week in Shriya’s life as an intern.

“Ignore the stereotypes that exist. Do your own research because there’s so much information at your fingertips now. And if you’re passionate about solving problems and helping people, then engineering can be a fantastic career for you.”

— Roma Agrawal, trailblazing structural engineer. Hear more from Roma on how she’s tearing down gender bias in engineering.

“You cannot control whether you are going to be the smartest person at your company or in a room – however, you do have control over how well you prepare and how much work you are willing to put in, which will ultimately drive the results you are able to achieve”

— Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer, SpaceX. Read on for more career advice from female execs from Apple, SpaceX and more.

“The most valued part of my life is that I have lived, met and worked amongst wonderful people who encouraged and fortified within me the concept: ‘If you can dream it, you can do it.’ I truly believe in the power of education. Education enables us to envision and pursue our dreams. Believe in yourself and take one step closer at a time towards your dream!”
— Dr. Chiaki Mukai, astronaut, doctor, educator and first Japanese woman in space. Read on for more leading women’s advice for recent graduates.

Chisom Onyekwere

(she/her) is an editorial coordinator at Malala Fund. She loves keeping up with the latest movies and shows on Netflix. She also loves reading and has a bookstagram, @chiscritiques.