Interviews with Graduates
I went to graduate school and my future opened up! Graduate Student Interview
JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation
IWAMI Jyo
[Completion, Class of 2021]
What made you decide to go to graduate school?
The reason I entered graduate school was because of my lab assignment in my senior year. In my course, I was assigned to a laboratory in my senior year. The laboratory I was assigned to was not the one I had hoped for. However, I was impressed by the seniors who devoted themselves to research and the professors who tried to respond to their efforts, and decided to go on to graduate school.
What were your concerns about entering graduate school?
I was worried about whether I would be able to keep up with the research. At a university that is always on the cutting edge, it is necessary to continue to input new knowledge on a daily basis. Sometimes I was so busy with daily experiments that I didn't have time to investigate, but my professors were kind enough to teach me even at such times, so I was able to enter graduate school without such worries.
What experiences did you have in graduate school that helped you in your career?
I feel that it was helpful to have many relationships with people outside my own laboratory. In my laboratory activities, I had many opportunities to interact with people outside the laboratory, such as through communication with equipment manufacturers and joint research with companies. It was a valuable experience for me to be able to interact with external parties even as a graduate student. At the company I am currently working for, we manufacture our products while interacting with a variety of external parties, including customers and affiliated companies. I am glad that I was able to learn how to proceed and how to respond in such situations.
What kind of human resources are required in your workplace and industry?
Regardless of my industry, I believe that what is expected of more than a graduate is to have logical thinking and to be proactive. While these things are required, graduate school allows you to learn these two things at the same time.
Message to high school and undergraduate students
Graduate school is tough. I think some people have such an image. In fact, there were many times when I felt that graduate school was tough. Nevertheless, now that I have entered the workforce, I am glad that I went to graduate school. This is because the logical thinking, presentation skills, and experimental schedule planning that I developed during my time in graduate school are still at the foundation of my life today, and I feel that they are constantly being applied to my work. Now that there are so many options available, I think it is one way to expand your possibilities by going to graduate school.
Ad-Sol Nissin Corporation
TAKAHASHI Akiho
[Completed in March 2022]
What made you decide to go to graduate school?
The first reason was that I wanted to increase my expertise in my field of interest. Since I started my research in my fourth year of undergraduate school, one year was not enough to enhance my expertise and make it my own, so I wanted to study and research more intensively in graduate school. The second reason was that I wanted time to reflect on myself and think about my future. I did not have a clear image of what I wanted to do in the future, so I wanted to have time to broaden my perspective and get to know myself in order to think about my future.
What were your concerns about entering graduate school?
I was worried that I would be later than my classmates in entering the workforce. Some of my friends were already working, so I felt impatient at the fact that I was still a student. However, I thought that the knowledge and skills that I could acquire only in graduate school would surely benefit me. For this reason, I had to study and research hard for two years, but it also motivated me.
What experiences did you have in graduate school that helped you in your career?
I feel that the experience of compiling and presenting research results in papers and PowerPoint presentations as well as gathering and understanding necessary information from previous research papers has been useful. I could not have acquired this skill without going to graduate school. Although my current job is outside of my field of expertise, I believe that the skills I have acquired through my research activities are applicable to any job.
What kind of human resources are required in your workplace and industry?
I think it is important to be curious and have a spirit of challenge, as well as technical skills. You also need to be willing to take on the challenge of adopting new technologies.
Message to high school and undergraduate students
・To high school students
When you are a high school student, you may be wondering whether you will get a job or go on to higher education, or which university you will apply to. Perhaps not many of you may be considering whether you will go on to graduate school. That was the case with me. Therefore, I would first like you to choose a career path that will enable you to lead a fulfilling life. When you do so, please keep in mind that your university life is not only four years, but also more than six years if you go on to graduate school.
・To undergraduate students
In graduate school, you can spend a lot of time studying and researching in depth what you are interested in. It is common to think that after graduating from university, you must begin working, but there is always an experience that can only be had in graduate school. I hope that you will not exclude graduate school as an option from the beginning and include it as one of your potential career paths.
Tohoku Electric Power Network Co., Inc.
HASEBE Syun
[Completed in March 2020]
What made you decide to go to graduate school?
When I was thinking about job hunting, I felt that I did not have any strengths compared to other people. As a result, I ended up finding a job in a field different from my research, but I was able to learn attitudes and ways of thinking that I can apply to my work at graduate school.
What were your concerns about entering graduate school?
I was very anxious about the entrance exam for entering graduate school. It was an exam that was like a summary of my undergraduate years, but I had managed to get through many of them, so it took me a lot of time to review. I studied with my classmates in the laboratory and shared information with them during the summer vacation, which helped me to put in a lot of effort into my studies while eliminating my anxiety.
What experiences did you have in graduate school that helped you in your career?
Although most of my current work is not directly related to the fields I studied in the laboratory, I was able to learn things that are indirectly necessary for many jobs, such as approaches to solving problems and the ability to communicate things to others using materials. Of course, you can acquire specialized knowledge, but in graduate school you are expected to think and communicate on your own, so I think I have grown a lot in that area.
What kind of human resources are required in your workplace and industry?
In the electric power industry, there is a need to break away from the existing structure due to electric power system reforms and changes in social conditions. The company may have a rigid image, but it is in the midst of reform, so it is necessary for personnel to have the ability to think for themselves and make improvements without being influenced by past conventions, and to have the ability to respond flexibly. This is also necessary for conducting research, and I believe that many people naturally acquire this ability.
Message to high school and undergraduate students？
If you do not have an image of graduate school, I recommend that you ask your seniors and teachers. I actually entered graduate school without knowing much about the contents, but I was still anxious at the beginning. I think your life will be different from your undergraduate life, such as job hunting and laboratory life. There were many hardships such as research courses and preparation for presentations, but I think I gained more than that and was able to grow as a person. If you are not sure about your career path, I think you should consider entering graduate school as a candidate.
NEC Corporation
KUROSE Haruka
[Completed in March 2020]
What made you decide to go to graduate school?
When I was in my fourth year of undergraduate school, I felt that I wanted to gain more knowledge and needed time to think about my path. Originally, I started job hunting with the intention of graduating as an undergraduate, but I realized that I had not been able to improve myself with an eye toward finding a job because I could not define my own axis and was not confident in my own knowledge. I still remember the feeling of anxiety of not being able to claim "I have learned this". I was able to acquire more specialized knowledge as I entered the graduate school and conducted research and self-improvement. I was also able to think about my own axis, and I think I was able to confidently choose a path when I was job hunting in my second year of graduate school.
What were your concerns about entering graduate school?
I was anxious about spending two more years at school. While I felt that there were many things I could learn and gain as a student, my worry was that the later I entered the society as a working adult, the worse it would be for my career and life plans. Although I had not resolved these fears at the time I entered the graduate school, I believed that I was able to use my time more meaningfully because of my fears and felt that I should not waste two years of my life. As a result, I am now able to build my career and life because I was able to learn and experience so much at the graduate school, so I feel that I made the right choice despite my anxiety.
What experiences did you have in graduate school that helped you in your career?
I think that the experience of thinking by myself and taking responsibility for my own actions is useful even in the working world. Learning and outputting on your own is important in both research and work. I think that if you gain experience in dealing with difficult problems while you are still a student, you will be able to calmly cope with difficulties when you face them at work.
I majored in image recognition when I was a student. When I joined in work andtold my manager about this, I was put in charge of evaluation of face recognition in a project. I don't think there is much of a direct relationship between your research and your job, but you may be able to make use of your strengths at work if you have them.
What kind of human resources are required in your workplace and industry?
Although it is not limited to this industry, I feel that newcomers who can act with a self-responsible mindset are in demand. You need to understand what you don't understand properly, rather than just accepting what you don't understand somehow. What others tell you is not always correct, so it is important to think carefully, make decisions, and take responsibility for your work. I believe that a sense of responsibility and independence like this can be cultivated through research activities at graduate school.
Message to high school and undergraduate students？
・To high school students
First, try to learn about the field you are interested in as an undergraduate student. 4 years of experience may help you to see other paths you can take, and you may want to study more deeply. You may even become interested in a field other than your major after you start learning. In such cases, you can change your department while you are still an undergraduate student, or you can change your field of study in graduate school. I also changed departments during my sophomore year of undergraduate school and completed graduate school. Please think carefully about what you want to do and spend your time carefully. If you find a field that you want to spend more time studying, the graduate school is a good option.
To undergraduate students
Once you start working, you will not have much time for yourself. It is a valuable experience that you can only get when you are a student and can devote a lot of time to thinking deeply about a single subject, as you can do with research activities. Please cherish your time, value your interests, and deepen your experience. If you feel that you have unfinished business as an undergraduate, I recommend that you pursue graduate study.
Interviewed in December 2022.