"I tell my students to hone their communication skills, both oral and written. It's no secret that we engineers and scientists are often guilty of being poor communicators, but being able to communicate, especially to the general public, is essential. I love that show "Big Bang Theory," but we're not all that bad! The other thing needed is imagination. You must be willing to step into the unknown because in STEM you won't be hired to solve problems for which the answers are already known."