Would you thrive on a typical 9-to-5 schedule? For Edward Slingerland, his answer would be no – the fact that he is on the faculty of two separate universities is proof of that. Not to mention, he is a sinologist and religious studies professor who originally studied molecular biology. After discovering himself, he learned that it is okay to change course if your passion is elsewhere. As he says: “What does your preferred day look like?” – answering that will lead to what you are meant to do.

Children’s health is a complex and sensitive field. As a pediatrician, Dr. Stuart Turvey diagnoses a huge variety of illnesses and conditions in children – while dealing with scared kids and parents, with the goal of turning them into happy and healthy ones. All the while, he also researches these health conditions and their causes, while keeping in mind the social and emotional impacts of the kids’ health journeys.

How do forests thrive and survive? That is the focus of what Dr. Sally Aitken does, in her role as professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia. While her specialty is in forestry, part of her role also involves teaching non-forestry students about the topic, on top of her research and work with graduate students and colleagues – after all, as she says, research is a collaborative effort.

Problem solving – that is how lawyer Bruce McIvor describes his job. To him, that is why people come to lawyers. It is about identifying the problem, the solution, and barriers to the solution. “It’s often not about the law,” he claims. “It’s about relationships” and how legal issues tend to come up when a relationship has failed in some way. That is also something he teaches his students at the University of British Columbia, helping shape the next generation of lawyers.

Aubrey Kelly knows there are so many things that you can’t control – but you can set the direction that you’re heading. That is the philosophy he has used for his role as CEO of UBC Properties Trust, which handles real estate portfolios of the University of British Columbia. You don’t have to be an expert – you simply have to figure out where you’re headed and have others around you buy into your plan.

Dr. Aziz Ghaharya’s business is in research – and it really is like running a business, from idea development to funding to reaching the finish line. And the competition is tough. He didn’t start out as a burn unit researcher; by using other studies as stepping stones, he was able to become a full professor and one of Canada’s foremost experts in burn and wound health.

As a lecturer at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, Adam Pankratz’s job is to communicate the challenges of business to his students, which range from undergraduates to masters-level students – and make it interesting. This was nowhere near what he envisioned for his career when he graduated with a linguistics degree and worked in the hotel industry. As with all careers, it is never a straight line. But his difficulties with finding a job that matched his skills led him to the world of business and an entirely new path.