What shall they do to best prepare for future career challenges?

OK…It seems I have presented part of my answer to this question above. … Never mind. Except for preparing the academic and professional experiences, the other important thing we need to do now is to cultivate our development potential. Here in the US, the knowledge in the required readings and professors’instructions are only a small part of study. We need to do more by ourselves, actively but not being pushed. Thus, how to find and keep pace with the newest trends in your fields? How to make full use of the learning resources? How to contact the real world beside books and papers? They are all questions we should try to answer. Skills such as information searching and capture, communication skills, group work skills, are all necessary. Also, what are the most essential things you need to learn or have for success in your field, according to your career aim? Not only the knowledge but also the personality. It is Ok if you have not known much about this. But you need to act from now on to find the answer. You can make it through your talking with people in your field, reading, listening, discussing, thinking, practicing, etc. You will gradually find out what you already have, what you don't have, what you are interested in and what you need to improve. Then you will have a more concrete target about what you will accomplish during the next stage, not only just “gaining my MA or PHD” but also “focusing on performance management study and also practice”. Then your development potential will be greater than that just with a superficial aim.