As an Industry Mentor in the Griffith University Mentoring Programme, there has been opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a student of science and technology, and reflect on my own early career experiences.  In doing so, I recall how the limitless possibilities presented to a student create a series of impediments in the form of indecision, insecurity and fear of the unknown leading to a lack of confidence, a feeling of trepidation, and a general unease that can be debilitating if it takes hold.

The grip of anxiety is strongest when we are at our most vulnerable: at a career change, significant life event, or approaching uncharted territory, and we are thrown.  To this end, there is an association of this fear with change, and so a behaviour develops that we face all change or challenges with the same queasiness.  Through analysis we can ease the feeling by falling back on innate abilities: research to understanding – it’s what geeks do.  The fear is not a result of pending change, but a fear of the unknown.