Many skills learned in the classroom can shine brightly in our day to day lives, but what can be gleaned from the lessons learned after leaving the classroom? Why just write a report when you could also craft a story? Reports were the bread and butter of our school lives but we mainly learned how to share findings with our peers. Can we explain our findings in a way our grandparents and an executive could understand it? Can these findings be crafted in a way that share the entire life of a project to better emphasize its importance?  Why just resolve equations when you could also resolve conflict? Let’s face it, we won’t get along with everyone, so how can we use communication skills to build working relationships with everyone, especially those who we don’t get along with? What effective strategies can we use to better influence others about our work’s value?  Why learn to receive critical feedback when you could also polish your critical thinking skills? We can often surprise ourselves with the creative solutions we can find to problems. Learning that we may not always know the answers but that we can spend the effort to figure it out is a well-rewarded skill. This framework is immensely essential for all workers but especially sensory scientists, where we often find ourselves in the middle of being both a core scientific and strategic business partner. We are able to have a solid and ever-building foundation of both the technical and communication skills. Join our panel of young sensory professionals as we discuss what skills were gained in the classroom and what skills were gained on the job. Speakers: Alden Riak, MS, Elisabeth Weir, MS, Loren Avalos, MS