Episode Highlights:

• The surprising power of knocking on a professor’s door (even if you’re an introvert)

• How to return to your career after 10+ years away—and still thrive

• This one mindset shift that will change how you see career paths and options in science

Timestamps:

0:22 - What is an Astrophysicist?

5:11 - What does a typical day look like?

9:59 - What do you enjoy?

11:29 - What do you dislike?

13:28 - How does your career compare to your initial aspirations?

15:56 - What were your career milestones?

21:18 - What advice would you give an aspiring professional?

About Our Guest:

Nicole Lloyd-Ronning is an astrophysicist at Los Alamos National Lab and a physics and astronomy instructor at the University of New Mexico–Los Alamos. Her research focuses on the explosive deaths of massive stars, black holes, and their role in the evolution of the universe. A passionate science communicator, she leads outreach programs across Northern New Mexico, collaborates on global STEAM initiatives, and actively advocates for equity in STEM. After earning degrees from Cornell and Stanford and completing prestigious fellowships in Canada and at LANL, she returned to science following a decade-long career break, supported by the APS Blewett Fellowship. Nicole has received multiple awards for mentoring, teaching, and community impact, and enjoys running, cooking, dancing, and spending time with her family.

• Connect with Nicole on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-lloyd-ronning-488160a

• Extended Interview - ⁠patreon.com/diverseroutes ⁠

Looking for career support?

• Check out ⁠Success in Science Career Coaching⁠

Episode Highlights:

• Leveraging the interdisciplinary nature of the tech industry

• A surprisingly important softskill you will need as a data engineer

• Top AI ‘assistants’ for coders and programmers

Timestamps:

0:27 - What is a Data Engineer (Specialist Solutions Architect)?

4:49 - What does a typical day look like?

9:18 - What do you enjoy?

10:45 - What do you dislike?

11:38 - How does your career compare to your initial aspirations?

13:30 - What were your career milestones?

16:23 - What advice would you give an aspiring professional?

About Our Guest:

Ram Goli is a Specialist Solutions Architect at Databricks, where he helps organizations make Data and AI simple. Prior to joining Databricks, Ram worked as a Data Engineer at other large companies, including Spotify and Vanguard. And in his early career, he was a Business Intelligence Developer in various contract roles. By training, Ram is a Molecular Biologist with a Bachelor’s from Grove City College and a Masters from the University of Maryland - Baltimore.

• Connect with Ram on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ramgoli/

• Extended Interview - ⁠patreon.com/diverseroutes ⁠

Looking for career support?

• Check out ⁠Success in Science Career Coaching⁠

Episode Highlights:

• Creating your own job title, when the existing options don’t fit

• How one conversation can lead to your first job

• Unexpected benefits and drawbacks about entrepreneurship

Timestamps:

0:20 - What is an Earth and Space Educational Consultant?

2:27 - What does a typical day look like?

5:13 - What do you enjoy?

6:43 - What do you dislike?

9:55 - How does your career compare to your initial aspirations?

14:19 - What were your career milestones?

22:53 - What advice would you give an aspiring professional?

About Our Guest:

Dr. Kathryn Williamson earned a bachelor's degree in physics and astronomy from the University of Georgia and a doctorate in physics with an emphasis on physics education research from Montana State University. Her career includes roles as Public Education Specialist at Green Bank Observatory, and Teaching Professor and Planetarium Director at West Virginia University. Currently Kathryn operates her own business as an independent Earth and Space Science Educational Consultant and Project Evaluator.

• Kathryn’s website -https://www.kwilliamsonconsulting.com/

• Extended Interview - ⁠patreon.com/diverseroutes ⁠

Looking for career support?

Check out⁠Success in Science Career Coaching⁠

Episode Highlights:

Timestamps:

0:26 - What is a geologist (in industry)?

2:52 - What does a typical day look like?

6:12 - What do you enjoy?

8:59 - What do you dislike?

17:26 - How does your career compare to your initial aspirations?

22:16 - What were your career milestones?

34:01 - What advice would you give an aspiring professional?

About Our Guest:

Dr. Kelsey Crane is a geologist with expertise in planetary research and environmental geology. She earned her BS in Mathematics and Geology from the University of Tennessee, where she began studying planetary geology, and later completed her PhD at the University of Georgia, analyzing Mercury's tectonics for NASA's MESSENGER mission and conducting fieldwork in the Yakima Fold Province. After serving as a faculty member at Mississippi State University, where she achieved tenure and discovered her passion for mentoring students, Dr. Crane transitioned to Seres Engineering. There, she leads a GIS team, conducts innovative research, and thrives in a supportive environment that fosters collaboration and compassion.

Looking for career support?

About Our Guest:

• Hilary Eisen is the Conservation Policy Director at Winter Wildlands Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering people to protect America’s wild snowscapes. She works with grassroot partners, agency staff, and elected officials on National Forest winter travel management, forest planning, and other policy issues.
• Hilary started her career in public lands in the backcountry, maintaining Forest Service trails and educating the public about Wilderness stewardship as a Wilderness Ranger while spending winters working on wildlife research projects.
• She also earned a BA in conservation biology from Middlebury College and an MS in wildlife biology from the University of Montana along the way. 

Episode Highlights:

If you have an adventurous spirit and love spending time in the great outdoors, you will be captivated by Hilary’s career journey story. And here are a few other inspiring topics from today’s episode:

• How creating your own job description might lead to an exciting opportunity 
• When to include your hobbies on a resume
• Which conversation jobs involve more time in the office than time outdoors

And if you’re looking for a way to visit top vacation destinations like Lake Tahoe or Yellowstone and get paid for it, this is the episode for you! 

Learn More:

• Go to successinscienceCC.com/podcast for more details, including resources provided by our guest.
• Access the full, extended interview at patreon.com/diverseroutes
• Contact our host, Dr. Cassie Briggs at cassie@successinscienceCC.com

Dr. Delaney Dann is a Career & Professional Development Manager at Scripps, a nonprofit biomedical research institute in San Diego, CA. With a background in molecular biology, including a BS in biology, a couple years in the biotech industry, and a PhD in biology Delaney had her sights on becoming a university biology professor. But during the interview process, realized that a faculty role was not the right fit for her. So, she used an NIH fellowship to explore alternative career options and build her skills and network - landing her in her current role where she supports early career scientists through career development workshops, programing, and advising. 

Episode Highlights:

• What things to consider when contemplating a gap year before grad school
• How to successfully “cold apply” for jobs - that is land a job without an network connection
• How online learning (or teaching) can prepare you for a remote or hybrid career

BONUS: And we reveal the non-science class, every scientist should take. 

Go to successinscienceCC.com/podcast for more details, including resources referred to in this episode.

Access the full, extended interview at patreon.com/diverseroutes.

Dr. James Mantas is an Emergency Medicine Physician at Stony Brook. Originally from upstate New York, James earned his undergraduate degree at Hartwick College, then was the assistant basketball coach at Skidmore University before heading to medical school and earning his MD at New York Medical College.

Episode Highlights:

• How not to pick a college
• How to get into med school
• Life as a student athlete

Go to successinscienceCC.com/podcast for more details, including resources referred to in this episode.

Access the extended interview at patreon.com/diverseroutes

Dr. Tanya Latty is an associate professor at the University of Sydney Australia. As an invertebrate ecologist or entomologist she has a broad interest in insect behavior and ecology, such as finding ways to create pollinator friendly cities and using invertebrates as inspiration for new technologies. Tanya has a special fondness for what some would consider ‘weird’ and ‘under studied taxa’, such as slime moulds and velvet worms. And she is also deeply committed to outreach and education and is an active science communicator having working in TV, radio, and print media.

Dr. Tanya Latty is our first international guest on this podcast and offers an incredibly valuable perspective for those of you considering studying or working outside of the United States. But for those of you wishing to stay in the States, much of what we discuss applies to you too!