Spotlight: Katharine Maussen

Current occupation: GIS production manager for the Belgian National Geographic Institute (NOT the magazine)

Summary: Ph.D. in Crater lake geochemistry obtained from Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. Got current job < 1 year after Ph.D., did not apply for postdocs.

“I was not prepared to go through the cycle of finding postdoc after postdoc and moving countries and continents on short notice.”

“[…] a big part of my job is developing new workflows which requires the abstraction and creativity which is typically developed during a PhD project.”

Spotlight: Jennifer Wade

Current occupation: Program Director at the National Science Foundation, USA.

Summary: Ph.D. in igneous geochemistry from Boston University (2008). One postdoc experience. Got a job immediately after the postdoc.

“A friend working at NSF knew of my broad expertise, and knew I wanted to move from the lab I was in, so she suggested I apply. I thought, “no way I’m qualified for this!” because of #impostersyndrome and I applied and it turned out I had exactly what they were looking for.”

During the last year of your Ph.D., what did you think was your next step?

I wanted out of academia ASAP, and secured a postdoc as a forensic chemist at the Library of Congress before defending/graduating. That postdoc turned into a regular federal job, though I left it for NSF after a year.