Oceanography | Vol. 38, No. 3
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Headquarters. I helped support NASA’s open science movement
as part of the Transform to Open Science (TOPS) project. This
included running a funding solicitation and helping with strategic
planning around how to make NASA science more open—more
accessible, more reproducible, more impactful.
As part of this job, I attended conferences, met scientists around
the globe, and talked with them about making their science more
open. I helped to co-create and write a curriculum on open science
and to conduct training sessions at scientific conferences. I was
also involved in running an international open science competi-
tion, and I helped conceptualize an open science recognition chal-
lenge through the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy. The job was a whirlwind of exciting opportunities and
incredible learning experiences.
What is your current job? What path did you take
to get there?
I am the User Training Team Lead at Australia’s Climate Simulator
(ACCESS-NRI). ACCESS-NRI is a climate modeling institute—
we develop and maintain the software behind climate models for
the Australian research community. We are nationally funded but
housed at Australian National University. My role is to coordi-
nate and plan the technical training for ACCESS-NRI. This some-
times involves delivering the training, but more often I provide
support by reviewing the training materials and by handling the
coordination/logistics of training events. We also coordinate other
user-facing activities, including user support, online technical
documentation, and an internship program. I also supervise one
team member (we are a team of two!).
I admit that being a training lead was not on my radar before I
got the job. My path to this job started with the tough decision to
leave my NASA job to move to Australia with my husband. Even
though I loved the job at NASA, my husband and I wanted to set-
tle down in Canberra, and I wasn’t able to work for NASA from
abroad. So, I arrived in Canberra with no job lined up.
This was the first time I made a decision based on the lifestyle
I wanted rather than the job, and it is a decision I am proud of.
Through proactive networking and a bit of luck, it has worked out
very well for me. Soon after moving to Canberra, I reached out
to the current director of ACCESS-NRI, who was also my for-
mer supervisor while at Australian National University. From that
discussion, I was able to start part-time work as a research soft-
ware engineer at ACCESS-NRI. Soon after, I applied for the User
Training Team Lead position that had just been advertised, and I
started the role four months after moving to Australia.
What did your oceanographic education (or academic
career) give you that is useful in your current job?
My background in oceanography is extremely useful for this posi-
tion. It is helpful to understand how climate models work at a
fundamental level, and also to have experience running climate
models and using open-source software to work with climate
model output. More generally, it’s helpful for me to have had an
academic background, because I mostly support academics in my
training role at ACCESS-NRI.
Is there any course or other training you would have liked
to have had as part of your graduate education to meet
the demands of the job market?
I would have liked more training around the computational tools
we use to do science: the software, data, and computing plat-
forms. These skills are foundational for most academic and non-
academic jobs.
Is the job satisfying? What aspects of the job do
you like best/least?
I find my job very satisfying. By the end of my PhD, I knew that I
didn’t want to be a researcher, but I still really liked being part of
the scientific research community. In my current job, I get to con-
tribute meaningfully to scientific research by enabling others to do
their research. It allows me not only to stay very close to the soft-
ware and coding side of climate science but also to interact regu-
larly with researchers. To me, this is very satisfying and impactful.
I particularly like working in a collaborative environment in
my current (and actually each post-PhD) job. A downside is that I
have to spend some of my time handling training logistics, but that
is part of a training position.
Do you have any recommendations for new grads
looking for jobs?
Career paths today are rarely straight lines. They are often far cur-
vier and bumpier than a written CV makes them look. CVs on
paper often gloss over all the unknowns at each step, the difficult
decisions that must be made, and the time we often spend between
jobs. When I look at my own CV, it looks like every step of my
career was smooth. That’s certainly not how it felt! The reality is
that there were a lot of unknowns at each step, and there was a lot
of questioning myself about what I actually wanted to do. We each
follow our own path and at our own pace.
I will also echo what many others have written in these career
profiles: don’t be shy to lean on your networks. I was (pleasantly)
surprised by how many people were happy to have a (virtual or
in-person) chat with me to discuss career-related topics at various
stages in my career path. These discussions have been incredibly
helpful as I have navigated my professional career path.
Lastly, the right career path isn’t just about the job—it’s about
finding a balance with your personal/family life as well. You can
have a successful and meaningful career even if you prioritize your
personal life sometimes.
ARTICLE DOI. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2025.e309