What exactly do you do?
I work as a research assistant and graduate student in oceanography. This means a lot of different things from one day to the next. One of my responsibilities is to learn as much as I can about the field, so I take classes and read papers to keep up on what’s new. I also work as a teaching assistant sometimes, helping other students to understand the material by answering questions and leading review sessions. The work that I spend the most time on is my research. I am working on making an instrument that will measure carbon dioxide in the hot geysers (hydrothermal vents) at the bottom of the ocean. It’s hard to get things to work in the lab and even harder to get them to work deep underwater. Besides the pressure, there’s the heat to deal with. (The water coming out is close to 700 degrees Fahrenheit!) I spend a lot of time in the lab, fixing things and watching over my experiments. Then, I take the data back to my office and try to figure out what it means and how to make it work better the next time. Sometimes, I go out to sea and test things out in the real world. Eventually, I hope to be able to better understand what happens when there is a volcanic eruption in the area around these vents on the sea floor.
What do you enjoy the most about your job?
I love the feeling of figuring out why I am having a problem and then actually finding a way to solve it, using my tools or the right equation or a good piece of duct tape. And of course nothing beats visiting the bottom of the ocean in a submarine!
What do you enjoy the least about your job?
Going to sea is one of the best things about this job, since it’s so exciting, but it’s also one of the worst. After a couple of weeks away, I start to really miss my family and the chance to get out and take a walk or eat at my favorite restaurant or sleep in my own bed.
What key events in your childhood most influenced your current career?
I have always loved the water, so looking back it seems like oceanography is the perfect thing for me, but I never knew what I wanted to do when I was younger. I think the childhood experience that has helped me most is the way my father always let me help with projects around the house. We even designed and built a big tree house. I learned to think of myself as a capable person, someone who could put things together and make them work.
Do you have any fun/funny stories about lab experiences or adventures in the field?
I have only been doing this for three years now, so I haven’t had time to build up a lot of stories. Here’s one about being a rookie. The first time you go in Alvin, the submarine, people play tricks on you while you are down there. Sometimes they get really creative. One of the things my shipmates did was take my shoes, fill them with water and put them in the -80 freezer. They were blocks of ice when I got back, and it took five days for them to thaw and dry out. Another newby got most of their clothes frozen and stuck to the walls of the freezer, so I guess I was lucky! At least I had an extra pair of boots. You get to know the other scientists and crew on the ship pretty well after a couple of weeks, and you can have a lot of fun as well as getting all the work done.
Do you play any sports or have any favorite hobbies/special interests?
I love to paddle my kayak, and I even get to commute in my boat sometimes. I also like hiking and camping in the mountains around Seattle. I read all the time. I am also teaching myself to play the cello (very slowly). I am interested in Africa since I lived there for two years when I was in the Peace Corps, and I still try to be involved in things that affect my old friends there.
Do you have any advice for an aspiring high school student who might want to pursue your career?
The only thing you need to do now is make sure you get a good foundation in math and science. Aside from that, explore different options you might be interested in. Don’t lock yourself in too soon to one path. I was a geologist, a chemist, an engineer, and a Peace Corps volunteer before I was an oceanographer and each of those has taught me things that I am still using all the time.
What contribution would you most like to make to science in the next 5 years?
I would like to make a working sensor for the project I am working on now. While I am doing that, I want to share some of my interest in oceanography with other people by doing some more teaching. I am just at the beginning of my career, so my goals are modest. I just want to do some work that I can build on and start to get myself established.
What is the approximate salary range for your profession?
15 to 20 thousand as a student, (Yes, they pay you to go to school) 40 to 100 thousand when you get out.
