Journeying through academia, industry, and entertainment with Dr Erin Macdonald

09/23/22 • 70 min

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Erin Macdonald (PhD, Astrophysics) is a tattooed one-woman STEM career panel, with recognition as a researcher, speaker, engineer, and consultant before her current career. She lives in Los Angeles working as a writer and producer and is currently the science advisor for the entire Star Trek franchise.

In our conversation, we talk about Erin's journey through academia, industry, and entertainment, learning to celebrate little wins, and Erin's love of teaching and sharing science to inspire the next generation.

Show Notes: https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/erin-macdonald

[00:00:59] Television and film leading Erin down the path to astrophysics. [00:01:51] Having a passion but not exactly a plan. [00:02:45] Exploring academia. [00:03:05] The challenges of academic life. [00:03:38] Taking the advice of getting some distance from her PhD before making any career decisions. [00:04:51] Transitioning into industry. [00:05:01] Working multiple jobs to pay the bills. [00:05:30] Discovering her transferable skills. [00:06:26] The value of being able to communicate the science. [00:08:54] Finding a space in the con circuit. [00:10:01] Pop culture gives people a reference point for the science. [00:13:42] The path to becoming a science advisor. [00:13:56] Discovering that 'science advisors' exist planted a seed. [00:15:06] Networking and learning more about the process. [00:16:04] Getting on the Star Trek radar. [00:17:20] Science advising is about "yes, and". [00:18:04] The day-to-day. [00:20:31] The story comes first. [00:22:16] The cyclical nature of science, invention and science fiction. [00:24:42] Writing, producing, and looking to the future. [00:25:38] Speaking to those who had come before. [00:26:41] Pros and cons working in this space in the 90s and now. [00:27:43] Starting to write. [00:28:43] Producing a film: Every Morning. [00:32:14] Finding a purpose and a place. [00:33:39] Finding a space where you want it enough and feel that you can make a difference. [00:34:16] Carving out a space for representation in media in various capacities. [00:35:59] "Luck is hard work and knowing what is an opportunity and what's not." - Lucille Ball [00:37:01] The pros and cons of working in academia, industry, and entertainment [00:37:39] The pros of academia. [00:38:24] The cons of academia. [00:39:47] The pros and cons of industry. [00:41:59] Cons of entertainment. [00:42:26] Pros of entertainment. [00:43:17] Celebrate little wins. [00:45:08] Observations about the misconceptions about each of these industries. [00:47:03] The rejection economy, finding ways and reasons to persevere. [00:49:20] Finding mentorship and role models who can guide you. [00:52:24] For academics looking to get out of academia, there are paths for you. [00:53:59] If you're starting a new career, don't be too hard on yourself. You will need time to get up to speed. [00:55:45] Bonus Question 1: What hobby or interest do you have that is most unrelated to your field of work? [00:59:21] Bonus Question 2: Which childhood book holds the strongest memories for you? [01:00:48] Bonus Question 3: What advice you would give someone who wants to do what you do? Or what advice should they ignore? [01:01:01] Get experience in science communication. The skills will benefit you throughout your career(s). [01:02:13] Explore the creative side of your hard science. [01:03:13] Improv and creative thinking provides tools for better and more flexible communication.

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Show Notes: https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/erin-macdonald

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Previous Episode

Genetic Counselling & DNA with Kira Dineen

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Kira Dineen, MS, LCGC, CG(ASCP)CM, has a decade of podcast experience fueled by a passion for science communication. She has hosted and produced 6 podcasts. Her main show, "DNA Today", is in the top 1% of podcasts globally. Listeners Discover New Advances in the world of genetics through Kira’s interviews about genetic technology, disorders, and news. The show won the Best 2020 and 2021 Science and Medicine Podcast Awards. "DNA Today" has produced nearly 200 episodes.

In our conversation, we talk about Kira's journey to genetics, genetic counselling, and what we can and can't learn from DNA testing kits.

Show Notes: https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/kira-dineen

[00:01:27] Kira's affinity for the field of genetics. [00:04:19] Where Kira saw herself in the field. [00:04:52] Labs are not the only career path in genetics. [00:07:11] The value of shadowing. [00:08:11] Hear from or speak to people in the field and ask questions. [00:08:52] We need a career speed-dating service. [00:10:03] What is genetic counselling? [00:13:42] When would you start the process of speaking with a genetic counsellor? [00:16:41] The two general categories of genetic conditions. [00:21:15] How Direct-to-Consumer DNA testing kits work. [00:24:14] Individual hotspots vs polygenic risk scores. [00:26:46] Our understanding will become more refined as we gather more data. [00:30:04] Kira's podcasting journey. [00:36:26] Podcasting opens doors and creates connection. [00:39:53] Why science communication is important to Kira. [00:46:39] Bonus Question 1: What hobby or interest do you have that is least related to your field of work? [00:47:30] Bonus Question 2: Which childhood book holds the strongest memories for you? [00:48:47] Bonus Question 3: What advice would you give someone who wants to do what you do? And what advice should they ignore?

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Music is Gypsy Jazz in Paris 1935 by Brett Van Donsel.

Next Episode

Cultivating careers and diversity in tech with Gry Stene

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Gry Stene loves to share her observations from her 30+ years as an "IT Girl" aka Woman in Tech.

When it came to choosing a career, Gry only had a couple of criteria...

Firstly, she wanted to help people solve problems and create a better world. Secondly, she wanted to prove that girls were as capable as boys. Given her proficiency in maths and science, information technology (IT) was a very real option, and when she realised that IT was likely to be a key component and foundation for solving pervasive problems across industries globally, the choice was easy. She started her career with a BSc(Hon) of Computation in Manchester, England in the late eighties and has built on that ever since.

Through her career, Gry has had the opportunity to design and deliver solutions across many industries, creating the right mix of people, systems, processes and culture. She has been fortunate to work across all continents and is as at home in early stage startups as she is in global conglomerates.

Often the only woman in the room, she has a unique perspective on IT, the people in IT, and what we need to do to create diverse and inclusive cultures where people feel they belong. She is driven to ensure that we create meaningful technology and are ethical in our considerations.

Gry loves the expression "same same but different", and lives to engage, empower and inspire people to find their place in a digital world.

As an original "IT Girl" from the 80s who studied Computer Science and started out as programmer at a time when there were 35-40% women in key roles, she has loved working across continents in customer obsessed roles, and is equally at home in conceptual stage startups as she is in global conglomerates. She is deeply concerned with the downward trend of women in tech, especially as tech creators and inventors, and is on a mission to encourage, enable, empower and inspire more women, girls and other underrepresented people to step into IT!

The IT Girls Rock community is part of that mission, as are the projects and initiatives across education, corporate and technology that she designs, develops and delivers through her social enterprise STEAM Engine Global.

In our conversation, we talk about Gry's journey to computing, being an IT Girl, and building an ecosystem that cultivates and nurtures careers in tech for women.

Show Notes: https://steampoweredshow.com/shows/gry-stene

[00:01:11] Gry's worldly early years. [00:02:33] Academic proficiency leading towards mathematics and sciences. [00:03:45] Pursuing sciences further in high school. [00:05:20] Returning and readjusting back to Norway. [00:06:05] Choosing a career path. [00:09:30] Applying 'ikigai' and f inding your purpose. [00:10:05] Gry's motivations for pursuing computation. [00:11:37] Entering the workforce and growing her understanding of the scope of technical work. [00:13:31] Learning you can't be a dev in isolation. [00:15:22] Dame Stephanie Shirley. [00:16:18] #DevThings Segue: Technical Debt. [00:18:24] The need to cultivate diversity in teams. [00:22:46] Observations about gravitating towards roles which accommodate our other aspects. [00:26:49] Prioritisation habits of high performing women. [00:31:29] Standards. [00:35:06] Finding a place for everyone's unique skillsets. [00:36:58] Solving the right problems. [00:40:25] Expanding your thinking about what others' experiences are. [00:58:23] STEAM Engine Global. [00:58:31] Cultivating spaces in the pipeline for creating belonging and nurturing talent. [01:06:15] Following her north star. [01:08:14] Bonus Question 1: What hobby or interest do you have that is most unrelated to your field of work? [01:13:24] Bonus Question 2: Which childhood book holds the strongest memories for you [01:14:27] Bonus Question 3: What advice you would give someone who wants to do what you do? Or what advice should they ignore?

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Music is Gypsy Jazz in Paris 1935 by Brett Van Donsel.