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- Year Of Graduation: 2023
- College/University: Arizona State University
- Major: Environmental Chemistry
What do you do for a living, or how are you supporting yourself right now?
Day to day, I live at my parents’ place. I semi-recently left my research role. I’m applying for full time scientist or water resource roles. I work part time as a tutor. I saved up a lot, so I’m just running on my savings.
Can you tell me about your experience finding a job after graduation?
Out of college, my official job title was physical scientist, field technician. Some of my job was physically intensive field work, driving 4×4 trucks to get to field sites, lugging heavy gear, troubleshooting equipment in all kinds of weather.
I was also in charge of running the samples back in the lab. I’d be running instruments and doing wet lab chemistry. I had my bench, the samples, and whatever instrument I needed for what I was trying to measure. We also did data analysis and coding, and asked questions like, “This thing we’re looking at has a trend that looks like this, why is it like that?” That kind of stuff!
I knew this job would be a temporary stepping stone, and that eventually I wanted to do grad school. I didn’t know exactly how long I wanted to stay, and both internal and external factors accumulated when I decided to leave.
In the federal government, there was a big push to downsize the federal workforce. Our center had funding cuts and employees were asked to justify their work. Our normal day to day tasks were greatly disrupted and it became harder to do our jobs. However, everyone at the center greatly supported each other in every way we could and we all inspired each other to continue our important research.
They eventually rolled out a series of, “Hey, take this package or risk getting laid off.” The first round they did that, I said no, I love this job, I’m staying. Then they offered it again in a different way. The first time was through OPM, and the second time was through individual departments. The second time, through that department, I decided to take the package. It was a very hard choice that came after my supervisors and the center director helped me understand the risks vs. benefits with the information we had at the time.
It was just under a year that I was there. The beginning of 2025 was when it all started to progress. I actually decided to leave the job at the end of March 2025. After I quit, I took the package as an opportunity to travel. I pursued backpacking and hiking all over the Northern USA states and into British Columbia, Canada for months solo out of my car. This was a huge confidence boost for me.
Why did you choose your undergrad major?
I always knew I’d pursue math and science, because I love both subjects. I switched my major four times. I started out in earth studies, but that ended up being more education focused and not enough math, so I switched to engineering. Engineering was too rigid for me, and I wanted more elective room.
Then I switched to sustainability, and it was all business focused, and I didn’t want to do business stuff. So I ended up in environmental chemistry because it had all the science, more math, a lot of elective room, and it’s super interdisciplinary.
I knew in my brain I somehow wanted to work in water resources because I grew up in a desert, and water is just fascinating to me since there’s such a lack of it where I grew up, and there are so many people on earth. Thinking about how everyone is going to have clean water, etc. I just love questions like, “How does this work? Why does this work?” So I naturally gravitate toward roles where I get to ask questions and dig into understanding things, and where I’m constantly learning. I knew I wanted something research-adjacent.
Did you get to do any internships during school? Can you speak about the experience(s)?
During COVID, I published a paper and was lead author on it as an undergrad. It was such a fun, interesting science project and I worked so well with my co-author that I just loved the process and it felt natural. It kept my brain busy and engaged during the isolation of COVID. I’m very grateful for the work I got to do!
I also worked on a COVID-related project. ASU biodesign developed and deployed the first saliva-based COVID-19 PCR test publicly available in the U.S. I worked on a project recycling the plastics from the COVID-19 PCR testing labs and turning them into 3D printer filament, then selling it back to ASU. A lot of labs that deal with biohazardous materials end up labeling everything biohazardous, even if it’s just a pipette box that never touches a sample, and all of that gets incinerated. We were taking the things that weren’t actually biohazardous, but were labeled as biohazardous, and recycling them.
I also applied to a program at WHOI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. They have a summer student fellowship. I got that and was placed at the US Geological Survey (USGS) doing coastal wetland research, and after that summer I decided to continue it as a thesis with the same people I was working with. After I graduated, they offered me a job to go work and do the same thing.
Another thing, I did one summer in Germany with the DAAD-RISE program. I got a research fellowship funded by the German government to bring STEM students from North America to Germany, and I was working on forestry research there for a summer! I felt so fortunate to be in Europe, have the freedom to travel on the weekends, and get paid to be there! It’s an amazing fellowship.
Can you share a little bit about the schooling and experience you need to build a career in research?
For lab tech or technician positions, you either need a bachelor’s or you can get internships without a bachelor’s, but for the most part, for technician roles, they want you to have a bachelor’s degree.
During undergrad, the main thing is to see the research of different professors and if you are interested. If you are, then ask them questions and see if you can work on their research during undergrad. This will get you hands-on experience and allow you to try different things. This will set you up well for applying for fellowships and internships. Make sure to have fun too! Take some time to relax.
Past that you can do a lot with a master’s degree in consulting areas and in academia-type research roles. It’ll get you more responsibility. You might start writing papers, you might start being part of writing proposals. A PhD becomes useful if you are aiming to be a principal investigator of a lab, the principal scientist in a consulting firm, or a professor.
Do you think having a purpose is important? Do you think you’re living a purpose-driven life currently?
Having a purpose is important, but it’s important to realise a purpose isn’t attached to one thing (your job, your relationship, etc). Purpose is going to be whatever you’re good at, whatever you enjoy doing, and then somehow those two things can help you fulfill something that helps others in the world. It’s a Venn diagram and the overlap is a purpose.
I’m less focused on “I have to have X specific job, or feel X way” and more on putting the pieces together. I want to be learning all the time. I want to help people solve problems. I really enjoy math. I value and appreciate nature and people. That’s what I see as purpose, finding something that marries all those things.
It doesn’t feel like it, but I know I am living with purpose, because everything is in steps. It’s natural to measure our progress against where we want to be, and where we want to be usually isn’t where we’re at. So it’s just reminding myself every single day that, “Okay, I did this little thing today, that was progress.” Celebrating each little win and accepting yourself exactly as you are is important.
What’s your biggest struggle right now? What led to it, and how are you moving forward?
Not having a job. I have too much free time on my hands and it’s too easy to overthink. I’ve been applying and I know I will land something.
What hobbies bring you happiness and fulfillment, outside of work?
I play viola, and I’m in the local symphony. I joined the community college orchestra, and we have a concert next week, so that’ll be good. I also picked up a part-time job tutoring kids online for math. It hasn’t started yet, but it should start soon.
I do a lot of physical stuff too, anything outside. Biking, hiking, running.
How do you define being a successful person?
I measure success as being better than I was the day before. It can be simple things, too. If I made somebody smile during the day because I saw them in a grocery store and I was smiling, that’s success to me.
My philosophy is, why put barriers up to be happy? By keeping everything simple, it’s easier to stay motivated and feel successful.
If we traveled three years into the future of your life, what do you want to achieve? What would you hope has changed?
I want to travel to more countries. In three years’ time, I hope to at least travel to one new country, but hopefully a lot more than that.
My brain is really set on water resources, so I really want to try something in the water resources field within the next three years.
What’s the biggest lesson or piece of advice you wish you’d known earlier?
There’s this idea that you need to feel a certain way or think something in order to do something, when in reality doing the action first will shape your emotions and thoughts.
For a simple example, if you’re sad and you lay in bed all day because you’re sad, the action of laying in bed becomes a negative feedback loop. But just by getting up and doing something simple like going for a walk, that action already starts to change your mindset and your motivation.
Connect With Rachel
- LinkedIn: @RachelE
- Blog: Adventurous Rachel
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