Career Bites

If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. That’s exactly what Scott Bryson did throughout his career in the Secret Service. What’s it like to set up a brand new protective detail? How well do agents get to know their protectees? And why do teachers make good agents?

You can learn more about Scott’s career on his website.

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LIKE THIS EPISODE? Try sampling our Police Officer, Wildlife Cameraman, and Airline Pilot episodes.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Sergio Prosvirini, Anatasia Chubarova, freesound_community, Alexsey Chistilin, Dvir Silverstone, and Denis Pavlov. Sound effects from Pixabay by charlie clark and YouTube Studio Audio Library.

Like competition? Try selling cars! As our guest Andrea Anderson will tell you, there’s nothing like making deals on the lot to get your adrenaline going. How does she handle being mistaken for the receptionist? What is it like to be paid on commission? And how did a bet turn into her dream job?

See more of what it’s like to sell cars on Andrea’s Instagram.

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LIKE THIS EPISODE? Try sampling our Realtor, Trash Collector, and Portfolio Management episodes.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Sergio Prosvirini, Geoff Harvey, JoyInSound, Mykola Sosin, bliu music, Artem Hramushkin, and Andrii Poradovskyi.

This job is proof that a blue collar career can be lucrative - not only in income, but also in growth opportunities. The catch? You’ve got to be willing to start at the bottom and work your way up. That’s exactly how Ryan “Ike” Eisenhauer went from cleaning job sites at 14 y.o. to a facilities director at 35. But how do you land that first construction job when you’ve zero experience? Does a college degree give you a leg up in the industry? And why does Ike wish he’d paid more attention in English class?

You can learn more from Ike on Instagram and through his construction project management course.

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LIKE THIS EPISODE? Try sampling our Sous Chef, Army Captain, and Corporate Trainer episodes.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Sergio Prosvirini, nojisuma, Sierra, and Dvir Silverstone.

You’ve likely seen their work as an infographic at a zoo or on a nature walk, and never even realized who created it. So this week, I’m talking to J. Spahr to learn more about how she’s able to marry science and art as a scientific illustrator. Where does her inspiration come from? How does she balance best practices with client demands? And why are so many of her clients from Europe?

You can see J’s work on her website, or go behind the scenes on her Instagram.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Get the newsletter, or follow us on Instagram!

LIKE THIS EPISODE? Try sampling our Concert Musician, Actress, and Wildlife Cameraman episodes.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Sergio Prosvirini, OctoSound, Disrots, ViraMiller, folk_acoustic and Dvir Silverstone. Ambient SFX by YouTube Studio Audio Library.

Cleaning classrooms might just be the most fun you’ll ever have at work - but don’t take it from me. In this episode, I asked high school janitor Maddie “Mad Dog” Baker and retired middle school janitor Gary Parsley for the dirt on what it’s really like to care for our public schools. What do janitors do over summer break? What is their relationship like with teachers? And do they ever get used to that smell in the boys’ bathroom?

You can follow Maddie’s behind-the-scenes janitor content on Instagram and TikTok.

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IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Try sampling our Trash Collector, Mortician, and Crime Scene Investigator episodes.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Sergio Prosvirini, Alana Jordan, Music Word, Anastasia Chubarova, and Dvir Silverstone.

Guest Ruha Tacey is more than just an engineer - her mission is to help up-and-coming engineers navigate their ideal career path. So I asked her for her best internship advice, how to stand out while networking, and whether you have to have a passion for engineering to work in this field. She has nuggets of wisdom for all students - even if you’re not an engineering major!

You can find Ruha on her Engineering Impact Forum, her website, or on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Get the newsletter, or follow us on Instagram!

IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Try sampling the full Chemical Engineer episode.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Fae Spencer and Grand_Project.

They make the chemicals that make the world go round. But they’re not using test tubes and beakers. Instead, they design the systems producing millions of units of product daily. So I interviewed Ruha Tacey, former chemical engineer turned technical career advisor, to learn what it takes to become someone who does chemistry at such grand scales. What skills can you work on now to get noticed by job recruiters? Which types of engineering are the most future-proof? And can an engineer have too much education?

You can find Ruha on her Engineering Impact Forum, her website, or on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Get the newsletter, or follow us on Instagram!

IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Try sampling my bonus episode with Ruha! Or listen to other full episodes with a Cybersecurity expert, a Food Scientist, or a Manufacturing Scientist.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Sergio Prosvirini, Jean-Paul Verpeaux, Michael-X_Studio, Grand_Project, and Alana Jordan.

We’re continuing our review of careers from previous episodes. In this third episode of our Sampler Series, we’re getting a taste of what it’s like to be a photographer, a 3D artist, and an actress.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Get the newsletter, or follow us on Instagram!

IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Try sampling the full episodes with a Photographer, a 3D Artist, and an Actress. Then follow Career Bites on Instagram!

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Artem Hramushkin.

We’re continuing our review of careers from previous episodes. In this second episode of our Sampler Series, we’re getting a taste of what it’s like to be a doula, a physical therapist, and a mortician.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Get the newsletter, or follow us on Instagram!

IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Try sampling the full episodes with a Doula, a Physical Therapist, and a Mortician. Then follow Career Bites on Instagram!

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Artem Hramushkin.

To wrap up 2025, let’s take a look back at some of the previous careers we’ve featured on the show. In this first episode of our Sampler Series, we’re getting a taste of what it’s like to be a sous chef, a sommelier, and a food scientist. Bon appetit!

WANT TO LEARN MORE? Get the newsletter, or follow us on Instagram!

IF YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE: Try sampling the full episodes with a Sous Chef, a Sommelier, and a Food Scientist.

GOT A COMMENT OR SUGGESTION? Email us at [email protected].

WANT TO BE ON THE SHOW? Or know someone you’d like us to feature? Email us a voice memo. Introduce yourself and answer these two questions. We’ll reach out if we think it’s a good fit.

* What is a major misconception about what you do for a living and what is your clever solution for addressing the misconception with those you meet?

* What’s your go-to story about your work? It could be a proud moment for you, a sad or thoughtful experience, or anything in between.

Music from Pixabay by Artem Hramushkin.