WISterhood

For all of us out here who struggle to keep their plants alive: it has nothing to do with how much STEM training you have! This week on the pod, we talk about how STEM, and STEM training, affects our lives outside of our actual careers. We discuss how the content we learn can be useful in cooking or during a pandemic, and how all the negative effects have to do with the industry, and not the lifelong pursuit of learning and curiosity of STEM. 

You can email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

You might be familiar with an Internet meme that puts your expectation of something right next to the reality. This week on the pod, we do a little reality-check on what a STEM career might mean. Does your resume have to be industry-specific? How many part-time jobs should you expect to hold down while in school? How much should you expect to be paid for your skills and experiences?

You can email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Alexandra has an encouraging tip: If Marie Curie can get two Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry, you can pass college physics. Or spend a few years in outdoor education, teaching kids about water quality. Or return to college after crashing and burning the first time. Alexandra, who's currently studying to become a science teacher, has had the chance to do all these things. She's here to tell you that doing what you love will always outweigh the failures you make along the way. 

You can email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

We interview one of the OG WISPDX'ers: Ruth Barrett! This week, we discuss her major career shift from academic neuroscience to health policy research, what it was like to defend her PhD while being pregnant, and how she dealt with unsupportive environments in academia. Along the way, we share stories about the importance of communities like WIS. 

You can email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

We won't be breaking down a Men Tell All episode of The Bachelorette - no shocking revelations about what REALLY happened when the cameras stopped rolling to be found here! But we did talk to two guys about their science and advocacy journeys. And importantly, we also gain some insight into inroads for allies, discuss the importance of failure, and break down the roles that toxic masculinity have played in their lives. 

Ben Appleby is a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering at Colorado School of Mines. He is Asian-American and uses he/him pronouns. During the day, he works as a researcher, manager, and assistant.

Leif Vong uses the pronouns he/him. He’s a process engineer with Amorphyx, working on material science research for flat panel displays and phone screens. He does everything from designing experiments and data analysis to cleaning glass and running manual deposition tools in a given day. He’s also just started as a high school soccer coach.

You can email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

What happens when science feels static and burdensome? In this week's episode, Elizabeth, Sam, and Natalie share ways that they find fuel while on the long science road. We wax poetic about national parks, discuss how people shouldn't ask questions in job interviews they don't want answered honestly, and lose some trains of thought along the way. 

You can email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. 

"Interdisciplinary" and "collaboration" are huge buzzwords in science and technology these days. But what does it actually mean? Does it always work in practice? Where did this term even come from? This week, Sam, Elizabeth, and Natalie try to answer these questions, and end up discussing architectural design for schools, limits to knowledge, "expertise," and more. 

Email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! 

(No, we didn't invite Mark on the pod. Maybe he can come on when he's fixed the democracies he helped break.) This is part two of our series about the costs of higher education. College is expensive - let's get rid of it! At least, that's what some proponents of so-called 'new collar jobs' are thinking. But is it really going to help solve the problem? Or is it just marketing? On this week's episode, Elizabeth, Sam, and Natalie do some investigative musing. 

Email us at [email protected] and follow us @women_in_science_pdx on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!