• Question: Why did you choose to do what you do, and how did you get to where you are now?

    Asked by 334nch28 to Alex, Andrew, Delma, Julia, Simon on 4 Dec 2015. This question was also asked by @will#1, lolpizza, Holly, Toffee2214.
    • Photo: Delma Childers

      Delma Childers answered on 4 Dec 2015:


      Why: Because I love exploring, and science (biology in particular) was very appealing for allowing me to explore and answer questions that mattered to me.

      How: That’s a little more difficult to explain. There is probably more luck to it than anyone would like to admit, but pick something you like to do, keep doors open to opportunity, and future bosses will see that and value it in you.

    • Photo: Andrew Winnard

      Andrew Winnard answered on 6 Dec 2015:


      I saw astronaut Sunni Williams on the space station saying that opportunities to work in human spaceflight are out there for anyone and that you have to follow your dreams. So from then on I decided I would try and work in spaceflight which had been my dream. I always tried to build spaceflight into whatever I was doing and eventually it led to working at the astronaut centre and then my PhD now!

    • Photo: Alexander Finch

      Alexander Finch answered on 7 Dec 2015:


      I got here after getting excited about Antarctica from blogs and reading, seeing there happened to be a job advert for a place here, applying and then being told I got it – much to my surprise. A year later, after three months of training and a three week trip in an icebreaker, I got here!

      But this is something a little different from what I choose to do – I always wanted to be a space engineer as far back as I can remember. I guess I’m lucky to have always known this, so I could focus a bit on a destination. But exactly what I want to do for the rest of my career – that I’m still working out! There’s many types of space engineers 🙂

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