Mars Research Scientist, Jacobs JETSII contract
B.S. EAS 2014; M.S. UNLV 2018
Ralston
S. J. (Silas)
Jacobs at NASA Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX
Please briefly describe your current job:
I conduct laboratory experiments on Mars-analog materials to understand the aqueous conditions of ancient Mars. I also serve as the contract lab manager for the Soil Chemistry & Mineralogy Laboratory and instrument lead for the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science division's Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer.
I've become greatly involved with outreach programs, such as Skype a Scientist and the STEM Enhancement in Earth Sciences (SEES) summer internship program. Educational outreach is a close runner-up for the most satisfying part of my job because its impact is so joyful and so profound.
What is your favorite part of your current position:
Lab work is something I could happily do for the rest of my career. It's often as frustrating as it is satisfying, but it's never the same two days in a row. I'm continually becoming a better observer and a more skillful worker, always learning how to pay better attention.
How did your EAS education prepare you for your current job?:
The combined opportunities for breadth and depth - the EAS curriculum encouraged me to understand the Earth (and other planets) as one contiguous system of interconnected and interrelated processes. More than any academic advantage, I obtained a profound appreciation for the wonderful, resilient, precarious, and beautiful world we inhabit.
I was extremely fortunate to work on an undergraduate research project within the field of Mars research during my EAS education. The ability to conduct and present research in my chosen field as an undergraduate - as well as my research advisor's network of colleagues - was tremendously advantageous when pursuing Mars research as a career.
What do you wish you had known as an EAS undergraduate in order to land the job of your dreams?:
A Master's degree will open many doors, and a PhD will close all but a few of them. You don't need a PhD to be a scientist, and there's no shame in taking off with the Master's and getting on with the 'grunt work' if that's the part you actually enjoy doing.
