"In my field, I truly believe that there is space for all personality types. We tend to work as diverse teams and every person brings unique skills and perspectives. As a academic researcher in environmental science, it is important to be motivated, curious, hard-working, resilient and willing to learn. Good people-skills, team-working and critical thinking are important, and a strong background in science and math is of course helpful."

"I work at a university as a research scientist, and my area of expertise is in water science and engineering. The main motivation of my research is to contribute to ways to improving access to safe drinking water sources across different parts of the world. I am especially interested in understanding what types of contaminants are in groundwater, how they get there, and what we can do about them. My work brings me to many interesting places - I've worked in Cambodia, India, Myanmar, Chile, Bolivia, Rwanda and more. It's hard to decide what I enjoy most about my job - I love the impactful work, the opportunity to constantly learn, exploring new places, the diversity in activities and, very importantly, working with amazing colleagues and students."

"I have had a number of different steps and turns in my journey to my current role as a research-focused academic at a large university. I have worked at a hardware store/lumberyard, a environmental engineering consultancy and in several short-term research contracts before securing my current position. Following on from a fantastic volunteer opportunity in Bolivia (as part of Amigos de las Americas) when I had completed high school, I knew that I wanted to integrate international work and a feeling of \"making a difference\" into my career. My undergraduate degree (BSc) in chemical engineering was a good decision in terms of career prospects, although I learned that I really wanted to do something that more heavily involved environmental aspects and could be linked to broader societal challenges (such as safe drinking water). This motivated my decision to pursue a MSc in environmental engineering. After briefly working in a consultancy firm, I had the opportunity for a PhD scholarship based in the UK. As a first generation academic, I really didn't have a good grasp of what a PhD was before I got started - for me it sounded like an exciting opportunity to broaden my horizons and with prospects for international work. I really had no idea how many doors a PhD could open (or how hard a PhD was!). Since my PhD, I have been working as a postdoc and early career research fellow - every day I learn new things and get to work with amazing colleagues on impactful work. I have been incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to meet and be inspired by different role models in different parts of my journey."

"I tend to be very busy, so when I have free time, I really enjoy doing things that help me disconnect - I like running, yoga, walking/hiking and just relaxing outside! I also love travelling to new places (near or far) and exploring unexpected turns."

"Every day can really be different for me! Some days, I work in the field in countries as diverse as India or Cambodia working with small teams of scientists and students to collect water samples and to speak with local people about how they use their water. Some days, I work with students, academic colleagues and international partners to develop new research ideas or to work on ongoing projects. And other days, I sit behind a computer screen writing emails, crunching numbers in a spreadsheet or writing scientific papers and proposals."

"My academic pathway has been slightly non-traditional as my training and research cross between engineering and sciences. I have a BSc in Chemical Engineering, a MSc in Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Membrane Technology. Since my PhD, most of my research has been within environmental sciences/geochemistry. I am one of few engineers in my group of colleagues who are geologists, geochemists and geomicrobiologists - the interdisciplinarity is good as is brings different skills and perspectives!"