Welcome to several new followers!
Instead of a typical intro, I'll reveal something unique about myself: I started in planetary science as an amateur.
I am what happens when spacecraft missions release their data to the public.
I went from image processing, to reading up on Titan literature, to going to planetary science conferences during vacations, to transitioning from a 20-year pharma career to a NASA senior postdoc in planetary science at JPL, to current job as scientist at JPL.
One thing that I feel strongly about is the need for experential diversity as well as other forms of diversity.
People who have had different career paths have learned different things, and bring unique points of view and different solutions to a given problem, which gives the Team a better chance of finding an optimum solution.
@cbielstein I had a PhD in chemistry but was from way back in 90's. The chemistry degree counted as a "doctoral degree in the hard sciences." However, at the time of my career change, I was well beyond the 7-years-post-PhD cutoff that would let me be in most postdoc programs.
When am put in charge of Earth, I will eliminate that cutoff.
Morganism
Mike Malaska
Cameron Bielstein