The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy is compiling interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers. The interviews share advice and lessons learned from individuals on those paths.
Below is our interview with Dr. Naomi Rowe-Gurney, a planetary scientist at |
Image Credit: Lydia Neary |
What has been your career path since you completed your degree?
I did my undergraduate degree, an integrated (4-year) Master’s in Physics with Astrophysics at the University of Leicester (2008-2012). I then left academia and moved to Shanghai, China and ended up staying for 5 years. Initially I moved for an internship in financial services but I didn’t like it and missed Physics, so eventually I became a Physics teacher there. I taught international GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and A-Level Physics at a Chinese college for 2 years then went back to Leicester for my PhD (2017-2021). My equal love of meteorology and astronomy brought me to studying Planetary Atmospheres on my favourite planets, Uranus and Neptune. I used data from the Spitzer space telescope to do that. Its successor is the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), so now I work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center supporting the JWST for Solar System Planetary Science.
What have been particularly valuable skills for your current job that you gained through completing your degree?
Because I came from a teaching background, I did a lot of science communication and engagement during my PhD. I’m glad I did because this was a main reason for which I was chosen to do my job for JWST at NASA. They needed someone to represent the telescope for Solar System science to both the science community and the general public.
What is your salary?
I was on $65K for the first year of my contract but they saw the need (thankfully!) to give us a cost of living adjustment and now I am on $74K.
What opportunities does your job provide to be creative and/or to take initiative?
I get a lot of opportunities to take initiative and work on all kinds of different projects. My favourite project so far was in my role as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the JWST outreach images of Neptune released in September 2022 by the team at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). I managed to get onto this project after my boss serendipitously introduced me to the Principle Investigator in a car park at the NASA centre! As SME, I helped get the raw telescope data to a point to send to the artists and then also told the artists and the writers what was new and exciting about the images that we want to tell the public. It was an amazingly successful project and the first time I saw the images in a museum I was shook! Those images can be found here.
What advice do you have for achieving work-life balance (including having a family)?
Set boundaries early on. I am from the UK so I am used to not being expected to work weekends, holidays etc., and having plenty of holiday time to take. The US is very different but I am in the US not only for the job but to explore and enjoy living in this country as much as possible before I leave.
What do you do for fun (e.g., hobbies, pastimes, etc.)?
My wife and I brought our dog to the US with us so we like to go on a lot of walks and go camping to explore new places. I also love to read and play games (one of my first purchases in the US was a PS5).
Can we include your email address for people who may want to contact you directly about your specific career route?
II’m happy to be contacted about careers and also potential job leads. I’m looking for a role in the UK starting at the end of 2023,after I finish my contract here at NASA My email address is naomi.rowe-gurney_at_nasa.gov.
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Naomi and her dog (Pengyou) on a walk in the UK before they moved to the US. |
- NASA Bio
- NASA Early Career Scientist Spotlight
- Personal Homepage
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