Name: Wendy Peterman (she/her)
PhD: Forest Engineering, Oregon State University, 2014
What was your main area of research?
I studied the role of soil data in predicting forest die off and vegetation change in the face of climate change and how to incorporate soil data into ecological models to predict these phenomena.
What is your current job?
I am a Soil Program Manager for the US Forest Service.
I serve as a subject matter expert for any activities that could impact soil and forest productivity or water quality and give advice on how to avoid/mitigate negative impacts or restore soil function.
I love the people I work with and the fact that I can go outside whenever I want.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
A friend forwarded me the internal outreach when they started scoping for available talent.
I actually used my MS in Soil Science to get this job. The people in the Forest Service tend to be prejudiced against people with PhDs.
PhD Graduate ➡️ Soil Scientist ➡️ Soil Program Manager
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?
I was never interested in a career in academia. I actually was afraid that going further in my education would reduce my professional prospects, and I would be educated out of a job. After I got my MS, I worked at a non-profit where people had PhDs simply because they loved their area of interest, and that inspired me to pursue the depths of knowledge available in Forestry and my curiosity about why the world was experiencing such huge die offs of forests in the early 2000's.
What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
I received a lot of support from some of my committee for being creative, innovative, intelligent, and adaptable. They told me the academic world wasn't what it was when they were young, and I would need to forge my own path outside of academia. They suggested the Forest Service would be supportive of me and have use for my unique skillset.
My advice is:
Find people who support you, your interests, and your passions rather than the other way around. Don't just follow the money.
Pursue a PhD not for a specific goal but for the pure joy, delight, and gratification of following your interests and passions to the depth you want.
Publish regularly while you are in school, rather than waiting until the end or after you graduate. If you get to the end of your studies, and someone doesn't like the path you want to take, they can't prevent you from graduating if you have multiple publications in your field.
Stay in it. Don't let them push you out, intimidate you, or gaslight you. Just because people did that or are doing that to them in academia, doesn't mean they should be able to do it to you.
Leverage your skills in critical thinking, deep investigation, organization and flexibility to market yourself in your new career outside of academics.
Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?
I was a single mom. I worked and paid my way through school as well as much of my daughter's. We both made it all the way through our BS, MS, and PhD's without either of us borrowing any money.
I am on the autism spectrum, and this made the ability to think my own way and pursue my special interest as far as I wanted essential to me functioning in the world. I would struggle to do "normal" things and fit into most work environments, but my passion for soil and forestry has not only made me a highly valued expert in those fields but has given me the inspiration and motivation to learn to be a good communicator and leader. Before I was able to pursue a PhD, I floundered about what to do with my life.