Spending 10 days on the RV SallyRide, waking up to roiling ocean waves in the wilderness of the Pacific ocean, and fighting seasickness was not something that I would have expected would impact my career so profoundly.
In April of 2026, I had the opportunity to participate in an expedition with STEMSEAS, an organization offering students interested in science, technology, engineering, and math, with fully funded experiences aboard NSF-funded research vessels.
On this ship, I had the opportunity to take part in research and learn about topics like science, data collection, and oceanography. Little did I know, the clarity from working within this science program was one of the most valuable things I would bring back from my journey.
I met three science professionals who let me dive into what it meant to work in science, and the environment, as a life career.
Daniel Diaz’s official title was engineer number 2, or simply, field engineer. He works for an organization called EarthScope, a nonprofit funded primarily by the NSF with its primary focus on geophysical research.
Diaz told me that this was not his first time at sea: “I do a lot of varied amounts of field work. Primarily, I have been focused on GPS or GNSS stations that are on land, or seismic stations. However, being on the ocean is very different from field work on land. It brings me back to what’s important in life and how small we are relative to everything, vast open spaces generally do that and the ocean is definitely one of those.”
He mentioned that being at sea also gives him clarity on the task at hand by removing distractions, like Wi-Fi, saying “it focuses my energy on one task for an extended duration.”
As a field engineer, Diaz had the opportunity to deploy the wave gliders, one of the main purposes of our expedition.
He explained that “the waveglider is used to interrogate. It’s a technical term. Transponders are stationed on the seafloor. So, there’s permanent benchmarks, which are points of measurement that transponders are attached to, and they communicate back and forth with the waveglider.”
He went on to clarify that interrogating means that the waveglider measures the distance between the waveglider and the seafloor transponders stationed on fault lines to determine activity at plate boundaries.
This provides valuable data which can help scientists measure trends in the tension built at these fault lines and get an idea of what level of magnitude earthquake we might expect.
“Science is always changing and there’s always something new to learn,” Diaz pointed out when I asked what he loved most about his field. “It’s not repetitive, or it’s not, you know, the same thing over and over again. Sometimes it is very similar, but there’s always new obstacles to overcome, and upgrades to make, it’s always evolving.”
Maya Thompson was the next scientist I talked to. She was the marine technician aboard, meaning she worked with underwater technology and engineering. Every morning we would go outside and deploy an XBT (expendable bathythermograph), and every morning she would allow one of the students the chance to shoot out the probe into the ocean, where it would collect data like temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll.
Thompson was open about her background before getting into marine science, “I always knew I was going to do something with the ocean in terms of research. I will say, when I graduated college, I thought I was going to pursue my masters immediately. But, I got rejected from my master’s, and that was the best thing that had happened to me, because I was able to apply to some of these internships, and I got a great technician internship. I sailed for six weeks on a research trip out of Bermuda.”
She mentioned that it was on that trip where she discovered she loved the technical back deck side of being a marine technician. It allowed her the freedom to work in many different fields of ocean research instead of having to narrow down to one speciality.
However, being a marine technician came with its own challenges, “I will say, the way we live, it’s not for everyone long term. You know, going out to sea for, for a month or more at a time, and working 12 hour days.”
When she first started, Thompson stated that “I realized I had to advocate for myself more than, I think, the average male if they were to come into my position… I was very much handed the control of the winch, the crane, fork truck, and all the things you would typically see men doing. But, I think you for sure have to advocate for yourself.”
Almost every time we entered the lab, Thompson could be seen making sure all the data collecting processes were working smoothly, even if that meant climbing to the top of the mast where meteorological data was collected.
When asked what motivated her, Thompson stated that, “I think any data, any research, anything that’s published is helping us as humans better understand our own planet.”
“For example, I was on a cruise across the Indian Ocean, and they were just doing water chemistry data and collecting water every 30 miles. But, they did that last trap 10 years ago, and you could see the difference of where the water was warming. And you wouldn’t have known that without having come out here. And I think based on the data that they see, it sometimes brings up more, or new questions, that make scientists and the public more curious about why things are happening.”
Overall, loving what I’m doing makes me want to get up every day and still do this ridiculous work-life balance of you know, working 12 hours a day. But overall, I love what I’m doing, I love where I am, and I love being out at sea, because I am curious.
Lastly, Chad Pyatt told me about what he did aboard as field engineer 3, “The waveglider technology is cutting edge for us, and so, I am fascinated by that. It’s the opportunity to work on new technology… I am constantly looking for new ways to gather more data and solve new problems as they come up.”
Even though Pyatt is a field engineer, he studied geology in college. He said “I have always wanted to study something about the earth, whether it was meteorology, oceanography, biology, or geology. I just was always fascinated by the earth itself, and the place that we live in.”
He would go on to explain that studying science has taught him how to be investigative, “It taught me how to ask questions, and also look at what the answers to those questions are, without hiding behind something else… It’s given me a much clearer perspective on the world, how it works, and where I fit inside of it. And I enjoy that perspective.”
Pyatt said he gets a lot of job satisfaction in a lot of different ways, but what he really enjoys is mentorship and sharing what he has learned.
“Part of my job is to also train other people and to educate my coworkers on how to do certain things. And so, I get really excited when I can share with them and, you know, they can come back and tell me that that really helped. I want to make sure that I left enough information, good vibes, and enthusiasm for whoever comes after me.”
Near the end of our conversation, Thompson had mentioned something that stuck with me, “One of my favorite views is when you go outside and you can’t see anything but the ocean.” She explained that nearly every inch of land has been touched by human impact, but the depths of the open ocean is a place where you can feel small, and are simply cruising along in nature.
Thank you to everyone who was a part of this opportunity. Here is a link to anyone who is interested in applying as a student or mentor with STEMSEAS.
