There are plenty of travel blogs out there. There are plenty of blogs that focus on professional female empowerment. One thing the internet is lacking is a blog that ties professional female empowerment with travel. More and more women are making big moves in professional spheres. The complications are ever growing of juggling travel, career, and personal fulfillment.

Early College

I guess I should start with a little background on how I got to where I currently stand. In high school, I decided I wanted to attend college and study Chemistry and Studio Art. Although I loved to draw, I wasn’t really skilled enough to make a career out of it. Because of that, I chose to also study Chemistry because I loved the subject and I knew that a science career would be stable. Unfortunately, at the time, the art courses were extremely difficult to get into, so I decided to make a change. I ultimately decided to switch to double majoring in Chemistry and French.

French History

I’ve been speaking French nearly my entire life, and I wanted to continue studying the language. Through a voluntary lottery program, I was picked to participate in a French immersion program. From kindergarten to fourth grade, all of my education was in French. After fourth grade, our French classes began tapering down over time. It started with half English and half French schooldays, and ended high school with one class period. Over time, I realized that learning and knowing a second language was something I’m really grateful for it. Speaking a second language can open entire worlds that might otherwise stay closed off. I also think professionally, speaking another language has given me a leg up. If you don’t speak a second language, it’s something to consider pursuing if you want to travel professionally.

In the thick of it

Double majoring was challenging, and Chemistry proved especially hard for me. Some courses were easier for me, particularly the math based ones, but others were a struggle from start to finish. I squeaked by through Organic Chemistry. Ultimately, I graduated, earning a Bachelor of Science degree, with a 3.2 by the skin of my teeth.

It felt like an amazing accomplishment. Unfortunately, I graduated in 2010, when the effects of the 2008 economic recession were still ever present. I searched high and low for positions, but couldn’t find anything more than a three month contract position. I wasn’t comfortable moving somewhere with no assurance and no safety net. So, I did what many people did when they graduated: I moved home. It wasn’t ideal, but it allowed me to live with low rent and put myself in a safer position.

Early Career

Once I was back in Boston, I found a 6 month contract position working in a lab on semiconductor materials. I loved the work and the people with whom I worked, but as a temp, I got no benefits. The cost of independent healthcare was, in my opinion, highway robbery. After a year of working at my first job, I found a position at another company and made the leap to a full-time, benefit-laden position. It was a good job for that time in my life. It allowed me to hone my skills and examine what I wanted to do with my life and my career.

Over time, I started to lose my purpose. I didn’t like being stuck in a dungeon lab with yellow lights and no windows. I wanted to get a better sense of why we were doing what we were doing. After four years as a bench scientist, it was time for me to move into a new role. A role that better suited my inner purpose and desire for human connection in my work. Over time, what became clear and what I really wanted to do was help people directly. My goal was to help people directly through research and science.

After three years in that role, I decided I needed a more customer-facing role. In a short amount of time, I found a nearby company that hired me as an Applications scientist. My new role meant I would be working with customers from many different industries and with different needs. Over time, I came to manage the lab and developed close working relationships with many of the customers.

The Start of Something New

Once I got into the role I, I realized I loved (and still love) being an Applications Scientist. In my first Applications role, I got to work with professionals from all over the world on fascinating topics. We had one customer, a soup manufacturer, who wanted to use our technology to reduce the size of oil droplets. Smaller droplets refract more light, making the soup appear whiter. This would allow them to use vegetable oil instead of cream in lower fat soups.

We had another customer, a doctor, who came in wanting to reduce the size of fat particles in parenteral nutrition. For very small children born with digestive abnormalities, the normal digestive tract has to be bypassed. Many of these patients only have the option of parenteral – intravenous – nutrition, which bypasses normal breakdown processes. Fat in particular needs to be broken down properly to be processed by our kidneys, without too much stress. When normal digestion is bypassed, larger fat particles are extra taxing on the kidneys, eventually leading to renal failure. By reducing the particle size of fat in parenteral nutrition before it gets to an IV, it could allow patients to use those formulas for longer with fewer side effects.

These were the kinds of projects I wanted to work on, with people who were really making a difference in the world.

While I loved the work, I thought travel to customer sites and supporting subsidiaries would be part of the gig. Unfortunately, that didn’t turn out to be the case. I loved to travel, and traveling for work seemed like a dream. After further skills honing and confidence building, I grew bored of being stuck in-house all the time. I decided I needed a role that provided me with the opportunity to travel to support customers.

Serendipity

As I started casually looking, the perfect role presented itself. From the first phone call, I loved what was presented of the company and the role. They made me an offer, I accepted, and I was on my way to my dream job. I traveled the country, supporting customers onsite and conducting our in-house training courses. Over that period, I got to see a lot of the country. I loved it. The travel days could be tough. Sometimes I wouldn’t get lunch (or dinner), and I’d be eating out of the hotel ‘market’ at night. Those nights usually consisted of chips or shelf-stable microwave meals and overpriced tiny bottles of wine.

Moving On Up…and West

After about a year, the company approached me about relocating to the West Coast. With a three hour time difference, they wanted someone out there to better support our customers out there. The company had never had a field based Applications person. My success or failure for the role would impact the future direction of the department. I thrived under the autonomy, and we ended up hiring two more field based scientists while I was there. I traveled up and down the West Coast of North America, planning my trips and executing them independently.

It felt like I worked for myself, without the added stress of working for myself. While the continental travel was fun, I was ready for my first international trip. As a result, my first international trip was up to Vancouver, which, as much as I enjoyed myself, didn’t feel particularly international. It felt like Canadian Seattle. Now, don’t get me wrong, I enjoy both cities for their own reasons – but it wasn’t the glamorous international business trip I envisioned. About a year later, though, my second international trip was to Seoul, South Korea for my company’s first system integration in the Asia/Pacific region.

Infinity and Beyond

Altogether, I worked there for five years, at which point I was ready for another challenge. I started a new, similar role with a UK-based company in January 2021. I’ll be working remotely for them on the West Coast of the US and traveling to their headquarters periodically. It’s a newer company, which means a little more chaos but a lot more future opportunities. I’m looking forward to the new challenges and opportunities the role provides.

We’ll see where the job leads, but I’m hopeful that it is far and wide. Traveling for work has changed my life. It can be a part of your rise to success, if you play your cards right, and is often required of many top roles. There are ways to make it wonderful, and ways to make it work for your personal life too (hello, free vacations around Europe, two years in a row). I hope you learn something here, and maybe someday we’ll see each other up in the sky.