Dr Yona Jacobsen

Dr Yona Jacobsen is Senior Research Manager of a clean lab in the school of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University. Yona is also a geologist with an interest in isotopes. She researches the early Earth and high-temperature geochemistry.

What do you do?

My main role is lab management of a clean lab facility. In these labs, with very clean (particle free) air, we prepare samples for isotope analyses. Any dust could contaminate our very small samples (which are nanogram to picogram of an element in size). My job has many aspects: cleaning, testing, preparing samples, teaching, analysing, and developing and implementing new cool methods in the lab (R&D).

How did you get to your current role?

My career path has been anything but straight. I like to refer to it as "a penguin gracefully sliding down a hill'....well, if you have seen penguins sliding down a hill, you know its anything but graceful. The (very) short story of my career: After finishing my undergrad, I worked as paleontological excavation assistant because the funding for my Phd position didn't come through in time. My first two children were born in the second half of my PhD journey, meaning I was writing my thesis and papers, while caring for two young children and moving countries. Then I decided that moving countries is one thing, but moving continents is another and hey, let's make it to the other side of the world. And because it proved difficult to find a geology job in my new home town, I worked as a pre-school teacher (and actually did a certIII on the side). With children getting older, I was able to look for a full time job and found one as a Research Officer in renewable energy, so I worked on solar cells for a couple of years until I was asked to apply for the role I am currently in. As you can imagine, there were personal and private challenges scattered throughout this path too!

Why did you choose this career pathway?

Because I like to solve riddles and problems 😊

What are the best parts about your job?
What are the hardest parts?

The best part is that one day is not like the next. My job is very versatile, from office work, lab work, tinkering with instruments, to going out to the field collecting new rocks.

The hardest part is that while the working hours are flexible (which is great), it also means I have to make sure I get enough down time. Saying ‘no’ to students/peers who need help is also hard, but sometimes necessary if I have too many projects going on already.

What are the major challenges in your field?

If I describe my field as higher education/academia, then it’s definitely job insecurity and workloads. And diversity.

What skills from your Earth science degree do you use?

I did a pure geology degree, so I feel it prepared me well. For the exact line of work I do at the moment, my experiences gathered during my PhD help me a lot.

What advice would you give to students in your study area trying to decide on a career path?

My career progression is anything from straight. I have done many jobs outside of my field, like preschool teacher and engineering. Whereas it is really great if you know what you want, I find it helpful to have a certain degree of flexibility. Not everything in life can be planned.

Side hustle shout out!

I like to do outreach, especially with children. I have done quite a few presentations at primary schools and love it (the kids loved it too 😉 ). I also found some love for podcasts and radio and would like to explore that more in the future.

In 2018 I got accepted into Homeward Bound, an international leadership program for women in STEM. This program runs for a full year (11 months online, yes I was using zoom before it became cool) plus one month face to face in beautiful Antarctica). But the program is more than a pure leadership course, it is a network of women all around the globe with a shared passion: equity, STEM and climate action.