What happens before the rain begins?

Long before storm clouds roll in, water resource engineers are already at work, using science, engineering, and technology to predict floods, protect communities, safeguard clean drinking water, and design the systems that keep our world flowing.

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, Dr. W sits down with water resource engineer Tori Morgan to uncover one of STEM's most impactful and often overlooked careers. You'll discover what water resource engineers really do, the challenges they solve every day, where they work, how to become one, and why this career is becoming increasingly important as communities face climate change, population growth, and aging infrastructure.

You'll also step into the shoes of a fictional water resource engineer during a high-stakes storm event, giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how engineering decisions made before the first raindrop falls can protect entire neighborhoods.

Whether you're a student exploring STEM careers, a parent, educator, or simply someone who's ever wondered where your drinking water comes from or how cities prepare for severe weather, this episode will change the way you think about the world around you.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• What a water resource engineer does
• How engineers help prevent floods and protect water resources
• The education and career path into water resources engineering
• Where water resource engineers work beyond engineering firms
• What a typical day looks like in the office and in the field
• The skills that make someone successful in this growing STEM career

Because sometimes the most important careers are the ones you never notice until something goes wrong.

🎧 Subscribe to Majors, Minors & Maybes and join Dr. W as she uncovers curious careers, one story at a time.

Show Notes:

Dr. W hosts Majors, Minors, and Maybes to spotlight water resources engineering, a career focused on protecting communities from floods and drought, ensuring clean drinking water, and preparing cities for climate change using hydrology, GIS, and computer modeling. A vignette follows Lori, who uses a hydraulic “digital twin” of the city to forecast storm impacts, coordinate with public works and emergency management, clear a culvert and storm drains, and prevent flooding during a major rain event. Engineer Tori Morgan explains the role’s civil/environmental roots, daily challenges like aging pipelines and emerging contaminants such as PFOS, and the hidden systems behind a faucet from supply and treatment to distribution. The episode covers pathways (consulting, utilities, academia, nonprofits, and agencies like EPA/FDEP), education, internships, PE licensing, typical work mix, salaries, and a “curious career fact” about watershed digital twins, ending with a community observation challenge and a tease of the next episode on smart city planners.

00:00 Water Crisis Hook

00:44 Meet the Career

01:27 Why Water Fails

02:48 Lori Storm Day

04:51 Stopping Floods Early

07:49 Invisible Wins

08:30 Skills and Interests Fit

09:27 Expert Defines Role

10:15 Aging Pipes and PFAS

12:26 From Faucet Backwards

14:24 Career Paths Options

19:07 Education Internships PE

21:37 Day to Day Balance

22:48 Salary and Demand

24:13 Projects That Inspire

30:19 Digital Twins Fact

31:18 Be a Water Detective

32:22 Next Episode Teaser

33:06 Final Sign Off

What if your favorite store, hotel, or airport was designed to be memorable before you ever saw a logo?

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, we're following our noses into the fascinating world of the Olfactory Branding Consultant, the professionals who use scent to shape experiences, influence emotions, and help brands tell unforgettable stories.

Meet Lila, a former chemistry student turned scent strategist, as she tackles a unique challenge: creating a signature fragrance for a sustainable shoe company's first retail store. Along the way, we'll explore how chemistry, psychology, marketing, and creativity come together in one of the most unexpected careers you've probably never heard of.

You'll discover:

• How companies use scent to build brand identity and customer loyalty
• The science behind why smells trigger powerful memories and emotions
• What olfactory branding consultants actually do day-to-day
• Education paths, internships, salaries, and career opportunities in the fragrance and sensory experience industry
• Why some of the world's most recognizable brands invest in signature scents

Whether you're a student exploring career possibilities, a teacher looking for real-world STEM connections, or simply curious about the invisible forces shaping everyday experiences, this episode will leave you seeing and smelling the world a little differently.

Sometimes the most powerful branding isn't what you see, it's what you smell.

New episodes biweekly. Follow, share, and join us as we uncover curious careers one story at a time.

Show Notes:

The Career Behind Signature Scents: Olfactory Branding Consultants

Dr. W explores olfactory branding consulting, a career blending chemistry, psychology, marketing, and creativity to help brands shape customer emotions and memory through signature scents. The episode explains how scent influences trust, mood, spending, and return visits, and highlights its growing use in hospitality, retail, fashion, and healthcare. A vignette follows Lila, a former chemistry major in New York City, as she researches a sustainable shoe brand and develops a custom in-store fragrance through “scent sketching” and iterative testing. Dr. W then breaks down what consultants do, where they work, common education pathways and training, internships, key skills, schedules, flexibility, and salary ranges. The episode notes Singapore Changi Airport’s custom “orchid tea” scent and ends with a challenge to notice designed scents and a teaser for a future episode on water resources engineering.

00:00 Smell Shapes Behavior

00:57 Meet Scent Strategists

02:15 Lila Builds A Brand Scent

04:40 Why Scent Works

06:37 Office Hours Overview

07:19 What They Actually Do

07:56 Where They Work

08:56 Degrees And Training Paths

10:48 Skills Beyond Smelling

11:18 Schedule And Lifestyle

12:38 Salary And Growth

13:21 Curious Career Fact

14:06 Challenge And Wrap Up

15:05 Next Episode Teaser

15:48 Final Goodbye

What if the next breakthrough in cancer treatment, genetic research, or personalized medicine depended on someone you've probably never heard of?

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, we're uncovering the fascinating world of the Scientific Curator. The STEM professional responsible for organizing, preserving, and protecting the biological samples and scientific data that fuel life-changing medical discoveries.

Through a compelling fictional story inspired by real careers, you'll step inside a high-security biobank where one tiny data error could derail years of precision medicine research. Then, we'll pull back the curtain on the real career: where scientific curators work, how to become one, the education path, salary expectations, and why this behind-the-scenes profession is becoming increasingly important in biotechnology, genomics, healthcare, and biomedical research.

Whether you're a student exploring STEM careers, an educator introducing career pathways, or simply curious about the hidden jobs shaping our future, this episode will change the way you think about modern medicine.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• What a Scientific Curator actually does
• How scientific curation supports precision medicine and genomic research
• Where Scientific Curators work: from hospitals and biobanks to pharmaceutical companies and research institutes
• Degrees, skills, and education pathways into the field
• Career outlook, salary insights, and work style
• A surprising "Curious Career Fact of the Week" about preserving biological samples for future discoveries

Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs in science begin with the people making sure every sample, every record, and every detail is exactly where it needs to be.

Show Notes:

Scientific Curator: The Hidden Guardian of Biobanks and Precision Medicine

Dr. W. hosts “Majors, Minors, and Maybes” to spotlight the scientific curator, a behind-the-scenes profession that organizes, preserves, and safeguards biological samples and scientific data critical to precision medicine. The episode explains how curators work across hospitals, labs, universities, pharma, biotech, genomic centers, and biobanks to ensure proper storage, accurate labeling, ethical consent, legal compliance, and traceable sample histories so research remains trustworthy. A fictional vignette follows Dr. Lena Morales, lead curator at the Meridian Genomics Institute, who detects a single transposed digit that misrouted a trial sample, halts downstream analysis, and prevents compromised cancer research. Dr. W outlines typical education pathways, key skills (systems thinking, databases, quality control, ethics, genomics/bioinformatics), work style, and salary ranges, and notes biobanks may store specimens in liquid nitrogen at -196°C. The episode ends by teasing olfactory branding consultants for next time.

00:00 Frozen Future Vial

00:44 Meet Scientific Curators

02:27 Precision Medicine Stakes

03:19 Lena in the Biobank

04:24 Barcode Error Crisis

05:47 Why This Role Matters

06:43 Office Hours Breakdown

07:03 Where Curators Work

08:20 Education Pathways

09:43 Day to Day Work Style

10:53 Salary and Growth

12:24 Curious Fact Time Capsules

12:55 Listener Questions Wrap

13:46 Next Episode Teaser

What do potato chips, yogurt, frozen pizza, sports drinks, and even your favorite cookies have in common?

Behind each one is a food scientist.

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, we're uncovering the fascinating career that blends chemistry, biology, creativity, and problem-solving into one delicious profession. Join us as we follow a day in the life of a food scientist, explore how food products are developed and tested, and discover the surprising science behind flavor, texture, safety, and shelf life.

You'll also hear from Ranee Anderson, a real food scientist who shares what it's like to work in the field, how foods are tested for bacteria during processing and shipping, the biggest surprises about the profession, and advice for students who aren't sure whether they belong in STEM.

Whether you're curious about science, love food, or are looking for a career that's equal parts laboratory and innovation, this episode serves up a career you may not have considered, but probably interact with every single day.

Show Notes:

Following the Flavor: Inside the World of Food Science

The episode of “Majors, Minors, and Maybes” follows food scientist Josie as she troubleshoots chip texture and flavor in a lab, adjusting humidity, extrusion settings, and seasoning ratios while also tackling sodium reduction, shelf-life testing, plant-based protein experiments, and food safety reviews. Dr. W. explains that food science is controlled experimentation that blends chemistry, creativity, and collaboration to make foods safe, stable, and enjoyable across manufacturing and shipping. Guest Renee Anderson describes how research determines safe storage conditions and how food scientists study pathogens like salmonella, listeria, and E. coli, and she highlights the field’s breadth and varied entry points. The script outlines common degrees, internships, and related experiences, gives salary ranges (about $50k–$65k entry-level and $100k+ senior), shares a fact about annatto creating cheddar’s orange color, and teases a next episode on scientific curators of human genetic data.

00:00 The Science of Crunch

01:24 Meet Josie in the Lab

03:19 Dialing In Flavor

04:07 A Day in Food Science

05:53 Is Food Science for You

06:35 Food Safety and the Journey

07:54 Guest Renee on Bacteria

10:09 Food Science Career Paths

12:00 Degrees Internships and Skills

13:08 Belonging in STEM

15:06 Paychecks and Reality Check

17:14 Surprising Foods Scientists Touch

18:54 Curious Fact Color and Taste

19:46 Renee on Phages and Detection

21:01 Wrap Up and Next Episode

In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, we explore the fascinating world of the Medical Game Designer. The creative minds building video games, VR simulations, and interactive experiences that teach patients, train doctors, and make healthcare less intimidating.

Through the story of Andie, a designer creating a game that helps kids understand and manage asthma, we uncover how gaming, medicine, psychology, and technology collide to create real-world impact.

From virtual emergency rooms to patient education adventures, this episode dives into:

• how medical games are developed
• the science behind learning through play
• what to study if you’re interested in this career
• internships, volunteer opportunities, and skills that help you break into the field

Whether you love coding, storytelling, healthcare, or gaming, this episode might just introduce you to a career you never knew existed.

Press start on one of the most unexpected careers in healthcare.

Show Notes:

Medical Game Designer: Turning Healthcare Into a High-Score Mission

Dr. W explores the career of medical game designers, who combine game mechanics with medical knowledge to train healthcare professionals, educate patients, support rehabilitation, and reduce anxiety before procedures using tools like VR, AR, and mobile apps. The episode follows eight-year-old Liam using a VR asthma game where levels teach triggers, inflammation, and inhaler use, improving his confidence and adherence. Andie, a biomedical engineering major with a game design minor, is introduced as the creator who partnered with clinicians and developers after seeing kids’ fear in a children’s hospital. Dr. W explains daily work like building realistic scenarios and decision trees, collaborating with medical teams, user testing, and using gameplay data as a research tool, plus pathways into the field, portfolio-building tips, workplaces, schedules, and salary ranges.

00:00 Saving Lives Like a Game

00:19 Meet Dr W and the Quest

00:48 Liam’s VR Asthma Mission

02:05 Andy Builds the Game

03:56 What Medical Game Designers Do

05:03 Office Hours Career Advice

06:44 A Day in the Job

07:55 Majors Minors and Skill Stack

09:15 Breaking In Salary and Workplaces

11:11 Why This Career Matters

11:46 Tech Data and High Scores

12:21 Wrap Up and Next Episode

From astronaut teamwork and stress management to designing safer systems for pilots and space crews, this career sits at the intersection of psychology, engineering, neuroscience, and space exploration. But what does an aerospace behavioral scientist actually do every day? How do you study human behavior when gravity disappears? And what can students study now if they dream of helping humans thrive beyond Earth?

Through storytelling, curious career exploration, and practical career insight, this episode uncovers a profession most people have never heard of, but one that may shape the future of human spaceflight.

Perfect for students who love psychology, aviation, STEM, human performance, design thinking, or simply asking: “How do humans adapt when the world around them changes completely?”

Because sometimes the biggest challenge in space… isn’t the rocket. It’s understanding the humans inside it.

Show Notes:

Aerospace Behavioral Scientist: Engineering Human Resilience in Space

Dr. W. introduces the career of an aerospace behavioral scientist, experts who study how astronauts think, feel, communicate, and perform during long-duration missions in confined, high-stakes environments. Through a vignette of subtle crew tension and the example of Luna, a psychology major who added human factors engineering and pursued a master’s in space psychology, the episode explains how these scientists research isolation, sleep, stress, and team dynamics using Earth-based simulations and tools like behavioral monitoring, interventions, and virtual-reality “space inoculation” training. The script outlines relevant psychology specializations, complementary majors (e.g., human factors, aerospace, data science), the typical need for graduate school, workplaces like NASA’s Behavioral Health and Performance Lab and military/aviation labs, and a salary range of $75,000–$150,000. It closes by teasing a future episode on medical game designers.

00:00 Astronaut Mindset Mystery

00:55 Life in a Tin Can

02:46 Meet Luna’s Origin Story

05:54 What They Really Do

08:05 Training and Education Path

11:20 Career Reality and Pay

11:47 Day to Day and VR

12:53 Wrap Up and Next Episode

What happens when fashion meets the future? Enter the world of the 3D garment/apparel designer. The pros turning pixels into pants and software into style. In this episode of Majors, Minors & Maybes, we follow Lila, a digital designer whose “day at the office” includes sculpting clothes in 3D, stress-testing fabrics in virtual wind tunnels, and making sure a gown drapes flawlessly before a single thread is cut.

It’s fast, it’s sustainable, and it’s transforming how the fashion industry works, from haute couture to your hoodie.

Bonus: You’ll even hear from Mikelle Drew-Pellum, a real 3D apparel designer, about why this career is more than a trend. It’s the future of fashion.

If you’ve ever wondered who designs the clothes you can’t yet touch but already love, this episode is for you.

Mikelle Drew-Pellum

383designstudionyc.com

instagram.com/383design

linkedin.com/in/mikelledrew

tiktok.com/@383design

Show Notes:

3D Garment/Apparel Designer: Fashion Built in Pixels Before Fabric

Dr. W launches season two of “Majors, Minors, and Maybes” by spotlighting the 3D garment/apparel designer, a career blending fashion, code, and sustainability by creating virtual garments that drape, stretch, and move before any physical sample is made. Through a day-in-the-life of Lila, the episode shows digital prototyping, instant global collaboration, stress-testing fit and fabrics, and designing metaverse-only couture for avatars. Dr. W explains how tools like CLO 3D and Browzwear speed timelines, reduce textile waste, and expand fashion into digital wardrobes, and includes insights from 3D designer Mikelle Drew Pellum on patternmaking, virtual sewing, accurate fit, and sustainability gains from fewer physical samples. The episode suggests relevant majors, key skills, work settings, a $60K–$100K+ salary range, and teases next week’s career: Aerospace Behavioral Scientist.

00:00 Season Two Returns

01:44 Meet the 3D Designer

02:02 A Day With Lila

03:59 Office Hours Breakdown

05:13 Pro Explains the Process

05:54 How to Get Started

07:29 Why 3D Changes Fashion

08:41 Sustainability Impact

09:55 Digital Fashion Boom

10:58 Wrap Up and Next Episode

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up?

Season 2 of Majors, Minors & Maybes is back! This time, we’re digging even deeper into the careers you didn’t know existed, but suddenly can’t stop thinking about.

We’re talking about the kind of jobs that make you pause mid-scroll and say, “Wait that’s a thing?” The kind of careers your guidance counselor definitely forgot to mention. The kind that sound made up… until they’re not.

This season, we’re opening the door to even more curious and quietly fascinating professions, one story at a time.

So, whether you’ve got a five-year plan, no plan, or a color-coded spreadsheet that’s hanging on by a thread, you’re in the right place.

Because around here, curiosity is the major and everything else? Optional.

Season 2 drops now and you’re going to want to take notes!

Show Notes:

Unexpected Paths: Careers Shaping the Future

The script introduces a season focused on innovative, future-shaping careers that people often stumble upon rather than plan for, highlighting jobs most people aren’t aware exist. It invites listeners who wonder “what else could I be doing?” to follow along as the show traces unexpected paths to uncover emerging roles shaping the future before they’re widely known. Dr. W. positions the season as a guide for those seeking alternatives beyond familiar options and closes by addressing that season two begins now.

00:00 Careers You Stumble Upon

00:11 Digging for Future Jobs

00:20 Hidden World of Work

00:23 Following Unexpected Paths

00:30 Jobs You Haven't Heard Of

00:33 Shaping the Future Early

00:39 What Else Could I Do

00:42 Season Two Starts Now