Being curious about how the world works is what encouraged Flying Officer Jasmine Goode to pursue a science career with Defence.
Graduating from the ADF Academy in 2019 with an electrical engineering degree, Flying Officer Goode is a C-27J Spartan engineering governance manager at RAAF Base Richmond.
Her role entails providing oversight of maintenance, planning activities, providing technical guidance on contract deliverables and reporting on the performance of the C-27J Spartan.
"I was always really interested in science at school and particularly enjoyed biology and physics," Flying Officer Goode said.
"In my current role, I get to use the problem-solving skills I learned in my engineering degree every day."
Flying Officer Goode was the proud recipient of an Air Force Innovation Award in 2021 when her group's submission detailed how a deployable sun-seeking solar panel array for power generation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations could improve Air Force capability.
"I was so surprised when our group won the award. Studying engineering has definitely improved my ability to determine requirements and think outside of the box when finding solutions to problems," Flying Officer Goode said.
When asked about science career pathways in Defence, Flying Officer Goode said there were many opportunities, but it was important to know the type of science career you wanted to pursue.
"I love a challenge, and science is able to provide that," Flying Officer Goode said.
"For each of the engineering specialisations in Defence, there are different roles and pathways you can undertake. It's also really important to talk to people that are in the career you are considering to find out if their role would be a good fit for you.
"If you didn't enjoy science at school, I would still encourage you to consider a career in science.
"There are so many science fields to choose from, you just need to find the niche that you are passionate about.
"A career in science can be very rewarding and there are so many exciting specialisations you can be a part of in Defence."
Celebrated annually in Australia, National Science Week runs from August 10-18 and seeks to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and innovators.
