26 episodes

Welcome to SGNZ! A weekly podcast hosted by Lorenzo and Kai Man where we discuss all things career wise for science grads who are unsure about where they want to go in the future.

SGNZ - Sci Grad New Zealand SGNZ

    • Science

Welcome to SGNZ! A weekly podcast hosted by Lorenzo and Kai Man where we discuss all things career wise for science grads who are unsure about where they want to go in the future.

    S2E9 Dave Hoskins

    S2E9 Dave Hoskins

    David started off in Biomedical Science trying to get into medical school but ended up finishing his degree as a nurse. He talks about his university adventures and how advice he received before starting university ended up the pathway he chose. We also chat about all things Nursing, the pathways to it, what his experience is working as a Nurse. He is currently working at Starship hospital in PICU.



    Time Stamps:

    00:00 Intro

    2:07 How Dave got into science/nursing

    5:46 Decision to go into nursing

    6:50 University experience

    13:22 Tips for time management on doing placements + study

    20:15 Discussing competitiveness

    23:00 Journey into child health

    30:35 Career progression and further study in nursing

    40:51 Pearls of wisdom - Advice for 18-year old Dave



    Find us on all our socials:

    https://www.facebook.com/Scigradnz

    https://www.instagram.com/scigradnz/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgnz-science-grads-new-zealand/



    Credit

    Logo: Denny Lee

    Intro: "Cali" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-cali-1171/?fbclid=IwAR0yGsfL9GEURuj4VpzFIUKdXmmH1Pik3YxUokmsKJ1QLNQdaPJC-HKsNsg)

    Outro: "U Said It V13 Soundcloud" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-u-said-it-v13-souncloud-1167/?fbclid=IwAR0tQaXzxiON3LN9hmMY14hZlVSafDuz8T3DIXfDBoKttlnEdpnTK9shyag)

    • 48 min
    S2E8 Shivan Sivakumaran

    S2E8 Shivan Sivakumaran

    Shivan started off with a major in Biomedical Sciences and has a real interesting reason for venturing into Optometry! He talks about his experience doing Biomed at the University of Auckland and whether the rumours about sabotage in the first year are true or not!

    We also chat about all things Optometry, the pathways to it, what his experience is working as an Optometrist. He is currently working at Canterbury DHB but has experience in corporate and small, independent businesses.

    Time Stamps:

    00:00 Introduction

    1:55 How Shivan got into science

    2:50 How Shivan decided on Biomed and his experience

    5:30 Shivan’s journey to Optometry

    7:00 Bachelor of Optom experience

    11:58 What Shivan liked and didn’t in his degree

    13:35 What happens after graduation

    14:30 Job security

    17:10 Different avenues that can be explored with Optom

    22:36 Advice Shivan would give to his 18-year old self



    Find us on all our socials:

    https://www.facebook.com/Scigradnz

    https://www.instagram.com/scigradnz/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgnz-science-grads-new-zealand/



    Credit

    Logo: Denny Lee

    Intro: "Cali" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-cali-1171/?fbclid=IwAR0yGsfL9GEURuj4VpzFIUKdXmmH1Pik3YxUokmsKJ1QLNQdaPJC-HKsNsg)

    Outro: "U Said It V13 Soundcloud" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-u-said-it-v13-souncloud-1167/?fbclid=IwAR0tQaXzxiON3LN9hmMY14hZlVSafDuz8T3DIXfDBoKttlnEdpnTK9shyag)

    • 31 min
    S2E7 Victor Yim

    S2E7 Victor Yim

    Dr Victor Yim completed his PhD in Chemistry in the University of Auckland. He went through the Medicinal Chemistry undergraduate pathway which lead to peptide research. After his university life, he went on to become a researcher at Snowberry NZ where he works with novel ingredients and formulation for skin-care products.

    Find us on all our socials:

    https://www.facebook.com/Scigradnz

    https://www.instagram.com/scigradnz/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgnz-science-grads-new-zealand/

    Credit

    Logo: Denny Lee

    Intro: "Cali" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-cali-1171/?fbclid=IwAR0yGsfL9GEURuj4VpzFIUKdXmmH1Pik3YxUokmsKJ1QLNQdaPJC-HKsNsg)

    Outro: "U Said It V13 Soundcloud" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-u-said-it-v13-souncloud-1167/?fbclid=IwAR0tQaXzxiON3LN9hmMY14hZlVSafDuz8T3DIXfDBoKttlnEdpnTK9shyag)

    Time Stamps:

    1:43: First question: what got you started on science?

    2:03: The deeper you get into science, the less certain things are.

    3:22: Victor did the Asian 5 in high school.

    4:23: Cambridge tends to be more representative of university style grading.

    5:55: Why did you choose Chemistry over Biology and Physics?

    7:35: What's the main difference between Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry?

    9:03: Unfortunately picking Medicinal Chemistry narrows down your topic choices in postgrad as it focuses more on Organic Chemistry.

    11:34: What's the PGDip layout in Medicinal Chemistry?

    13:34: Victor accidentally did lab work along with this 8 papers for PGDip which made things unexpectedly difficult.

    16:30: Victor talks about what he did in his postgrad projects.

    19:54: It's hard to find papers that publish "failures". 

    20:45: Negative results are still results. 

    23:57: What were the good things and positives about doing your Masters and PHD?

    26:47: Thesis submission. The defense and the end.

    29:48: What counts as dumb luck and what counts as hard work and skill.

    31:48: What did you do after your PhD?

    34:07: The issues of stability in academia and research. 

    38:18: Victor's advice

    • 42 min
    S2E6 Shalini Ketheeswaran

    S2E6 Shalini Ketheeswaran

    Shalini completed her Bachelor of Pharmacy from the University of Auckland in 2015 and is a registered practising locum pharmacist. She was the Auckland Pharmacy Students Association President (2015), which allowed her to fully make the most of her university experience. In 2017 she built up the courage to change course and pursue a full-time career in the Pharmaceutical industry and hasn't looked back. This has provided her with the opportunity to live and work in different cities all over NZ. In order to develop herself further, she is currently focusing on skills in Management and Marketing supported by her Master’s study at UOA. Tune in to hear Shalini speak about the perks of being a pharmacy student, the career options that the pharmacy pathway can lead to, and how to have a bit of fun along the way.



    Find us on all our socials:

    https://www.facebook.com/Scigradnz

    https://www.instagram.com/scigradnz/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgnz-science-grads-new-zealand/

    Credit

    Logo: Denny Lee

    Intro: "Cali" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-cali-1171/?fbclid=IwAR0yGsfL9GEURuj4VpzFIUKdXmmH1Pik3YxUokmsKJ1QLNQdaPJC-HKsNsg)

    Outro: "U Said It V13 Soundcloud" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-u-said-it-v13-souncloud-1167/?fbclid=IwAR0tQaXzxiON3LN9hmMY14hZlVSafDuz8T3DIXfDBoKttlnEdpnTK9shyag)



    Time Stamps:

    00:00 Introduction

    1:00 How Shalini got into science

    2:50 How Shalini decided on Pharmacy and placements

    14:45 Shalini’s experience during the Pharmacy programme

    18:00 What happens after graduation

    21:25 How Shalini decided to go into the corporate world

    24:19 Exploring opportunities beyond community pharmacy

    26:00 Reaching the business world with Master’s degree

    33:40 Advice Shalini would give to her 18-year old self

    • 42 min
    S2E5 Emily Su

    S2E5 Emily Su

    Emily completed a Bachelor of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Biomedical Science and then applied for a Masters of Audiology.

    She chats to us about her experience doing a year of postgrad before her Masters as well as how she found the Masters itself and the thesis she wrote. We also chat about job hunting (+ the job security!) after finishing up the Masters and her current role of Provisional Audiologist at Bay Audiology.

    Emily is finishing up her Certificate of Clinical Competence and we wish her all the best!

    Timestamps

    00:00 Intro

    1:25 How Emily got into science

    5:05 Audiology and undergrad at University of Auckland

    11:58 PGDipSci in Biomed

    15:10 Masters in Audiology

    18:00 Thesis topic

    19:51 Experience of the Masters

    28:28 Certificate of Clinical Competence (after employment)

    33:00 Advice Emily would give to her 18-year old self



    Find us on all our socials:

    https://www.facebook.com/Scigradnz

    https://www.instagram.com/scigradnz/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgnz-science-grads-new-zealand/



    Credit

    Logo: Denny Lee

    Intro: "Cali" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-cali-1171/?fbclid=IwAR0yGsfL9GEURuj4VpzFIUKdXmmH1Pik3YxUokmsKJ1QLNQdaPJC-HKsNsg)

    Outro: "U Said It V13 Soundcloud" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-u-said-it-v13-souncloud-1167/?fbclid=IwAR0tQaXzxiON3LN9hmMY14hZlVSafDuz8T3DIXfDBoKttlnEdpnTK9shyag)

    • 36 min
    S2E4 Utsav Patel

    S2E4 Utsav Patel

    NEW EPISODE ALERT 🚨

    Utsav is a fourth year PhD student at Duke University researching particle physics within the ATLAS experiment.

    He previously attained a First Class Honours in Physics alongside a Bachelor’s Degree in Science with a major in Physics and a minor in Mathematics at the University of Auckland.

    In his transition from New Zealand to the states - especially in the confusing process of applying to international graduate programs, Utsav has learnt a lot and looks to help anyone that is considering further studies in international universities.

    LINK IN BIO

    Timestamps

    0:15 Intro

    1:11 What got you into science?

    2:20 The influence of high school physics for Utsav

    3:35 Physics vs Engineering

    4:46 Lorenzo and Utsav reminisce over inorganic chemistry while Kai Man gets PTSD from his first year physics course

    6:30 Most people take physics just as part of the "Asian 5" for budding biomedical science students

    7:15 Astronomy in University of Auckland

    7:45 The paths/specialisations in physics

    8:34 Utsav specializes in particle physics

    9:53 Honours is where you really dive into your specialty

    12:25 The benefits of an entire class/paper dedicated to lab work

    15:56 Finishing undergraduate and Utsav's options

    17:00 PhD talk and Postgrad talk

    20:36 Specifics on Utsav's Honours thesis

    22:50 Utsav praising engineering prowess

    23:33 How he got to Duke University from Auckland

    25:35 Utsav runs a panel with friends to assist budding students in NZ in their applications to PhD in America

    29:50 American university shortlist

    31:00 Kai Man would pick based on NCAA and chances of watching an NBA basketball prospect

    33:10 Utsav and Lorenzo are San Antonio Spurs fans

    34:10 Enjoying your time in university is important

    34:57 What are the first two years of American PhDs like?

    37:20 Utsav is still in particle physics but with a different focus

    41:54 Applying for a PhD in a different country is confusing. Always ask for help from anyone.

    42:54 Final question: what advice would you give to past you or other people in similar situations?

    Find us on all our socials:

    https://www.facebook.com/Scigradnz

    https://www.instagram.com/scigradnz/

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/sgnz-science-grads-new-zealand/

    Credit

    Logo: Denny Lee

    Intro: "Cali" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-cali-1171/?fbclid=IwAR0yGsfL9GEURuj4VpzFIUKdXmmH1Pik3YxUokmsKJ1QLNQdaPJC-HKsNsg)

    Outro: "U Said It V13 Soundcloud" By Jonas Bjørnstad (https://pixabay.com/music/beats-u-said-it-v13-souncloud-1167/?fbclid=IwAR0tQaXzxiON3LN9hmMY14hZlVSafDuz8T3DIXfDBoKttlnEdpnTK9shyag)

    • 45 min

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