Aggie Branczyk interviews Brigette Oakes, who did her PhD in Engineering Physics, and is now the Director of Propulsion in the aerospace industry. Brigette shares her typical, balancing design reviews, technical advice, and leadership responsibilities for a team of 65. She discusses her journey from an individual contributor to a leadership role, and how her background in theoretical physics shaped her approach in aerospace. Brigette also sheds light on the importance of networking, even as an introvert, and embracing one's authentic self in a professional setting. She ends with some great advice about casting a wide net when exploring your career options. Aggie Branczyk on LinkedIn Brigette Oakes on LinkedIn Podcast video on YouTube Opening music by Alexey Ivanov from Pixabay. --- Aggie works at IBM as a Senior Research Scientist on the Quantum Computational Science team, and the opinions shared in this podcast are her own and are not in any way endorsed by IBM.