MULTIPLE HATS: STEM Careers | Reinvention | Entrepreneurship |Thought Leadership

STEM Career Myths: The Sneaky Beliefs That Stall Your Progress with Nina Hooper

MULTIPLE HATS: STEM Careers | Reinvention | Entrepreneurship |Thought Leadership

Show Notes

Which career myth is secretly holding you back: thinking hard work is enough, that skills don’t transfer, or that your work will speak for itself?

🔍 What You’ll Learn: In just 10 minutes, Nina Hooper, astrophysicist turned entrepreneur and now business development director at Interlune, shows you how to reframe the beliefs that limit most STEM professionals. If you’re ready to stop playing small and start shaping your own career, this quickfire chat delivers clarity and motivation fast. Why your technical skills transfer further than you think — and which ones transfer best. How working smarter (and asking for help) beats grinding harder every time. Why visibility and storytelling matter more than letting your work “speak for itself.” How to move past perfectionism, analysis paralysis, and the myth that you need “all the resources” before you can start. 🎯 Press play for a mindset reset that could open your next big opportunity in STEM.

🧠 About the Guest: Nina Hooper is an Australian aerospace engineer turned entrepreneur and investor. She has studied at Harvard and Stanford, launched startups, worked in venture capital, and is now Director of Business Development at Interlune, a company pioneering lunar resource extraction.

📌 Episode Highlights: 00:00 Busting STEM career myths in 10 minutes 01:00 Why technical skills transfer beyond academia 03:00 Working smarter vs. working harder 05:00 Getting past analysis paralysis and perfectionism 07:00 Do you really need more resources to start? 09:00 Why visibility matters more than “great work alone”

🔗 Resources Mentioned: Nina Hooper on LinkedIn Interlune – Lunar Resources Company

🤔 Reflection Time: Which STEM career myth do you secretly believe — and what would shift if you dropped it? Where could you work smarter by asking for help or using tools instead of grinding harder? Who could you share your vision with this month to increase your visibility and attract new opportunities?

Want to craft a career story that opens doors? I help STEMM professionals speak with clarity, confidence, and purpose and show up as thought leaders —so the right opportunities find you. 📬 Let’s connect: angeliquegreco.com.au | LinkedIn

⭐️ Help More People Reinvent Their Careers If you enjoyed this episode, please: ✅ Leave a quick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify 🙏 ♻️ Share it with a friend who's questioning their path in STEM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from MULTIPLE HATS: STEM Careers | Reinvention | Entrepreneurship |Thought Leadership

Oct 12, 2026

You have promising science. But is there actually a commercial opportunity behind it? And if you’re considering moving from scientist to entrepreneur, how do you know whether your research has the ingredients for a biotech company?

Sep 28, 2026

What happens when scientists stop presenting their research to other scientists and put it in front of biotech and drug development experts instead? The questions change. Suddenly it isn’t only, “Does the science work?” It’s also: Who is the patient? What is the indication? What evidence do you need next? What could stop this programme? Who needs to partner with you? And what would a credible path to the clinic actually look like?

Sep 14, 2026

Should your research become a medicine? And if it has commercial potential, should you be the scientist who takes it forward? For academics considering the move from scientist to entrepreneur, that decision starts well before forming a biotech company.

Aug 24, 2026

A rapid-fire conversation on transferable STEM skills, working smarter, visibility and what is actually good enough to start.

Aug 17, 2026

How a nurse turned a recurring healthcare problem into NeedleCalm, and what ten years of building taught her about medtech entrepreneurship.

See all episodes →