To a Start-up, the Space Force, and Beyond! A path to being a physicist with 'only' a bachelor

"To go anywhere in physics you need a Ph.D.!" Students studying physics tend to hear this advice in some form or another during their studies. The path of earning a bachelor's degree, then a Ph.D., getting a few postdocs then ultimately achieving a professorship is the path laid for many undergraduates. In this talk, I will discuss the impact this advice had on my early academic trajectory, my path to researching dark matter at international laboratories, and ultimately, my success in the commercial world with "only" a bachelor's degree. I will present a different path for physics students, encompassing my leaps into the space industry, becoming "Director of Physics Programs" at a space start-up, and solving hard problems for the Space Force. I'll also highlight the value of graduate degrees and spending time working in the 'real world'.