The job did not exist so she built one that combines art, science and education
A conversation with Dr. Sue Pillans, marine biologist and founder of Picture Your Ideas, who designed a career around all of who she is without leaving Rainbow Beach
The job did not exist.
So she built one that combines art, science and education.
Most people think they have to choose.
Science or creativity
Stability or freedom
Career or lifestyle
Dr. Sue Pillans refused to.
Sue started her career the way many STEM professionals do.
A PhD in marine science.
Roles across government, university, and research organisations.
A path that, on paper, made complete sense.
But something was missing.
“I wasn’t really happy in the work that I was doing… there’s gotta be something else out there.”
If you’ve ever felt that, start here → Know thyself
At the same time, there were other parts of her that never quite fit into that path.
She had always been drawing.
Writing stories as a child.
Taking watercolour classes for years on the side.
Skills that were there.
But not part of her “career”.
She didn’t leave science.
She expanded it into something new.
What changed everything was not a plan. It was perspective, the kind that life you give unprompted and frankly, unwanted.
After losing her younger sister to cancer, the question became very simple:
What’s the worst that can happen?
“If it doesn’t work, I’ll just find another job.”
That moment didn’t give her a clear plan but it gave her permission to live her life in her own terms.
Then came the moment most people miss.
She saw someone doing a job she didn’t know existed.
A visual storyteller. Someone who listens to complex conversations and turns them into drawings in real time.
So she did something most people don’t do.
She didn’t analyse it for months.
She didn’t wait to feel ready.
She:
took a 3-hour course
quit her job
started the business the next day with a job that didn’t really fully exist… and certainly not in Australia
That first step was small.
What followed was years of building, adapting, and figuring it out.
Today, that business looks nothing like a standard job.
She works as a:
marine scientist
visual artist
facilitator
author and illustrator
educator touring classroom dressed up as Dr. Suzie Startfish (yeah, dressed up as a jelly fish).
business owner
All at once.
And the core of it is simple:
Make the complex simple.
Make the simple compelling.
Her work translates years of research into a single visual.
“I’ve spent 25 years doing this… and you’ve made it simple.”
That’s the feedback she gets. That’s not just drawing. That’s trenscending!
That’s synthesis.
That’s communication.
That’s value.
What’s interesting is not just the story.
It’s the pattern.
Most people try to fit into roles that exist.
She started from:
what she cared about
what she was good at
where she wanted to live
And built from there.
Even location.
She didn’t move to a big city to make it work.
She built a career that lets her move between cities and Rainbow Beach, using each for what it gives her.
That’s my favourite part. People told her, You can’t really work from Rainbow Beach… but eh Just watch her do it!
There’s also a reality most people ignore.
This didn’t work overnight.
It took years to feel financially stable
She relied on support early on
She built the business step by step
“Running a small business is full of risk… you just have to adapt.”
The takeaway
If you feel like you don’t fit any role,
it might not be because you’re unclear.
It might be because you’re trying to fit into something too small.
If this made you think “I want this”, listen to how she actually built it Listen to the full story
What this might mean for you
If this resonated, it’s worth asking a simple question:
Are you trying to find the right role…
or are you trying to build one that fits you?
If you’re at that point:
Clarity is what lets you stop defaulting into roles that don’t fit
and start shaping something that does.