Hi Renee,
Some of the Solar Week scientists study the Sun, but I am not one of them. I actually study the Earth's magnetosphere and processes related to the aurora borealis (northern lights) and Van Allen radiation belts. Understanding the aurora and radiation belts are an important part of forecasting space weather. Normally, the northern lights are only visible at high latitudes, in places like Alaska and Canada. During a geomagnetic storm, the northern lights can be observed over much of the United States, far south of their usual locations. The electrons accelerated to relativistic energies in the Van Allen radiation belts during a geomagnetic storm can damage communication satellites and pose a radiation risk to astronauts.
If I was not a space scientist, I might be an engineer who builds spacecraft instead. In my current job, I mainly analyze electric and magnetic field data, as well as particle data, from satellites in the Earth's magnetosphere. Although I have tested scientific instruments that have been, or will be, flown on a satellite or sounding rocket, I have not actually been involved in designing and building the satellite that will carry the instruments into space. I think it would be really interesting to work on the design of a satellite and the systems that keep all of the instruments operating.
Of course, there are other jobs outside of science & engineering that I think would be really fun. Several years ago, I worked in a museum exhibit about movie make-up and special effects. The photograph in my Solar Week biography is from this exhibit. A few months ago, I volunteered on the screening committee for an independent film festival. I really enjoy watching movies and learning about what goes into making them. I think another job I would enjoy is making special effects and computer animation for movies and television. It might also be fun to be a science consultant for a movie.
Kris