Rachel Carson
Carson's boss liked what she did, and asked her to write the introduction to a public brochure about the fisheries bureau. He also had her apply to the first full-time job that became available.  When she took the civil service exam, she outscored all other applicants. In 1936 she became only the second woman to be hired by the Bureau of Fisheries for a full-time, professional position, as a junior aquatic biologist.