She hosts the YouTube channel, Dr. Erin Explains the Universe, teaches STEM through popular culture, and consults with science fiction creators.

[1][2] Macdonald credits fictional characters such as Dana Scully and Kathryn Janeway (the latter of whom she even acknowledges in her Ph.D. dissertation)[3] with providing the inspiration to pursue a science career.

[citation needed] Macdonald did post-doctoral work with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) collaboration as part of an attempt to detect gravitational waves from the Crab Pulsar.

[4] While searching for a better work-life balance than that provided in research and academia, Macdonald found opportunities to still teach through a combination of conducting introductory courses and speaking at science fiction conventions.

She would discover that these activities put her “in front of students and kids who may find inspiration in a punk-redhead woman covered in tattoos who also happens to have a PhD.”[citation needed] After deciding not to pursue an academic research career, Macdonald began giving talks at science fiction conventions in the areas of her expertise that link the science to the various fandoms of her audience members.