What Is Christian From 'Survivor's' Day Job, and How Is It Impacting His Game?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Season 50, Episode 4 of Survivor.

Christian Hubicki first graced Survivor fans’ screens in Season 37: David vs. Goliath. He quickly won viewers over with his big heart and geeky demeanor. However, his game was cut short, even after surviving an attempted blindside by his ally Gabby Pascuzzi. Naturally, fans were thrilled to learn he’d get another chance in Season 50, and so far, Christian seems to be playing an excellent game.

However, Episode 4’s Tribal Council was likely a make-or-break moment in the contestant’s game as he was the deciding vote between sending Mike White or Emilly Flippen home. Perhaps it was the discussion about players’ careers and how they impact their gameplay that made Christian vote the Hollywood producer out. This viewpoint begged the obvious question: What is Christian's job, and how has it changed his Survivor strategy?

Given that he’s known for being analytical and having the ability to hyper-focus, it’s unsurprising that Christian works as a robotics scientist and professor at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, where he runs the Optimal Robotics Lab with his students.

It’s clear that Christian is passionate about his job, as the Survivor contestant has stated, "I’m taking a childhood dream of doing things with robots and pairing it with an actual profession. We’re developing new cutting-edge research, publishing it, and discussing it with colleagues. I feel so fortunate because you get to marry that joy, that adventure of what you love about robots, with something you get to do for a living."

As Christian mentioned at Tribal Council, any contestant’s day job will inform how they approach the game. So far, influences from Christian’s career are helping his gameplay, but it’s easy to see how things can take a downward turn.

The Survivor contestant is taking the same problem-solving skills he uses at work and implementing them into his strategy. However, the team he collaborates with in the robotics lab isn’t exactly manipulating each other as a matter of the trade, making Christian a risk for putting too much trust in the wrong people.

Given that he works in a naturally trusting environment in which everyone works together towards the same goal, it’s entirely possible that Christian will make the same mistake with Emily that he did with Gabby back in Season 37. In fact, Emily has already broken his trust twice by sharing information Christian had asked her not to repeat. She told pretty much anyone who would listen about a fellow contestant's Idol, and clued Ozzy Lusth into a potential Mike blindside.

So, was Mike correct that Christian is repeating the same patterns of misplaced trust? Or, will Christian’s ability to assess a situation from all possible angles arm him with enough discernment to avoid another blindside? Only time will tell … But we’ll certainly be watching!