Top tips:
Further reading:
Science communication: Whose responsibility is it?
Science communication: Sculpting your role
Science communication: How to deal with misrepresented science in the media
Science communication: Do you need a PhD?
Developing extra skills in your spare time will help demonstrate your passion for science communication in an interview.
Top tips:
Further reading:
Science communication: Whose responsibility is it?
Science communication: Sculpting your role
Science communication: How to deal with misrepresented science in the media
Simplicity of communication, the rush of the working environment, the lack of experience with the media and the ability to understand science without a scientific background were the biggest surprises for the careers in science communication panelists at the 2015 London Naturejobs Career Expo.
Belinda Quick thought she was good at taking complex ideas and distilling them into simple, accessible messages. However, during every performance review she’s had whilst working in industry as a science communicator, she’s been told that her messages aren’t simple enough. Everyone’s view of what keeping it simple means can vary dramatically.
For Anke Sparmann, when transitioning from the lab to the magazine, is the difference in time management. In academia, when working at the bench, there are occasionally some down-times when you can relax/rest whilst waiting for an experiment to finish. In publishing, this down-time doesn’t exist. Sparmann constantly finds herself busy with no time to check emails or relax.
When Catherine Ball was working in science, she didn’t believe that those without a scientific background should, or could, make decisions based on scientific evidence. Now, working as a policy analyst, she has realised that they can grasp scientific concepts. “You can be a non-scientists and still be able to understand and use scientific knowledge appropriately.”
For Robert Dawson however, the surprise was the opposite: “The number of people that just don’t get it.” Here he is referring to scientists who don’t understand how the media works. They will come with their month-old research paper to a press office, and ask that it be put on the front pages of the national newspapers. What Dawson finds difficult to deal with is people constantly asking things that are unachievable, and it’s difficult to explain to them why that is the case.
Further reading:
Science communication: Whose responsibility is it?
Science communication: Sculpting your role
Science communication: How to deal with misrepresented science in the media
In science PR there is an argument as to whether or not you need a science qualification, says Robert Dawson from Cancer Research UK. Some say that having a scientific qualification can hinder your ability to see the bigger picture, and translate it into something the lay public can understand. Proponents of a science background in science communication say it’s critical to understand the scientific process. He personally has had undergraduate training in biology, and he falls back on it time and time again.
In policy a PhD is very useful, says Catherine Ball, policy analyst at the House of Lords Science Select Committee. Haivng spent time in academic research and having completed extended pieces of research, you understand the scientific landscape and the policies that shape it, like open access or funding, for example. Plus the experience of writing a thesis, and the data management and everything that comes along with it, can be a great experience.
For a career as a scientific editor, a PhD is crucial, says Anke Sparmann, an editor at Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. You cannot do the job without a PhD because your link with academia is so close. Most editors actually have postdoctoral experience as well, as this will have given them time to build a wider network.
In industry the need for a PhD varies, depending on the sector and type of company you’re in, and also how quickly the landscape is changing, says Belinda Quick from Mondelez International. She works with a team of people, some of whom have a PhD (herself included) and others who don’t. For her, the biggest factor is being able to marry the skills from your PhD training to the skills of good communication. The PhD means you have a core resolve, an ability to persevere and an ability to analyse, all important skills when you have to apply it to a breadth of topics that you experience in science communication. But this doesn’t mean it is essential to have one.
Further reading:
Science communication: Whose responsibility is it?
Science communication: Sculpting your role
Science communication: How to deal with misrepresented science in the media
Robert Dawson, communications manager at Cancer Research UK, was one of four speakers on the careers in science communication panel at the 2015 London Naturejobs Career Expo.
Media outlets are giving information in a variety of ways, whether in list formats like those on Buzzfeed, or long feature articles.
But often, with the shorter, and often faster production times of the content, the science can be misleading and incorrect. So, Cancer Research UK works with organisations to do myth-busting: where the media has misrepresented science and needs correcting. The NHS has a section on their website called Behind the Headlines, which does a similar thing.
His advice is to give the audience articles in the form that they want, whether in Facebook posts or Buzzfeed articles, but make sure that the content is accurate.
Further reading:
Guest contributor Viviane Callier
Recruiting a critical mass of good students and postdocs is one of the first challenges for a new investigator to establish their lab. “It is easy to order equipment, but much harder to staff the lab and create a lab culture,” says Courtney Babbitt, assistant professor of biology at UMass Amherst, MA since fall 2014.
Recruiting is especially challenging for those who do not have a big name or a history of steady funding to attract trainees, like new faculty. It can be difficult to draw talent to geographically undesirable locations and/or less prestigious institutions, because big cities may offer a variety of career and networking opportunities (in academia and elsewhere), as well as cultural activities that contribute to quality of life. But students and postdocs are needed to help collect data that and move the lab’s long-term research agenda forward; they also bring complementary skill sets, fresh ideas and new research directions. Continue reading
In the Careers in Industry panel at the 2015 London Naturejobs Career Expo, Steve Martin from GSK says that big pharma hires people with deep specialisms all the time, but after five or so years, many have moved into fields they haven’t experienced before. Simon Mosey from the University of Nottingham has made a living in moving between departments, and his advice is to keep an eye on the bigger picture.
In industry, as long as you keep the main vision of the company in mind, then there is a considerable amount of latitude to move fields within a company.
Top tips:
1) Express interest as soon as you come across an idea that is interesting.
2) Keep an eye on the bigger picture.
3) Network: You might meet someone who can be a great collaborator.
4) Find out if a company offers secondments to try a different area.
Further reading:
Guest contributor Viviane Callier
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When Tak Sing Wong became a newly minted professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Penn State University in University Park, he realized he was walking a tightrope.
Maintaining a productive collaboration with his postdoc mentor was important, but he also knew he had to show his tenure committee that he was intellectually and financially independent.
Wong isn’t the only one facing this challenge. Many assistant professors struggle to establish themselves, and most universities provide little formal guidance for making the transition, though informal mentoring from more established faculty can help. Many young scientists have likened the process of going up for tenure to a black box. “As a new principal investigator, you are really starting over from scratch. It’s a different skill set” than that of a postdoc, says Dan Speiser, a first-year biology assistant professor at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina.
Still, many young academics have learned, by trial and error and informal mentoring, to establish themselves as independent investigators. Continue reading
At the 2015 London Naturejobs Career Expo, Frances Ashcroft, physiology professor at the University of Oxford, told the story of how, despite experimental disasters, she still managed to get her work published in Science and Nature. In this Q&A, as part of the Careers in Academia panel, Ashcroft shares how she managed to make this happen.
Top tips:
Further reading:
Writing for international journals: Tips and tricks
Careers in academia: The different options
Careers in academia: How to get a PhD position
Careers in academia: How to avoid getting pigeon-holed
Careers in academia: How to get a senior staff scientist position
Frances Aschroft, physiology professor at the University of Oxford, James Hadfield, manager of the genomics core facility at the University of Cambridge, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and Anna Price, career advisor at Queen Mary University, London, all panellists at the 2015 London Naturejobs Career Expo, are asked to give advice to someone who wants to become a staff scientist.
Top tips
Further reading:
A guide to informational interviewing
Informational interviews and job shadowing
Wanted: Staff scientist positions for postdocs
Career paths: Staff scientists backed
Careers in academia: The different options