Science Journalism Resources / Careers Outside of Academia
Liz Kimbrough
lizkimbrough@gmail.com
Jan 2021
Science Communication
Science Communication Jobs
· Journalism: Staff or Freelance
· Public information officer (POI)/science writer for institution (Universities, NASA, USGS, museums, etc.)
· Science communication for a journal (Nature, PLoS, Science, etc.)
· Blogs (https://scienceblogs.com/, Why science blogging still matters)
· Podcasts (https://mashable.com/article/best-science-podcasts/)
Science Writing/Journalism Resources
Education
The Open Notebook: Amazing website with all things scicomm (See: Getting Started in Science Journalism)
New to Science Writing from NASW
Poynter News U: Online journalism classes
CommSciCon: Science communication workshops for graduate students
How to pitch a story: (example pitches, tips)
Professional Organizations
National Association for Science Writers (Virtual internship fair Feb 6!)
Society for Environmental Journalism
Books
A Field Guide for Science Writers
Internships/Mentorships
Mongabay: 6-month internship to build portfolio
Ensia Mentor Program: Pitch an idea and get paired with a mentor
AAAS Media Fellowship: For scientists at end of or just out of grad school
AAAS Diverse Voices in Science Journalism
Top Graduate Programs
UC Santa Cruz Science Communication
Great science writers
Places to find great science writing
New York Times science section
Mongabay
The Best American Science and Nature Writing (book published annually)
Other tips
Look for ways to cover conferences you attend or look for stories there to pitch
Write something for your local/school paper.
Reach out to your University’s public information officer.
For scientists who want to write about their own research check out The Conversation
Jobs outside of Academia “Scategories”
· Field Technician: government, industry, research assistant
· Environmental Consultant
· Land Trust (Land Trust Alliance)
· Policy (AAAS Policy Fellowship, UN, UNESCO, EPA, etc.)
· Wild Tech: satellite monitoring, Lidar, Planet satellites, Global Forest Watch, NASA, Spatial Ecology Lab, Asner lab, Your own Dr. Fernandes!
· Teaching (Many private schools hire grad level scientists to teach)
· Science Outreach: science centers, museums
· Management (City planner, water management)
· Non-Profit
· Government (USGS, USFWS, NOAA, USDA, EPE, etc).
o Usajobs.gov is a tricky place. It really helps to know someone on the inside to guide you through the application. Meet these people at job fairs, conferences, by volunteering or just send a short email to start a conversation.
Ways to find jobs
· Job Boards: Society for Conservation Biology, Idealist, usajobs.gov, Job postings for professional organizations
· Versatile Ph.D.: Empowering PhDs and post docs to build careers
· Build relationships whenever/wherever possible
· Talk to your school career center or a career counselor
· Attend Conferences
· Social Media
· Read the CV’s and bios of those you admire
Grad School Writing (Grants/Papers):
Form a writing group with your peers/professors. Meet every week for an hour, minimum. Each week you discuss your work with a partner (exchange a few days prior to group) AND each week the entire group focuses on the work of one member on a rotating, as need basis.
Unsolicited Opinions
· Relationships are the most important thing.
· Figuring out what you DON’T want to do is a success.
· Paradox of choice: Choices can be overwhelming. Don’t tread water. Just swim in a direction. If you end up somewhere you don’t like…great! That’s one less choice and your swimming muscles are now stronger to take you in a new direction with more efficiency.
· Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0
· Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
