Re: [ECOLOG-L] Recent PhDs on Food Stamps - Overwhelmed with Replies
As someone who has worked in both academia and for a Federal government agency, I can attest to what Chris just posted. Getting a permanent position (at a Ph.D. Level) in a science agency is possibly as difficult as getting a tenure-track position at a university--maybe more so in some cases. However, such jobs do add to the range of possibilities for a graduate. Also, if you have only a BS or MS, there are many more possibilities in government than for a Ph.D. It's also true that non-academic jobs are highly competitive with hundreds of applicants. What can give someone an edge is having had an internship during undergraduate or graduate school, even an unpaid one, with a science agency. You learn the ropes, get some training, and also make important contacts. I had dozens of undergraduate interns from the local university, mostly paid, but I did accept summer volunteers who really wanted the experience of doing research in my lab. I was usually able to find some funds to help even those without a funded position, but the real value was the exposure they got and the contacts they made. I've written many letters of reference for these interns when they later applied for graduate school or jobs. A few went on to get jobs in my agency through me or other contacts they made. If you are in graduate school, take the initiative to get the experience that will qualify you for jobs with state and Federal agencies, consulting firms, and/or NGOs, even if your goal is an academic position. Make contacts in whatever agency or other labs that occur in your area; even volunteer to help with a project. You can also meet government scientists and consultants at science conferences and ask them for information about jobs or advice on how to apply. Even if you are dead set on an academic position, you need to have a good fallback plan. And who knows? You might discover that a non-academic job better suits you. In general, develop better skills at something that sets you apart from all the other candidates with similar degrees and training, for example, in science communication or media, which many science agencies and companies value. That's just one example. Find out what skills, in addition to the basic graduate training you receive, that you might need to land a job with a particular science agency, company, or NGO. K.L. McKee http://thescientistvideographer.com/wordpress
[ECOLOG-L] new eBook
Announcing a new eBook: The Scientist Videographer: Create Your Own Science Videos and Share Your Knowledge With The World. Link to book: http://goo.gl/4pVv4H Watch the book media trailer here: http://goo.gl/jhzpPi Download the book flyer here: http://goo.gl/UbflbN Please share this announcement with colleagues and students who might be interested. This electronic guidebook is a detailed how-to for scientists, science educators, and students who wish to make their own science videos. The book combines text, video tutorials, and other interactive content to show how to plan, shoot, edit, and publish a professional and effective science video. Learn how to use video to demonstrate a new scientific technique or management procedure, create supplemental online material for journal articles, develop job interview/promotion materials, meet the “broader impacts” criterion in a grant proposal, produce online lessons or courses, or explain recent discoveries. Videography skills will become increasingly important for the scientist of the future to keep pace with the rapid changes in communication technology and electronic publishing. As public demand for science information increases and as competition for science jobs, research funding, and space in journals becomes more intense, those scientists with skills in videography and other multimedia will be at a distinct advantage. If you or your students are interested in expanding your communication toolbox to include video, then this book will help you accomplish your goal—and avoid common pitfalls. By following the instructions and embedded tutorials, anyone can quickly acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to create effective and professional science videos. It is written especially for those scientists, educators, and students who want to use video in their teaching or research but cannot afford or don’t have access to a media specialist. For example, readers are shown, step-by-step how to shoot, edit, and publish a science video entirely with a smartphone. Please note that this ebook is designed to be read on an iPad (with iOS 5.1 or later and iBooks 3 or later). You can also read it on a Mac (running OS X 10.9 or later) after downloading the iBooks reader (version 1.0 or later). Future editions will be available for other reading platforms. For more information, visit http://thescientistvideographer.com/wordpress/ebook
