Advisers Should Ban the Word 'Placement'
We only list the career outcomes of students we placed ourselves. Our Ph.D. alums who work as professors internationally all got their positions on their own, so we don't include them." Or the nonacademic placements either. The problem is the word …
Read more on Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription)

Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
We look for people with interesting achievements and those who've made the most of their other non-academic opportunities. Candidates should be adaptable, capable of thinking on their feet and problem solvers. A range of work/life experiences …
Read more on TARGETjobs

4 Georgia districts strike out these days in Race to the Top
Other goals are to make confident 85 % of seniors are competitive for admission to colleges in the University System of Georgia and a hundred percent of seniors are profession-ready when they graduate. To achieve these objectives, the district has set forth …
Study far more on Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)

Students gain real-world experience through hands-on classes
Director of Career Services Patricia Rose said, “The experience can be very valuable for students, particularly for those who may not have much work experience.” “It gives them the opportunity to interact with professionals in another setting,” Rose …
Read more on The Daily Pennsylvanian

The worldwide impact of open access to MIT faculty research
… Open Access Articles Collection in DSpace@MIT reveal that faculty articles have helped a wide range of people — students trying to complete professional and undergraduate degrees; professors at universities with limited access to scholarly …
Read more on MIT News

UF President Machen welcomes new students
The earlier you begin your careers as researchers, scholars and professionals, the earlier you will succeed in graduate school or in fields outside the university. As new students, you may not yet be aware that you will be witnessing history during …
Read more on The Independent Florida Alligator

UK Coal To Close Mine As Profit Collapses
Now wait for all the unionists and other commies protesting that the mine must be kept open irrespective of not being viable because their members need a job. And then, of course, ….. We are good at it. It creates real jobs and good (non academic …
Read more on Yahoo! News UK

Neet figures reach 1 million
She cited a lack of training and work opportunities and the paucity of high-quality careers advice and information, which left non-academic young people with little support. 'Reducing high youth unemployment depends on returning the economy as a whole …
Read more on Public Finance

Archives > Casa Grande Dispatch > News
This change was made because of unanticipated overcrowding in the non-academic centers and many parents' requesting that their students be allowed to leave after sixth period. Beginning the day with RETEACH allows students who are not assigned to …
Read more on TriValley Central

More budget cuts ahead for state health care, universities
In addition, the national economy and job growth have been slow, he noted. "There is a nervousness out there in all sorts of ways," … "Reductions should first come from central and nonacademic functions," he said. Officials with the Department of …
Read more on Atlanta Journal Constitution

UVA Starts Board Repair After President Ouster Crisis
Such threats to accreditation — key to universities' eligibility for government funds — and reputation because of non-academic issues have put boards on notice, MacTaggart said. “If there's anything good to come out of this, … MBA Job Hunt: The …
Read more on Businessweek

UVA Starts Board Repair After President Ouster Crisis
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is investigating the attempted ouster of Sullivan at UVA. Such threats to accreditation — key to universities' eligibility for government funds — and reputation because of non …
Read more on Bloomberg

GCC urged to align education with labor market to spur jobs creation
This likely to prove critical for substantially boosting the numbers of people placed in the labor market given the numerical dominance of jobs that require non-academic skills and qualifications anywhere in the world. For instance, while Saudi Arabia …
Read more on Saudi Gazette

US recession's other victim: public universities
Despite more than $ 235 million in spending cuts and cost-saving measures to non-academic areas since 2004 — ranging from limiting the colors of Post-it notes to installing dual flush toilets to save water — the University of Michigan is fortunate …
Read more on Reuters

Compulsory maths lessons until 18 would be a miscalculation
We absolutely need a mathematically literate cohort of school graduates to fill university places and technical jobs, but this is not solved by forcing everyone to study maths. It's important to ask which are the pupils who will be most affected by …
Read more on EducationGuardian.co.uk

Mitch Daniels Protested As Purdue University's Next President By Students …
"It's a travesty for a nonacademic to head a great research university," Haring told WISH-TV. Over the weekend, Haring joined a group of around 75 …. Boren does very well in the fundraising part of his job. Daniels has an undergrad degree from …
Read more on Huffington Post

Guide to choosing a local high school
“It means there's a nice blend of academic and non-academic programming,” explained Brenda Sautner, associate superintendent with the Fort McMurray Public School District. … “We've tried to change our focus to become a science and technology and …
Read more on Fort McMurray Today

More education does not make you more employable
Anna Bellamy-McIntyre's (HES, June 20) situation is similar to my own, but what response does Australia offer those humanities postgraduates who can neither find a job in universities nor are welcomed by the secondary education sector? … If you …
Read more on The Australian

Plan B and Bob Dylan
This dialogue was a reaction to a statement in the fall by the president of American Historical Association about removing the stigma of Plan B from a nonacademic career path. In the report, a assortment of opinions had been voiced about modifying the …
Read far more on Inside Higher Ed

 

The Radical New Humanities Ph.D.
The Stanford document proposes a situation where college students make a decision on a profession strategy — academic or nonacademic — they want to embark on by the end of their second-year of graduate research, file the strategy with their division, and then put together tasks and …
Read a lot more on Inside Greater Ed

 

Science Ph.D. students interest in faculty jobs decreases above time
This study suggests that science Ph.D. students need to have more info and resources about pursuing non-academic careers, the authors create. This research offers distinctive survey proof concerning students occupation preferences, supporting frequent issues …
Study much more on EurekAlert (press release)

 

Sufficient is sufficient. UE grads informed to leave residence, get a task
… deal with at Saturday commencement ceremonies in the Ford Center, but not before stealing some laughter and applause from the family members sections with a bit of nonacademic guidance. Move away from property and get task as soon as achievable, Kazee mentioned.
Study more on Evansville Courier & Press

 

Given the current dismal job prospects in tenure-track science academia, it’s no wonder more science PhDs are exploring alternative career options. Although we were groomed to succeed our mentors in the academy, bench life isn’t for everyone. Some of us don’t have the passion for conducting the same meticulous experiments day after day or the wherewithal to generate the endless grant writing required for PI survival. We are tired of spending nights and weekends in the lab, sacrificing sleep and social life to experiment-based timetables. But what non-bench career options are available that utilize our doctoral experience?

As postdocs, we are responsible for staying current with research in our field. However, sometimes that field is so narrow that we find ourselves unable to converse with other scientists about our work, much less attempt to explain it to our family and friends. We are intelligent detail-lovers, but we can also be generalists. A broad understanding of contemporary science is essential in order to produce high impact research, which is typically a by-product of collaboration. But inter-disciplinary collaboration produces more than prominent publications; it enhances our ability to communicate science across other fields. Some scientists are gifted communicators with a knack for relating research to anyone. And for those who can put research into a social and political perspective to engage and enlighten a non-technical audience, science writing may be the perfect career path.

Science writing encompasses a variety of career prospects, from technical writers who prepare users manuals for biotechnology companies to science journalists who work for media outlets. Science journalists don’t always write for lay audiences, though. Some write for professional audiences in institutional or society newsletters, alumni magazines and in-house publications. For science PhDs interested in public relations, there are a myriad of public information positions available at universities, non-profit organizations, government agencies and private research foundations. These organizations seek spokespeople as conduits through which research can be articulated to the public. For example, public information officers write press releases that are distributed to the media and serve as liaisons between reporters and institutional staff.

Trading pipette for pen is a daunting transition, but postdocs would be surprised at how they already fulfill the job requirements. Science writers are expected to attend scientific meetings, read journals, and maintain contact with scientists in their field of interest in order to stay current on advances in the area. Depending on the size of their organization, science writers may be responsible for covering a wide range of science or they may have a narrow range of interest such as biotechnology or neuroscience. Science writers, like postdocs, spend their professional life continually learning. Each article challenges them to master a new vocabulary and become familiar with new concepts. All science writers share a common responsibility: to monitor research developments and translate information of interest to their audience. The advent of social media has many science writers producing more than print journalism. Podcasts and videocasts are becoming popular, and prospective science writers need not only an in-depth understanding of their topic, but also the ability to accurately and clearly communicate research to a broad audience.

So how do you know if science writing is right for you? Dr. Sue Ambrose, science writer for The Dallas Morning News, offers advice for aspiring science writers in Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower, a book I recommend for any science PhD who is considering alternative career options outside academia. As Dr. Ambrose puts it, good science writers “would rather learn a little about many areas of science than spend the rest of [their] career focused on a single, narrow field.” If you savor the sense of accomplishment that comes with publication, loathe writing in the context of academic prose, and would be relieved to never have to run another experiment again, then science writing is a career to consider. If the prospect of returning to the classroom isn’t appealing, there are other ways to launch a career in scientific journalism that don’t necessitate financial investment in formal coursework. Several awards, fellowships, and grants are available to aspiring science writers; a listing of these opportunities is maintained by the National Association of Science Writers. AAAS sponsors an annual Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows Program that places STEM graduate and post-graduate students at media organizations nationwide. The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is also a great resource for the science writing community, and includes a guide to careers in science writing.

As trained scientists, we anticipated a future at the bench. But for many of us, due to the current state of the academic and industry job market, alternative career options represent more tenable choices. And for those who love science but not lab work, science writing may offer the perfect solution.

Meghan Mott (PostDocs)