Francesca Cappellini a fellow molecular biologist, now a successful science writer, describes how PhD graduates can break free from the invisible obligation of remaining connected to the academic circle and find new career paths with a doctorate degree.
How can we make a career change if we don’t have experience in a similar role?
When I decided I wanted to do science communication, I realized that I needed experience in the field to get a job. The same old paradox, you need a job to gain experience, but you need the experience to get a job.
How to exit the loop?
1- Be aware of your skillset. Sometimes we feel not qualified because we are not aware of the number of transferable skills we have. Being a researcher, I have experience in writing papers, projects, reports, and documents. I presented many times in conferences, meetings, and events for a general and technical audience.
Boy, this is something.
2- You don’t need a paid job to gain expertise. I started volunteering for friends and colleagues. I got in touch with organizations in my dream field and offered my time to get some experience. In this way, i started to get one foot in my dream profession.
3- You don’t need a job title to do what you like. I wanted to do science communication, so I started to communicate science. Open a blog, use social media, use your network. Show who you are and what can you offer. Sometimes a perspective change is all we need. What do you think? What is your experience? Tomorrow I will share some more tips.
For the original post click here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/francesca-cappellini_science-job-career-activity-6684022691248275457-gE8A
