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>> So my first job
outside of grad school was
a Science Policy fellow
at Research America.
And I got this job largely thanks to
the Professional Development
and Careers Office.
So I met people from Research America
at a seminar and after it was over,
I came up to her and asked
if we could partner up
and host an event at Hopkins.
So after this event, I applied for jobs,
and that's how she knew who I was
and that's where I got the position.
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My day to day changes from day to day.
It varies a lot from a lot
of reading, and writing,
current events to
organizing meetings for our
committee members to doing
things like organizing
for Hill day.
So it varies depending on
what kind of activities
we have going on.
So a lot of the work
that I do is to ensure
that members of the
American Society for Biochemistry
and Molecular Biology
are well represented in Congress.
But also have a voice when the
National Institute of Health,
or the National Science Foundation
implements new policies.
So we want to make sure
that those policies benefit
our members.
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When I was applying for
science policy fellowships,
I made sure to include
all of the opportunities
that I had taken when I was a grad student
to do science policy activities.
Like email writing, and a
letter writing campaigns.
I also made sure to convey
why the skills I learned
as a grad student would transfer very well
to these positions.
And also so, one thing I recommend,
if you're a graduate student, post doc,
or scientist looking
to make his transition,
this is the perfect
opportunity to do these
different types of advocacy activities.
And if there are none that
exist in your institution,
you should start one,
and there's no reason
why you shouldn't be able to do that.
So during the interview,
I made sure to not only
talk about the job
description and address how
my skills matched those descriptions,
but I also thought about the
job in a much broader aspect.
So thinking about how this
job can grow in the next few
years, what I can do to
meet the mission statement
of the organization as a whole.
So I made sure, before my interviews,
I did a lot of calls to people
I knew at the organization
to find out insider information about
what was important to the organization.
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One myth in working in
science policy and advocacy
is that I think, or in
any job that is outside
of the bench, I think is the myth that
you cannot return to the bench.
I think that a lot of
scientists are afraid
that once they make that
leap outside of academia
that they can't go back.
So I think that's a
really false perception,
and I think people do
make that transition back.
Another thing about science policy
is that it can be boring, the
myth is that it can be boring.
But it is very fast paced, very dynamic,
and things just change all the time.
It's a lot of fun, I do
mostly read and write
for my job, but a lot of it is to make
and have opinions on policies
and activities that happen on the hill.
So we do have an opportunity
to make a big impact.
And sometimes it can
seem very frustrating.
But those times where
you can see your work
manifest itself and change,
that's really worth it.
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So if you're a Postdoc
or a grad student looking
to get into science
policy, I would recommend
seeking opportunities
first in your institution,
because usually they have
science policy groups
that have already
opportunities for grad students
and post docs.
If not, start your own,
or make a phone call
to your legislator, write a letter.
What concerns do you have?
Convey that to them and see whether or not
it's something you like.
And that's something people who are hiring
science policy advocates usually look for
is the experience.
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