I got a job!

I've been waiting to write this blog post for longer than I've been blogging here.  It's a pretty big day!  I accepted my offer letter and am officially going to be a curriculum writer with one of my favorite clients! 

I've got lots of reasons to feel good about this (it's a job!), but I wanted to walk back through some of the key choices and experiences that helped me actually get into a position to take a job I'd never hear of in an industry that didn't exist when I entered school (Lo', those many years ago...).

I struggled a lot with the idea of really moving into a field that is very distant from my previous work.  The job (write a HS curriculum about vocational programs) is certainly not something I need a PhD to do, or a background in virology.  I'll write more about that struggle later, but there were some  things I did in grad school that did help me get this job.  And not just the "hard work and transferable skills" stuff.  I designed a course for undergrads that I taught one semester.  I enjoyed designing the course, but was petrified as an instructor.  That made me think I didn't want to get into education (one reason I hesitated to pursue this).  I also wrote a lot, and made an effort to develop that as a skill.  This was mostly just a couple manuscripts and a dissertation, but while I had colleagues who would rather die of papercuts that put words to paper, I enjoyed the process.  (Although I did totally hate parts of it too).  I hated revisions, so this made me think I was too sensitive to let writign be my primary skill.  By the time I left grad school, I knew I didn't want to be at the bench forever, and I was scared to teach or write.  Nifty.

The day I stopped working I started volunteering at the Carnegie Science Center.  I believed that I probably had some workplace competencies that etc.) my adviser would not be able to speak to (showing up to work on time, dressing appropriately, and I wanted some structure in my long, tedious days of job hunting.  This transformed into a much more responsible position that I had been able to predict, and I was able to (among other things), write and execute scalable demos (for 1-many students, and for all ages).  I did handle a small budget and some other project management skills, but developing demos was the key.

I made a HUGE effort to build up my LinkedIn profile.  I did everything anyone suggested there, including improving my profile to include all my skills and experience, not just my science background, and joined tons of groups.  One group I joined (Possibly a subgroup of Science Jobs- the Freelance group), someone asked for help writing some science lessons.  It didn't sound like anything I'd done before, but I wrote some letter with hubris that said I've got a PhD, I worked at the science center, I can totally smash you lessons.  This lead me to my first client, Words & Numbers.  Work there was sporadic, and after having tried plenty of other routes, I realized I had months of experience in this field (curriculum development), and there seemed to be a lot of off site opportunities.  While I was trying to amass more clients, I ran across an ad for a local company in this industry and applied- again with a letter I thought was ridiculous.  I've often that that I should amend this entry to say that as crazy as I thought the letter was, it was read, and I got the job- well, not the job I applied for but I was able to quit working at the bank to take on writing full time.

After working with them for several months, telling everyone there how much I enjoyed it and how interested I was in more work (and several contract renewals), I decided to take matters into my own hands and told the guy who hired me I was looking to apply to another job at the company.  This prompted a discussion about how I could continue to work with his team in a more permanent basis that VERY SLOWLY (I sent that first email in August) turned into a full time job offer.  Tada!

Obviously, I couldn't have predicted this combination of things, and a lot of the other stuff I was doing prepared me to respond well to what turned out to be the key opportunities.  A few things turned out to be help for me.  I never got good at 'leveraging contacts' to open doors to invisible job opportunities.  I did met loads of folks who gladly shared information about their careers, but I decided that the easiest way to impress someone was by doing the job- that's why I volunteered and took contracts.  And that did give me a chance to impress the people who gave me my job.  And of course, I work for a company that makes online curricula for credit recovery and educational development.  5 years ago the publishing industry wasn't prepared for ebooks, and now there are any number of companies making mixed media learning tools.  It's just not a job I could have gotten prepared for by any traditional route. 

I promise at least one more write up on the internal components of getting and taking this job as well. 

Blogging Professionally: Interview with Chemjobber

One of the things that I have realized while job hunting is that there are plenty of ways to do important, professional things that aren't paid, which means I have a lot more choice about participating.  One model that I really look up to is Chemjobber.  Chemjobber is a blogger who writes about jobs and the job market for chemists.  Chemjobber follows the movements of the American Chemical Society, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and various commentary by science writers on this theme.  It's all very thoughtful stuff, and the blog attracts equally thoughtful commentary and readership.  You don't have to spend much time there (or be a Chemist) to feel like this provides an important place for a community to discuss the under-discussed issue of chemist unemployment and under-employment.

And Chemjobber? He's not paid to maintain this blog, he does it because he wants to.  And actually, that got me curious.  So I asked if he would be willing to talk to me about it: why blog? And of course, he was glad to. I was SO pumped about this conversation before and after so I wanted to share here.

Chemjobber is a really nice guy, the kind of guy who would dedicate hours a week to writing about the issue of employment even though he actually has a job. He sees average chemists struggling, and a lack of dialog about that issue and uses the power of his blog and pseudonym to address it. By blogging, he can collect resources, add to (or start) the dialog and be a fact-checker for other writers.  All this helps get thoughts in order, it allows for ideas to be shared with a critical audience, and sometimes it's even a service.

When asked if it's worth it, he told me that as a scientist he has learned to take his wins very narrowly.  He's been able to connect a few people with jobs, or be an ear for someone navigating some career mystery, and that seems equally, if not more important than being quoted by famous bloggers, or even print journalists.  For him, connecting people with information and elevating a dialogue about the very scary struggle of the average chemist is important.  Worth dedicating time away from his family for.

To be honest, I probably could have guessed most of that about Chemjobber, although I was surprised to learn that he didn't choose to write about this issue because he had experienced unemployment.  Seriously, he just writes about it because it seems important for the community. He's just that kind of guy.

I also wanted to know about the pseudonym, and not just the funny story about how he picked it (someone should make him explain it).  Does a pseudonym protect you?  Give you different freedoms?  He sighed when I asked about this, and said a pseudonym is never better that writing with your own name.  Instead, he uses it to divide this hobby (blogging) from his work.  This is a little surprising, he rarely mentions his work on the blog, and he told me few people at work know he is Chemjobber.  People often don't trust the pseudonym (and this is a good rule of thumb). When he has been contacted by reporters, they can't credit him as a source.  And I think that is part of the reason he maintains the strict difference- the journalist will site Dr. Jobber, chemist at ChemCo, and that isn't really who he represents as a blogger.  Even though we may never fully understand the motivations of the pseudonym, it seems to provide the space for Chemjobber the blogger to be thoughtful, critical and objective (and prolific) in a way that he might not if he thought his employer might read it.

And this got us into the subject of blogging generally.  Chemjobber had lots of thoughts about how to develop a following and encourage discussion with a generally positive community. (Hints: Write lots, and don't pick fights.)  Using a specific mission statement, there seems to be an unending amount of content, but he hasn't seriously discussed women in chemistry or immigration and jobs.  He's found the chemistry community to be dominated by other thoughtful, objectively critical folks who make the dialogues much more engaging (and man, I wish people left such great comments on my blog- seriously, go look at some of that stuff). We talked about how there isn't a similar blog covering the issue for Biologists, or even all of STEM.

My purpose in my own blog so far has been simply to document what I am doing, it's very autobiographical.  I thought it would help me to collect my thoughts on my job hunt, and possibly provide a record for me to share with others, and it certainly has done both.  But I'm coming to a point where I might not need to blog about job hunting anymore.  Would I blog about looking for clients or contracting? Could I do that in a meaningful way, or would I have stumbled on a topic even less likely to spark discussion?  As Chemjobber told me, "It's not nice to write about people on the internet" and I don't want to be whining about my editors or clients. I like blogging, but I think this iteration may have run it's course.  Do I shut it down?  Change course?  Talking with Chemjobber certainly got me thinking about using my blog as a forum to discuss the science policy issues I am interested in.

Getting press for volunteering

Without a doubt, the best thing I have done as a job hunter was to volunteer with my local science center.  It's provided me with many more opportunities then I could have imagined, because I ended up working with a phenomenal team- motivated, bright, well connected, clear vision- who for some reason, really needed what I had to offer at the moment that I walked into their office.  As a result, a lot of fantastic work was done (sure, I contributed some, but it wasn't going to be lame without me), and they are very willing to give me credit and props for adding my unique perspective.  The nature of their work also requires a little more... contact with media outlets and others in the field.  A couple weeks ago, I gave an interview to someone writing a book about informal education.  I gave a quote to someone writing an article about the work that led to the funtastic trip to NySci. 

It's all been a lot of fun, no doubt, but I think it is really helpful to get plugged into to professionals who are willing to promote me for what I have to offer professionally.  I know many scientists feel uncomfortable with self-promotion, either that it feels inappropriate or just difficult to get the chutzpah to do.  One way around this is to work with people who will do it on your behalf.  And, one way to encourage folks to do this for you, is to do it for them as well.  You can give recommendations on LinkedIn, or just talk up your collaborators who have great ideas AND stick to their deadlines.  Perhaps I'll have more ideas on this later, but sharing positive experiences is a really helpful way to add some content to your networking. 

My article is on Page 8

Following the pretty obvious advice to network around when I moved to Seattle, I joined and was quickly added to the board of the Seattle Chapter of the Association of Women in Science.  I'm on the newsletter committee, and I was pretty stoked when we decided that this quarter's newsletter was about bioethics.  I designed a course in bioethics for undergrads as a graduate student, and it was a lot of fun to put together and teach- so in addition to bugging people (who mostly ignored my requests) for newsletter articles, I wrote one too.  You can read it here.

It was challenging to write the article, because I wanted to balance it between "Things AWIS Members might actually want to read," and "Things I wish my future employer knew about me."  Let me know what you think.

Do I have experience yet?

Oh, experience.  Job ads always seem to think you should have it- and it's never clear where you are going to get it.  The few times I have gotten feedback about why I am not the candidate have included notes of "you don't have experience."  Arg.  I sometimes list my entire time in grad school as experience- because, uh, it was all work.  Doesn't seem to make much difference. 

I have been feeling pretty unappealing as a candidate after numbly reading through so many ads.  But I met with a more senior scientist recently who is also in between jobs, and he complained that there are tons of jobs out there for recent grads and early career people.  What? I have a friend who is senior enough to have hired many folks in his day, and he always encouragingly says that 5 years can become zero years for the right candidate.  How do I get to be the right candidate?

Just to be clear- the following pertains to industry careers in non-research positions.  Part of the distinction that ISN'T clear from job ads is not that they want that 'job experience' you got in HS or summers in college.  They aren't concerned you can show up for work 5 days a week.  I think.  They also don't really want to know that you can use pipettes or run a gel- although if you can't do those things, you aren't looking for a job as a scientist.  It's got more to do with training you out of that Research mentality.  For a publicly held company, or a company beholden to investors, not all ideas are worth pursuing because they are interesting.  If you remove the incentives of publication, and replace those with profit, you end up with a different reasons to do the things you do at work.  There isn't time to dither about making the decision to move ahead with a project, or strive to incorporate new and unproven tech just because it seems awesome, and you might make a major investment of money to shorten a schedule.  The little work I have done with the start-up has showed me that.  A company who wants to hire someone who not only has good ideas, but can follow all the way through with them.  To a successful product, or project or outcome of some sort- I know I need to find a way to prove that.

I went to another networking event a couple nights ago, and one of the people I ran into is a manager at a major engineering recruiting firm (Experis).  I recognized that I had introduced myself wrong when he started to suggest that I should find a company who would be willing to let me volunteer for a couple months, then go back out on the job market a lot more desirable.  At the time I thought, "Are you kidding me?  Haven't I volunteered enough- when does this count for something??"  But, I realized I hadn't mentioned it.  I told him I graduated in June and was looking for a job.  So, a few things things:
1) volunteer work can be a legitimate form of work experience. 
2) I need to find a succinct way to explain where I am in my career to people when I meet them. 
3) Does my volunteer experience add up to sufficient 'experience' to sell it as such?  Am I still a green newbie, or can I start to own the fact that I have accomplishments that occurred after my graduation, and were independent of my former adviser.  Sure, I don't have my publication record in order yet (4th submission- keep your fingers crossed!), and I didn't do anything so famous or important in grad school to get a job on the merit of that alone.  But since grad school, I've applied my experience there to becoming the Scientist in Residence at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, where I put together some successful demos, I've opened my own small business to cover my consulting and editing work, and I'm on the board of two important local professional societies.   I should be on the cusp of having a job, right?  Progressing to the next step is what I need to work on next- how do I sell that??

What's holding me back?

I'm a big picture person.  I can't help myself.  I worry about my job hunt because I'm not sure where I'll be in 20 years, I just want to get on a path.  I've been looking for a job in science for longer then I hoped, but I think I am much more likely to end up in a position I will actually like in the long term.  Meeting people in different fields, in different roles has really helped me shape my expectations and aspirations.  And have been realizing recently that both of those are things I need to resolve before I can find a real job launching career. 

What do I mean?  People ask me what kind of a job I am looking for, and I usually say that given my background, a job in pharma or biotech would suit me well.  But, I'm not really married to bench work.  I enjoy thinking about science more than performing experiments, I'm more journal club than lab meeting, if that makes sense.  It's not important to me to get "credit" for my work, but I do want to know I am working on a good cause.  And I don't want to get bored- I am looking for a position that can lead to other opportunities, and not just in terms of salary growth.  But really, I'm not sure what type of position I aspire to, so it's hard to set my expectations accordingly. 

Here is the thing, when my friends pester me to talk about what I've done lately that I liked, I almost always point to my volunteer work that the Science Center.  I loved playing with science, sharing my enthusiasm with kids and their families, and I've come to realize that Science Centers may play a really integral role in communities and in the future of the STEM economy.  But, I presumed that my volunteer/outreach work needs to be supplemental- it seems insincere to encourage kids to go get a job in science if I couldn't be bothered. 

But, the Pacific Science Center in Seattle is hiring right now.  They aren't hiring molecular virologists, but they are looking for a grant writer.  And I realized two things, 1) I had previously discounted working at a Science Center because I wasn't sure it was "important," but I now view it as part of a bigger picture solution to the worlds complex problems- encourage kids to believe they are innovators at a young age and when they grow up, they'll have the capacity to stop global warming. 2) I was worried about growth.  I figured you join the team as a grant writer or volunteer coordinator, and there is nowhere to go.  I don't know why I thought that, ignorance obviously.  Clearly, I need to expand my circle of informational interviews to include this professional arena. 

And I applied for that job.

Experiment: Get active

One of the easy networking advices given out is "join a professional society."  This certainly puts you in the path of people in your field, but most only have monthly or so meetings.  This isn't ideal for an voracious job hunter like myself, so I've joined 3 or so since I've been here.  But having a membership isn't going to open doors- it's not like ACS is some elite fraternity where people do you favors if you know the secret handshake.  So how do I convert those professionals I might cross paths with into a useful part of my network? 

I've started volunteering with the society. 

Little did I know, that the top folk at any professional society are slightly overwhelmed professionals, trying to do a littler service for their community without losing their real job.  Although the may be "elected," in the local chapter of most societies, this probably means the volunteered and no one said no. And they need help.  I am no on the board of TWO professional societies, simply because I've volunteered to help.  Now I have some active professionals who are grateful to have me around that I am free to impress with my work ethic, organizational skills and general demeanor.  It's a great way for me to build a little credibility with some folks who are well connected.

Informal Science Education

Last week I was in New York at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) for the Design Make Play conference, which was a conference of Informal Science Educators and facilitators.  As I mentioned before, this was a new field for me (informal science education), so I wanted to share a little about the field in general with you.  Informal Science education is meant to be any of the learning that takes place outside of a formalized school format, from the Boys and Girls Club to playing with Legos.  This was vaguely like what I had heard of called "Outreach" before- giving students positive experiences with science to encourage them to pursue that as a career path.  But Informal Science Education is much more-so a field driven by educators, and has less of a specific purpose.  Many folks from museums and science centers were there, as well as small organizations that do fun hands-on activities with children and adults.

The keynote speakers addressed the fact that kids spend most of their time not in school, and that this is time that they are still learning.  They talked about the "leaky" STEM pipeline, only 2.4% of the adult population has a STEM career- but really is that bad?  One of the themes of the meeting was not just that we need more trained scientists, but that what America needs is more innovators, people who can think scientifically and understand how to solve problems, work collaboratively and aren't initimidated by technical problems.  Science isn't the only place that requires those skills, but it does provide decent training for these ideas.  The conference organizers were aligned with the Maker Movement- you know, the people hanging out at Maker Spaces, Maker Fairs, Hackerspaces and their own little tinker shops who are finding ways to build things like robots out of vacuums, or paints out of household items. 

You can picture how this would not only cultivate the skills of innovation, but give a young student confidence and perhaps help a student who is not gifted in the traditional sense realize that they are quite bright afterall.  It's very feel good stuff.  It also parallels the idea that if we need a more science literate society (say, one who will oppose cuts to NIH budgets and stuff), in order to have an informed citizenry who can address the complex and technical problems our country and and world are facing.

In the informal arena, the measures of success are quite different, and I noticed this immediately in the culture of the people at the conference.  Many people took photos of presentations.  I never figured out who the Big-Wigs were, since everyone was sharing with everyone.  And being a conference about learning by exploration, everyone was very willing to jump in feet first to all kinds of crazy things and really share their enthusiasm.  Yes, this arena is generally grant funded, and as I said, dominated by educators.  But, when I mentioned that I was a scientist, people would flip!  They LOVED that a scientist wanted to get involved in this stuff, and were really supportive despite the fact that all the education/assessment/etc. stuff was new to me.  In my dream world, I'll have a solid job as a professional science somebody, and then get to work with groups like this to help them in their efforts to promote play a a tool for education.

Seriously professional networking

One skills I have been working very hard on these last few months is networking.  I'm not going to claim to be a genius at it now, but I used to be the type to go to a conference and only talk to the people I went with.  The horror.  I had occasion to go to a professional conference recently, and since I am reading Keith Ferrazzi's book (Never Eat Alone, I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but these are the concrete skills I am trying to put into practice), I wanted to rock the networking.  This was the conference I attended as a result of my volunteer work, which is in a fairly new field for me.  Perfect timing, I'll try everything I can think of, and if I totally blow it, this isn't a field where I have a reputation, or even know that I want one, so I can be as brave and brazen as I can stand.  I promise another short post about the content of the meeting since informal science is so fun, and Makers seem like cool people- but for now, networking.

Two days before the conference, a list of attendees was mailed out.  My former grad student self would have been too harried to open this file, but as a job hunter, I've got nothing but time.  So I flipped through and Googled just about every single person in attendance.  I didn't get too creepy deep on the info gathering (in Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi recommends trying to figure out what hobbies potential contacts might have), I just wanted to know their job function, because I was trying to get a sense of the hierarchy of the meeting.  Turns out, there were have a dozen folks from Major Funding Agencies, so I made a note and shared this with my colleagues.  I also found some people who had overlapping functions to the program we were presenting, as well as people in my geographical area.  Basically, I wanted to have some clue about the type of people who would be there, and to be prepared to recognize when I was speaking to someone who might be a good contact.

We were at this meeting to present a workshop, which was a lot of work to put together, frankly, so we really wanted to share our work with people who could help us in the future.  We had post-card sized info sheets about the program (the Click! Spy School through the Girls Math Science Program at the Carnegie Science Center of Pittsburgh) which my colleagues were using like business cards.  This conference was really great, being in workshops with people was very disarming, and it was a diverse group without a previously established hierarchy (unlike, say, conferences on virology).  This made it very easy for us to walk up to the woman with deep pockets from Time Warner Cable, interrupt her email and invite her to our workshop.  This turned into a friendly conversation about how Time Warner Cable got into the informal science arena (they started the Connect a Million Minds project, to connect parents and teachers to informal science resources).  Honestly, I was shocked that this worked- she came to our workshop, and loved it.

I also approached several other people I didn't think I would have the guts to- like the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.  He was totally cool.  The two things that worked really well for me here were 1) knowing who I was talking to, and 2) Having something to say to them. Part one doesn't take much mastery, just prime yourself to recognize the types of people you'd like to meet. Part two is a little harder, and something I will keep working on, having a clear, succinct message that is sincere and interesting to the person you want to connect with.  Not to ask for a favor, but to share relevant information.
I was not so strong on the second part- sure, talking about our workshop was a good fall back, but I really wanted to say "even though I am presenting this workshop for Pittsburgh, I am a volunteer there, and btw, I live in Seattle where I am looking for a job." This is a more complex message then I felt comfortable conveying.  But I did make good contacts with an editor at a major publishing house (who might be able to connect me with more freelancing?), and a researcher at the UW.

Oh, but this brings me to the third thing that I had never tried tactically before- being emotionally honest.  Usually, in this type of setting, I would have on my grown-up face, and speak in that mellow, 'professional' tone of voice like I am channeling and NPR jazz radio host.  But, I want to be remembered, and I want to be remembered well- and I was having a crazy good time.  So, yeah, I blathered a little about how excited I was about our workshop, and I bragged on some of my favorite exhibits in the hall of science and I said exactly how much I appreciated talking with these people (in one case, that came out "You are my hero!"), and every single one of the follow up emails I sent has been returned.  Awesome!

Volunteering pays off

I got invited to fly across the country to participate in a very exciting conference and workshop just because I have a Ph.D.  Well, that's not the only reason, but before I get into that, let's just around all giddy because Free Trip to NYC!  I love to travel, I love going to conferences and workshops and I figured my decision to "leave science" (as my old adviser calls it) would prevent me from doing these things- but fear not, fellow job hunters!  All kinds of fields have conferences.

The meeting I've been invited to is at the New York Hall of Science (NYSci), which is a very fun looking science museum/center.  I was invited by the folks I volunteer with there, who have done a lot of work on some cool programming, and they needed help presenting at this meeting.  And by "help" I mean NYSci has loads of science Ph.D.s on staff, and they wanted to bring some credibility, their own elbow patches as it were.  I must say, I am quite flattered that anyone would think to invite me anywhere to earn some credibility.  And the meeting itself sounds really great, it's about finding hands-on, dynamic ways to get students to engage in STEM.  I promise I'll track down some of these Ph.D.s and ask them about how they got their cool jobs- for you, my dear readers.

And how knows, maybe me too? Maybe STEM Outreach has more possibilities for me?  I am still trying to track down someone at the EdLab Group, which is a big outreach entity nearby to me.  I'd love to know what they are doing and if I could help.

But, moral of the story:Volunteer, you never know when it might earn you a trip to NYSci.

My current focus is networking

It's that time of year where companies slow down on hiring, the people that work in them slow down on working and it seems like a tough time to be seeking out open positions.  Rather than frustrate myself, I am trying to position myself to be readily and quickly available for when things finally get back on track in late January, new budgets approved, new work load assessed and hopefully there will be a big demand in the Seattle markets for newly minted PhDs.  How am I going to get ready for that?  I am really focusing on networking for the rest of the month.  I want to meet people, remind the people that I know that I am still here actively looking for a job. 

This feels like I am hauling business cards everywhere, and I am hoping to fill up my calender with coffee and lunches and that sort of thing.  But, I am currently reading the Networking classic "Never Eat Alone" (Why did it take my so long to start reading this book?  It's good, practical advise about how to be professional, and build mutually beneficial professional relationships.  I think the mutually beneficial part is really important for this whole thing to work out- I want to be remembered fondly as that helpful person who remarkably doesn't have a job yet, rather than that desperate schmuck who is scheming for work.  So, I've offered to volunteer with my local Chapter of AWIS, I shared my annotated photo album from the algae workshop with the other participants and I am making a lot of Christmas cookies.  This seems to be working because I have been getting better responses- now we have something to talk about in emails, I have provided myself the opportunity to prove my professionalism without jumping straight into OMG I want to work!  It also is giving me more interesting things to spend my time of than combing the job boards and recrafting cover letters for positions I am a terrible fit for.  It made me feel like spending a few hours working on that Picasa album of an algae lab was really productive, and having ways to break up the monotony of guilt and worthlessness that accompany joblessness is almost as valuable as the relationships I'll be able to cultivate in this way. 

Anyway, hoping to meet and endear myself to lots of people in the next few weeks and then be in a better position to find job in January.

Time Well Spent

The volunteer work and 'consulting' might seem like a distraction from the central issue of Finding a Job, but to me, they aren’t.  For starters, now that I am geographically limiting my search, there aren’t infinite jobs here.  I can apply to every job in the Greater Seattle Area and still have plenty of free time.  In fact, I think I may have.  And when I am not in the act of applying for jobs, it’s hard for me to feel like I am doing anything to resolve my situation.  Too much free time alone, and instead of focusing on a hobby or unpacking my house, I just feel guilty that I haven’t tried hard enough, or that I haven’t done anything that amounts to anything. Which is point two, doing things that other people value, even if they can only do it with words, really helps keep my spirits up.  Arguably, coming up with questions for an educational children’s game is maybe not the MOST important thing I could spend my time on- but it beats the heck out of squatting on twitter or endlessly searching LinkedIn.  And maybe I get a little experience out of it that someone will value on a job application, sweet.  But mostly I do it to stay sane.

Being unemployed changed my attitude about work

It's been nearly a year since I applied for my first job, and at that time I had this panic about NEEDing to be BUSY for the sake of maintaining an unbroken line of productivity.  I've considered lots of different ways to deal with that anxiety, from terrible jobs to crazy ways to find jobs. Some of it has worked, some of it has made me realize I can't remember why I would go to such great lengths to secure a position that I would loathe so deeply.

It's hard to believe, but I've been looking for work full time for 2 1/2 months now. My attitude about it has changed a lot.  I don't feel panicked about finding a job, in part because I don't feel like I am wasting my time.  I have occasional contract work, I'm blogging, I've been volunteering and learning a lot. And all that made me realize (and this surprised me a lot), that I LIKE having work to do.  I read the Swiss Family Robinson recently, and one of the keys to their (fictional) happiness was that they were able to remain industrious, they didn't suffer from boredom and lack of purpose.  Volunteering provided me that; I can't tell you how often my supervisor would tell me, "You are a volunteer, you don't have to work so hard" "You can go home if you like." I know, but it's very liberating to be able to work exactly as much as I like- which ended up being closer to 20 hours a week, instead of the 8 I was scheduled for. 

I like to work for the sake of working, and I like to feel like I am making headway, progress or contributing to a greater good.  I knew that about myself before. But, I am in a better position, without a job, to get that satisfaction from other parts of my life.  Now I am much more willing to accept the money-in-exchange-for-effort type of jobs (ie, contract editing), simply because that doesn't detract anything from my personal life, and in fact, gives me a chance to find more fulfilling ways to seek out those things.

Now I have mixed feelings.  I think I am by nature someone who would like an all consuming and gratifying job that I could be passionate about.  (This was kind of a disappointment to realize). But I also might be able to accept a job that just provides money if it leaves me the time and energy to find something else to be passionate about.

Science Bloggers for Students

Although I am never sure who reads this blog, I'd like you all to know about a really exciting challenge I am participating in on the other blog I write for, Steel City Science. We are in a challenge with other science bloggers to raise funds for Donor's Choose, an organization that helps teachers get funds for projects in their classrooms.  If you are interested in supporting the needs of Pittsburgh's teachers, or really any science teachers anywhere, please follow this link and make a donation of any size to support the next generation of scientists.  We've got until Oct 22 to show the ChemBloggers that Pittsburgh is a city with a big heart.  Thanks for your generosity!

The Benefits of Volunteering

Volunteering gets a mixed wrap in the job hunt.  There is one school of that that volunteering can help you build contacts and experiences to bolster your resume, and another that if you volunteer too much, people will wonder why you never got offered a job. Before we get too far into this, I think volunteerism of any kind is great, and taking the time to give of yourself to others is fantastic, regardless of whether it helps your career.  But  if you want to use volunteering specifically to help your career in someway, you might want to be careful about how you proceed.

I am currently volunteering at our Science Center.  I wanted to find something to get me out of the house while I am otherwise a full time job hunter, so I looked for opportunities that would add to my skills, while taking advantage of my background.  The science center is great for that, they love that I am a Scientist, but I predominantly provide "customer service."  Trust me, this was nowhere else on my resume.  But there is a real shift in attitude when you aren't just feeding figures and data to your boss with candor, but instead trying to figure out how to make people enjoy themselves more.  I am liking it a lot.  I also get to meet some really cool people, and don't get me started on how awesome it is to play with the exhibits all day.  This is good fit for me, because as great as the experience is as a volunteer, I think that it is pretty clear why I am not ever going to get a job offer from them.

In addition, as a volunteer, I have a lot of flexibility.  The science center has lots of volunteers; there are old folks who like to sit by the door to greet people and give them maps, and there are high school kids who like to do the demos.  Personally, I spend half my day walking the exhibit floors, and half my day working with the Girls Math & Science Program.  Right now, I am developing a big event to help introduce girls to careers in Chemistry.  I'm working out some demos, I need to solve some problems with rooms, I've got a budget and expect 100 girls in 6 weeks.  Again, this is experience that I don't have on my resume- but as a grad student who has had to juggle the logistics of scheduling committee meetings, experiments and teaching, I feel I have the skills to succeed here.

While I feel my experience as a volunteer is adding to my resume, I'm not really that sure it is going to be the magic bullet that lands me a job somehow.  I don't think anyone should approach it as if it would be.  But it is making it much easier to keep up my enthusiasm and stay creative about my job hunt, so I still think it is worth the time I spend.