My social media feeds continue to be flooded with colleagues, associates, and friends who lost federal jobs because they were relatively new hires or recently promoted. Deadlines for agencies to submit further reductions loom. As a leader within the weather, water, and climate enterprise, I have a strong desire to do more than say, “I am sorry” to my colleagues. As I reflect on my career as a scientist, here are some hidden job market skills most scientists likely have already have in their “toolbox.”
Science And Technical Skills Are Transferable
I write this from a weather and climate perspective, but the points are transferable to other STEM disciplines. Both the American Meteorological Society and the federal government provide clear guidelines to become a meteorologist. Required coursework is steeped in advanced mathematics, physics, computer programming, statistics, atmospheric chemistry, and climate. Many students are surprised at the rigor of the typical atmospheric sciences or meteorology curriculum. It’s definitely more than cold fronts, clouds, storm chasing, and pulling up the latest Euro model run.
Like most scientific disciplines, there are elective classes that scientists have likely taken. These might include coursework or certifications related to environmental sciences, communication studies, water, energy, disaster management, agriculture, public health, and so on. Increasingly, I encourage students to gain as much as exposure as possible to computational programming, geographic information systems (GIS), geospatial analysis, data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, visualization and broader communication skills.
The Hidden Skillsets
In addition to the obvious curriculum exposure, scientists have several attributes that are valuable to any organization. I was a scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for over ten years. During my tenure there, I also became Deputy Project Scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission. As a part of the GPM scientific leadership team, I interacted with engineers, computer engineers, communication specialists, administrators, policymakers, and stakeholders.
This leads me to hidden skillsets that scientists have likely acquired that would be valuable to any institution, industry, or organization. These include working as a team, critical thinking, data and statistical analysis, the ability to solve problems, managing complex or detailed tasks, and communicating findings. Scientists are typically comfortable in environments that require innovative thinking, methodology, and data.
In 2017, AAAS explored what skills industry needs. Maggie Kuo wrote about a cohort of new hires at The Dow Chemical Company. She said, “When asked what skill they spent the most time developing when they joined Dow, the most popular response was project management, including working in a team and delivering on schedule and on budget.” Other skillsets that were mentioned included leadership, networking, and knowing the business side of research. Kuo also pointed to additional resources for leaving research labs and developing broader skillsets. She also noted that many STEM graduate programs struggle to provide these broader skillsets.
End-to-End Scientists Are Needed
For years, I have preached the need to train STEM graduate students to be End-to-End Scientists. We do a great job at training new scientists to conduct research, write papers, print posters, and present at conferences. Graduate programs must preserve aspects of that model while incorporating internship or experiential learning opportunities, media training, public speaking, broader writing skillsets, project management, and entrepreneurship. The Integrative Conservation Doctoral program at the University of Georgia incorporates many of these principles.
As scholars, we should not assume that our graduate students are hopping on the academic treadmill of postdoctoral researcher or faculty member. Don’t get me wrong, those are great options. After all, I am a faculty member. However, I have always approached the training of my graduate students with the assumption they may work at a university, federal agency, company, state or local government or a non-profit.
There are increasingly opportunities on college campuses or after graduation to test the waters of entrepreneurship. After all, STEM research is often quite innovative. The problem that I see is that most young scientists have no idea how to navigate that pathway. My alma mater Florida State University recently developed a STEM entrepreneurship program. In 2024, the NSF Innovation in Graduate Education program funded projects to spur entrepreneurship in STEM. These are great starts.
Some Tips To Move Forward
The American Meteorological Society has offered a host of resources for displaced workers or students. They recognize, for now, that the employment landscape has changed. Here are additional tips if you are displaced or seeking to help:
- Engage with your disciplinary professional organizations and societies as many are providing career resources at no cost.
- Contact or interact with collegiate alumni networks.
- Keep your LinkedIn page, CV, or resume current. For STEM professionals, there can be differences among a CV, resume, and the expectation of a different type of employer.
- Build or augment your professional networks for new target career areas.
- Read helpful guidance on private sector transition.
- Create a project management plan for identifying your next career.
- Offer to write letters of recommendations for colleagues or to review their resumes or statements.
- Be a mentor to workers and students who may be questioning their decisions.
Saying sorry is a natural, compassionate reaction in these situations. However, it does not have to stop at “sorry.”
