I think that for most of us, science is more than a career. It’s part of our self-image, so you don’t do science; you are a scientist. Because of this, the idea of leaving science for another career can feel like giving up an important part of yourself. It might feel like you would be losing your whole purpose to work.
That’s certainly how I felt, when I left my postdoc and took a chance on a career in the public service. However, what I found was quite the opposite. My skills and perspectives were valuable, and my work took on a whole new purpose: mediating the fraught space between evidence, ideas, and power, in order to build better outcomes for the public good.
The journey out of academia
I completed my PhD in molecular biology in 2015 and took up a postdoc in an illustrious lab in Vancouver, Canada. At the time, it felt like I was well on my way down the academic path. However, I quickly realised that the successes of my postdoc lab masked a sink-or-swim attitude, with little support provided by a disinterested and often absent professor.
At the same time, a friend told me they wanted to start a local chapter of a group called Future of Research, who were organising meetings around the world to advocate for PhDs and postdocs and empower them in facing the challenges encountered while building their careers. We formed Future of Research Vancouver along with some like-minded postdocs, planned and funded a symposium, and published findings from a series of community workshops.
Later that year I attended the Canadian Science Policy Conference, in an attempt to take this work with Future of Research to the next level. But what I found was so much bigger. Scientists, NGOs, and government agencies were coming together to talk about how to tackle society’s biggest challenges using data and evidence. I was completely out of my depth, but I was enthralled.
It took several more years to finally leave my postdoc. Despite my best efforts, conditions in the lab didn’t improve and I didn’t see an end to a grind that was killing my passion for my projects. Meanwhile, I had become preoccupied by questions about the policies and practices of science itself.
So I took a risk. In 2019 I applied for the Canadian Science Policy Fellowship, which brings scientists into government to help lead evidence-based decision making. To my amazement, I actually got in.
A different kind of impact
The fellowship landed me in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s federal funding agency for health research. I started in projects that built on my experience with early career researchers, but when COVID-19 hit I was pulled into the mad scramble to develop a strategy to research the virus. Before long I was also the advisor to a stem cell ethics committee, and coordinating CIHR’s role in a collaboration of research funding agencies. In 2021 I moved back to Australia for a position with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Here, I’m working across projects related to peer review, and providing critical analysis as part of NHMRC’s Scientific Expert Panel.
Stepping away from academia gave me a much-needed chance to re-evaluate my personal and professional goals. But I was also surprised just how interesting and rewarding work in the public service can be:
Implementing the abstract. We often focus on how and for whom when developing policies and programs in the public service. But I’ve found that the why is just as important. At CIHR and NHMRC, I’ve been able to apply philosophical questions on the role of science in society, and how governments should support it, to make real positive changes.
Not just bureaucrats. Public servants have an unfortunate reputation as ‘grey cardigans’: apathetic bureaucrats resting with cushy government jobs. But I’ve found that most people are highly talented and passionate about their work. Public servants usually understand only too well the challenges that their agencies face, and may have spent years trying to find balanced solutions.
Culture of learning. A postdoc is often referred to as a ‘trainee’ position, but most will never receive any actual training. The public service, however, places a strong emphasis on developing people and providing them with new opportunities.
Recognising talent. The public service wants to put talented people (i.e. PhDs) in places where they can succeed. Putting your hand up for cool projects can quickly lead to people trying to find even more interesting work that you can pioneer.
Work–life balance. Everyone knows academics work too much and rest too little. So it was refreshing to suddenly be somewhere that put a premium on protecting work–life balance and preventing burnout – even if that meant I was occasionally scolded for sending emails on a Sunday afternoon!
However, there are also some things about the public service that I still find challenging:
Generalists vs specialists. Government often values people with broad skillsets, because they assume generalists are better at dealing with the variety of projects on offer in the public service. This can be a culture shock to PhDs, who have usually spent years honing extremely specific skills. You may feel like they have no idea what to do with you!
The greater good. PhDs are used to having freedom to take risks and try wild experiments. But members of the public service must work as parts of a larger organisation, with strict standards and oversight. You can have your own perspective, even be directly critical of your agency, but once a decision is made you’ll need to put that aside.
Approval processes. All your work will go through a rigorous approval process before any decision is made. This is essential to ensuring quality and relevance to your agency’s mandates, but the process can also feel slow and nit-picky. You will also have multiple levels of directors and executives wanting to propose revisions – so you’d better make sure you’ve made strong arguments with solid evidence!
Swallowing project pride. Ultimately, your work is not your own in the public service. By the time something comes back down through the approval process you might have moved on to something else, or another team entirely will actually be implementing your recommendations! So you need to be okay knowing you did the best you could at the time.
What you offer
After I made the switch to the public service, I was surprised that I was able to succeed by drawing on several skills I’d developed in academia. Any PhD will have these ‘soft’ skills, and probably not even know it:
Adaptability. When I started at CIHR, I had no clue how to actually do any of the work of a research funding agency. But in science you learn to juggle projects, and adapt quickly to unexpected events. This ability to dive into something new without fear might be a scientist’s greatest strength.
Project management. If you’ve conceived your own research plan, honed it through research and collaboration, and successfully produced something on the other side: congratulations! You’re ready to lead projects in government.
Analysis and synthesis of evidence. Government agencies produce a huge amount of data, and they need people who know how to handle it. PhDs don’t just pull together pieces of information and tell you what it means; they can also tell you what to do next.
Communication. Taking an issue, presenting its key elements, and distilling some useful recommendations is essential in the public service. PhDs are perfectly suited to this because we’re used to telling stories with data. You’ll also find that those Three Minute Thesis competitions won’t go to waste!
Caveats and next steps
It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge how lucky I have been on my journey. There is strong survivorship bias in everything I’m writing here; for example, I haven’t had room for the 30-something failed job applications I submitted when trying to move back to Australia.
The good news is that you can start making your own luck:
Strengthen your ‘soft’ skills. Once you’ve checked out a few public service job postings, you’ll quickly learn that they usually ask for a few common skills. So, start building those right now. For example: science communication, engaging with patient groups, or leading an international collaboration can build communication, stakeholder engagement, and project management soft skills. Also, being involved in advocacy on an issue you care about is a great way to both learn these skills and expand your network.
Start some conversations. Try cold-calling or emailing people for ‘informational interviews’. For example, if you’re reading job postings and find something you want to learn more about, why not reach out to the hiring manager and ask if you can chat? There’s no one that doesn’t love talking about their work.
Keep an eye out for policy fellowships. Australia has a science policy fellowship, tailor-made for PhDs who want to put their academic skills to good use in the federal public service. But similar programs are also popping up in state and territory agencies.
Don’t wait. Most PhDs haven’t had a real job interview in years, and public service interviews can be particularly finicky. I absolutely crashed and burned in my first one! So don’t wait for the perfect position to come along to start getting practice.
I don’t know if I’ll always work in government. The skills you’ll develop in the public service can perfectly equip you to work across a range of areas, from think tanks to consultancy. But working for the public good has a nice ring to it, and right now I still have so much to learn.
