Working for a Scientific Society

Opportunities for employment of PhD scientists exist within the world of scientific societies. Societies exist to serve the needs of their scientific or engineering constituencies. As membership organizations, they provide their constituents with access to meetings, publications (both books and journals), educational programs, and advocacy assistance. Within many of these societies, leadership positions and associated coordinator/analyst positions can be filled by someone with a PhD. Examples of positions in societies include science policy/government relations, education, publications, communications, and executive departments. Interested PhDs should demonstrate their interest by volunteering to participate in society outreach or committee activities. The critical element is to remember that as a PhD you have the critical thinking and problem-solving ability to succeed in whatever career you pursue. The key is to demonstrate that these abilities are applicable to the available positions in the association.