|
After years as an academic, I finally knew academia wasn’t my life path; that was clear to me, but what was it?
Every time I did a “life purpose” exercise, the results were similar: I wanted to be a bridge between science and the non-sciency world. I wanted to have an impact on society by leveraging my skills, but was that even possible?
I eventually found the right tools to leverage my hard-earned skills into other sectors and landed jobs that fulfilled my personal needs, made me feel valued, and paid well. If you are on a similar path, you can find these tools in the link below.
However, my new career failed to fulfill my most valuable skill: creative writing. Writing has been not only a tool to effectively execute my job for me, it was also a mental health outlet. Could I keep using it to fulfill my purpose?
That’s when I started writing on Medium.
At first, though, I thought nobody would be interested in reading about the science I loved. Later, I thought I couldn’t put technical concepts into words non-scientists could understand.
However, for some reason, one day, I felt the urge to give it a go, and I jumped head first. My first science communication stories were far from effective, but little by little, I got better, and without realizing it, I had started a profitable side hustle by sharing my passion for science online.
As a bonus, I was informing people about how science works. I was following my life purpose, my Ikigai.
I have to admit, though, that this came as a surprise.
For years, I lived in the world of academia, immersed in research and surrounded by people who spoke the same language of technical jargon and methodologies.
But outside the lab, I often struggled to explain what I did to friends, family, or even strangers at a dinner party. Their eyes would glaze over halfway through my explanation, and I’d think, Why is it so hard to make them care?
You're not alone if you are a scientist, and this sounds familiar. As scientists, we’re trained to write for journals, not for people. But we must remember that our research, our discoveries, and our insights are valuable beyond the walls of academia.
People want to know about them and understand how we do science. They just need you to tell the story in a way they can connect.
If you’re not convinced yet, I’ll share why communicating science is so important and how you can start turning your expertise into engaging stories for a broader audience.
And yes, you can even make it profitable (wink-wink).
Read the full story in the link below... |
