Dr Karen Stroobants MRSC, Science Policy Unit Lead at Royal Society of Chemistry
Science has its own language, and this language even differs between scientific disciplines. Science is by nature uncertain, based on hypotheses that are being questioned, proven, and disproven. Scientific work takes time, lots of it.
Policy decisions are made based on a range of information and incentives. Scientific evidence to support decisions needs to be presented in an accessible and unambiguous way. Policy often allows only short timelines for input.
How do you present uncertainty in an unambiguous way? How do you summarise years of research to a digestible format for a Minister or Member of Parliament? How does a career in science policy differ from one in science?
My name is Karen, I am leading the Science Policy Unit at the Royal Society of Chemistry. I transitioned to a career in policy just over two years ago after working as a chemical researcher for seven years. In this talk, I’ll share my experience of changing career tracks, what a science policy job entails and how it differs from a career in science.
Here I share some insights on how to decide whether to stay in science, or go, what to think about when you decide to change tracks, and what a career in science policy can offer you if that’s a direction you’d be considering.