As a graduate student, the three possible paths after graduation have been beaten into me at this point. First, stay in academia, pick up a postdoc after writing your dissertation, and then apply for faculty positions. Second, find one of the few true R&D jobs at a big company in industry, or perhaps hop on an early stage startup. Third, choose one of the many interesting government labs, and continue doing research with a fair bit of freedom.

Each of these options offer advantages and disadvantages. While academia offers the most intellectual freedom and flexibility, that freedom is often illusory as you have to write grant after grant, report after report, and chase tenure in order to preserve what you have. Industry promises a nice paycheck, but at the loss of any semblance of intellectual independence and freedom to pursue your own ideas. Government labs can present a tempting balance of the former two options - offering some of the academic freedom of the university, with a more traditional 9-5 atmosphere of a traditional industry job. However, the bureaucracy of the job can often be a turn off for many scientists. But what if I told you there was an alternative?

This past June, I was fortunate to participate in a program called Science Outside the Lab, sponsored by the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure. During a (very packed) week, we got to explore different science policy positions across all three branches of government, as well as different NGO and private science policy ventures. This week opened my eyes to just how many other options exist for graduate students after their Ph.Ds, especially in the realm of public service.

Science policy positions offer unique benefits that the previously mentioned employment opportunities do not. First, it is something completely different from graduate school! For most of us, the classroom and lab are all we’ve known for our entire adult lives. As lifelong learners, tackling a new challenge that requires completely new skills is appealing in its own right. Second, government positions offer the opportunity to directly impact lives and industries. One of the challenges with academic research is that it is often hard to tie research back to tangible outcomes in peoples lives, while in industry the only measure of success is profit. When developing or advancing science policy, you have the chance to set the course of the nation for years to come and help guide the next generation of great scientists, engineers, and inventors. There are few other jobs outside of government that offer this level of influence and opportunity to directly impact the direction and future of this country. Lastly, if you go the federal route, you get to live in Washington D.C.! If you have ever visited our nation’s capital before, you know what I mean by this. Incredible museums and landmarks, amazing food, and a chance to have your finger on the pulse of the nation. Even if you choose to do science policy at the local or state level, simply being in that arena will open doors that industry and academia don’t.

I think that taking the skills we are learning during graduate school and putting them into the service of our country is an opportunity on par with anything that academia and industry can offer. However, this option is not given the same exposure as other opportunities. In the future, I strive to increase awareness of how rewarding government service can be during my Ph.D at UT Austin, and I hope to see other universities step up their outreach as well.