Tag: Science Careers

Workplace Hierarchies and Professional Boundaries

Navigating the social rules and expectations of a work hierarchy can be challenging, especially when the hierarchy is poorly defined or explained. Aspies, though not alone in this struggle, are often ill-equipped to decipher hierarchies that aren’t explicitly spelled out. Things can be further complicated when people with existing work relationships change roles or supervisory levels.

The goal of this post is to call attention to these issues and to provide a few basic guidelines based on my experiences and with Aspies in mind. Different workplaces will have unique quirks and sources of tension that may require you to deviate from this advice, but I feel the plans I present here are generally good starting points.

Unclear or Unofficial Hierarchies

While at some jobs you will receive a printout of the organizational chart (a diagram that conveys the supervisory relationships between people working within a company, department, unit, etc.) on your first day, other workplaces are less concerned with such structures or less able/willing to clue you in immediately. This is the case in many academic labs because these structures are mostly conserved between labs, departments, and universities. Most labs will expect incoming graduate students to already be familiar with the relative “ranks” of professors, postdocs, grad students, and undergrads.

Despite this, some labs blur the lines between roles in the spirit of collaboration. There is nothing wrong with this necessarily, though it may still be helpful to be aware of the typical expectations for each role. In labs studying live animals, for example, day-to-day husbandry duties are commonly handled by a mixture of grad students, undergrads, and/or paid technicians depending on the lab. While deviations from this pattern aren’t strictly against any rules it’s important to understand what is “normal.” A postdoc or professor who is temporarily roped into husbandry duties may feel they are working outside their role and likely will not want this situation to continue for very long. Similarly, technicians with a narrow job description or set of responsibilities will probably be willing to step outside their role occasionally for the good of the lab. However, if this happens too frequently they might feel frustrated because they aren’t getting to do what they signed up to do or because they don’t have enough time to handle their normal duties. It’s important to know what is “normal” for your and your lab mates’ responsibilities so that you can recognize a deviation from those expectations when it happens and act accordingly.

Work hierarchies outside of academia can be just as vague. In many small organizations like non-profits and family-owned companies, nearly flat organizational structures are common. If hired by one of these you may join a team where everyone shares the same job title and official role description with only one or a few supervisors in charge. Environments like this can create tension because seniority is often held as an unofficial mark of rank within the organization. People who share your job title may feel they outrank you because they have worked there longer, and this can color their interactions with you, their expectations for which duties you take on, and their reactions to the distribution of raises and recognition. There is some validity to this as more senior employees will have experience you lack and should be a good resource for you while you train and get situated. That said, the lack of an official hierarchy can lead to disagreement regarding what the unofficial hierarchy looks like. If a newer employee gets a promotion, is formally recognized, or is trusted with an important responsibility, more senior employees may complain or become frustrated because, in their minds, they outrank the newer employee and have been unduly overlooked. In this case, the supervisor’s version of the unofficial hierarchy conflicts with that of the senior employees.

Flat organizational structures can also lead to “cliques,” where a subset of (often more senior) employees will band together and socialize. Groups of friends in your workplace are not a problem, but if one group is positioned with any sort of authority over the rest of the employees, either officially or unofficially, they can become gatekeepers. If this happens, entirely new social rules come into play if you want to advance or gain any sort of recognition. Everyone will need to curry favor with the in-group to be taken seriously. While it pays to be aware of this pattern there is no simple solution. Many people who leave jobs they otherwise enjoyed have cited workplace cliques as their reason for quitting. This doesn’t mean you have to quit your dream job if cliques start to develop, but pay attention and try not to become part of the problem.

At the end of the day remember that there is always a hierarchy, whether it’s explained to you or not. If your organization gives you a formal chart, make sure you understand it and treat those who outrank you the way you would treat a supervisor. If you work somewhere (like an academic lab) where people will arrive with specific expectations for how the hierarchy should look, be aware of what those expectations are likely to be and how people will react to deviations from them. In the absence of an official hierarchy people will come up with their own, often based on seniority. While you should try to learn from senior employees and treat everyone with respect, remember that unofficial hierarchies can be sources of discord. Cliques may also use this vacuum to position themselves as gatekeepers, creating new implicit social rules you will need to follow or skirt around to succeed in that workplace.

You can’t always predict the dynamics of a workplace hierarchy but it’s in your best interest to understand what your coworkers expect and how they may react to different situations. With some effort you can effectively navigate the social environment of your workplace in an intelligent and responsible way, helping you to maintain healthy relationships and avoid conflicts.

Moving Between Roles

Many workplaces promote internally, raising the possibility of shifting supervisory roles. When a worker steps into a managerial or leadership position their professional relationships with their coworkers can become complicated. I feel this situation deserves some special attention.

I have had coworkers who were originally my peers promoted to leadership positions directly overseeing me and I have been hired to work for an old peer/coworker at a new workplace. Neither of these experiences were negative and I don’t want to imply I encountered any of the following problems in either case, but these were the uncomfortable scenarios I quickly realized I needed to be prepared for in each case.

If your friend/coworker gains a supervisory role, either temporarily or permanently, it can be easy to cross workplace boundaries. As a supervisor they will generally have access to information you don’t, potentially including hiring plans, news that hasn’t yet been announced to all employees, and other employees’ private information. So long as they behave professionally and separate their new responsibilities from their relationship with you there won’t be a problem. However, it can be tempting to reveal some of this privileged information to you due to your existing friendship. That would place you in a very uncomfortable situation. If this happens to you, it’s your responsibility to assert a professional boundary and make your new supervisor aware of the discomfort they are causing you. This can generally be done without sacrificing your friendship.

Your relationship with this new supervisor can also be abused to guilt you into making concessions at work you wouldn’t otherwise. You might be asked to work longer hours, take on more responsibilities, not count hours as overtime that should be counted, cover shifts you wouldn’t normally consider, etc. Because you have a relationship with this supervisor you are more likely to empathize with their problems (e.g. not having someone to cover a shift, not having the money to pay for overtime) and are therefore more likely to step in to solve their problems to your own detriment. Again, maintaining a professional boundary is key. Ideally both you and the supervisor would be aware of this possibility and intentionally avoid it.

Lastly, you may now need to withhold information from your supervisor that you would have shared with them previously. If, for example, you are applying for other jobs and intend to leave as soon as you get an offer, sharing this with your boss is not always a wise choice. Your supervisor may feel hurt when they find out you’ve been withholding information that concerns them as your friend because of their new role. You can’t control how others react, but you do need to make sure your actions are defensible, respectful, and necessary. If your supervisor is emotionally mature they will understand and respect your choice.

Whether you are the worker or the new supervisor in this situation it’s important that you set and maintain healthy professional boundaries. You can’t control other people, but you can set the tone by approaching every situation with rationality and respect.

Photo Credit to Pexels

Scuba Diving as an Aspie

Scuba diving can be a wonderful, potentially life-altering experience. For many people, descending beneath the waves of the ocean, or even into a lake or quarry, can feel like exploring an alien planet filled with unfamiliar forms of life. While humans evolved to live in terrestrial environments, about 71% of the Earth is covered with water and about 97% of that is ocean. Further, all life on Earth is thought to have originated in an aquatic environment. One could then argue that the oceans, with their variety of distinct ecosystems, represent the primary habitat on Earth. This, I feel, drives an intense curiosity about the undersea world for many of us.

Recreational scuba diving is a fast-growing sport and is by no means restricted to those with related jobs, but scuba can also be used in a range of natural science careers (both marine and freshwater). There are many scientists whose fieldwork includes underwater surveys of fish, algae, and invertebrates, collecting samples at depth, or even conducting habitat use, feeding, or reproductive studies while diving. If you are interested in this sort of work, earning scuba certifications while in high school or college can be enormously beneficial.

However, it should be noted that scuba diving is not for everyone, can be quite expensive, and is absolutely not required for a career in marine/aquatic science. The message you take away from this post should not be “I have to spend a lot of money on scuba courses and gear or else I can’t be a marine scientist.” A lot of marine science is done in labs and on computers, rendering scuba training unnecessary. I know many marine scientists who can’t even swim, let alone scuba dive! Even amongst those who are scuba certified, most only dive for fun, not work.

I bring up scuba here because, in addition to being a moderately common tool for marine and freshwater scientists, it can be a unique experience for those on the autism spectrum. In particular, the sensory and organizational aspects of autism and Asperger’s can have massive implications when scuba diving, both positive and negative.

General Therapeutic Effects

There have been anecdotal stories of individuals diagnosed with ASD (DSM IV autism and Asperger’s) experiencing moderate relief from sensory stresses and anxieties while scuba diving for some time. As far as I am aware the only formal study on the subject came out of Midwestern University in about 2014, though this study simply analyzed personal accounts of autistic divers to identify common themes and experiences. Drawing on my experience as an autistic divemaster, I can confirm that many positive aspects of the scuba experience can (sometimes, in some people) impact common types of sensory issues. Neurotypical scuba students frequently report these benefits as well, though they may be more striking for autistic divers.

Many autistic people derive comfort from weighted blankets or similarly thick clothing; this is thought to be the result of increased pressure on the body. While I can’t explain why this works physiologically or psychologically, it is a widespread experience. When scuba diving, the ambient pressure on your body increases rapidly due to the weight of the water above you. That pressure is double what you experience at sea level after descending only 10 meters (33 feet) and increases linearly with depth. Autistic divers have commonly reported that this increased pressure, in addition to the squeeze of their exposure suit, provides a comparable effect to that of a weighted blanket.

For some people on the spectrum oversensitivity to certain stimuli can cause headaches, anxiety, and stress. Because diving narrows your perception through impairment of most senses, it can significantly reduce sensory distractions. When diving, your vision is narrowed by your mask, smell and taste are severely limited, hearing is minimal, and tactile reception can be reduced with gloves. Some have described this as freeing, simultaneously relieving the anxiety and headaches associated with overstimulation and improving focus. I cannot speak to the medical validity of this, though it is an interesting possibility.

Finally, dive training can offer a sense of confidence and accomplishment to anyone willing to put in the time. This is frequently cited as a major benefit of recreational dive training for neurotypicals, and I feel it extends to the autistic community. Particularly for those of us who may not have a lot of agency and control in other areas of our lives, building confidence through dive training and execution can be intensely fulfilling.

Potential Aspie Advantages

In some ways, Aspies are built for scuba diving. Virtually all scuba training makes use of extensive lists, acronyms, and mnemonic devices. Aspies are commonly drawn to this type of mental organization, and many of us already rely heavily on lists and categories to manage our daily lives. Personally, scuba training felt almost familiar because of how it was structured. Neurotypicals face a potentially high barrier to entry during their initial scuba training because they must adapt their existing mental organization system to keep track of gear, conduct equipment and buddy checks, and establish and remember dive plans. For many Aspies, this manner of organization is more naturally grasped.

Humans (except for fluent sign-language speakers) lose our primary means of communication when diving. To compensate for this, the dive community has developed a set of hand signals that allow for limited communication at depth. Although there are small variations in the use of niche signals and the overall syntax when multiple signals are used in sequence, the most important signals are considered universal. However, because these signals are so simple and so few, divers need to be deliberate when communicating. This system will appeal to some Aspies. Because it reduces communication to only the most necessary messages, normalizes the practice of “speaking” methodically, and eliminates confounding factors like tone of voice and facial expression, some Aspie divers I know find this “language” preferable to speaking on land. Aspies may indeed find they are well-suited to this form of communication and therefore better prepared to become divers.

For Aspies, plans and expectations that are thorough, clear, and explicit are frequently a source of comfort. Due to safety concerns and limited communication at depth this is always the case when diving. Every dive training course will emphasize the importance of making thorough plans for each dive and clearly articulating any goals or expectations. Divers are also taught to stick to the plan, erring only on the side of safety. As the saying goes, “Plan your dive and dive your plan.” I imagine many Aspies will find this culture of safety and explicit communication comforting, as I have.

Potential Aspie Disadvantages

I think I’ve made a fair case so far for why Aspies tend to make good divers, but there are some ways in which we may be naturally unprepared. The biggest of these relates to the diving medical requirements and associated sensory issues.

While I am not aware of any proven correlations between autism and other specific medical conditions, the sensory under- and over-stimulation common amongst those on the spectrum can be a problem when diving, depending on how it manifests. For example, the rapid pressure changes involved in diving affect gas pockets in the body including the lungs, inner ears, and sinuses. Divers must compensate for these changes by breathing full, calm breaths and exhaling while ascending (lungs), equalizing/clearing their ears, often manually (inner ears and sinuses), and always ascending slowly (both). Although I have never witnessed autism-related sensory issues prevent a would-be diver from properly performing these tasks, someone prone to over-stimulation in their sinuses, for example, would almost certainly require extra help during training to get used to it. Similar sensory issues could arise with breathing compressed air, which is necessarily cold and dry and can be uncomfortable in the mouth and throat.

Another skill that may present some difficulty to autistic divers with sensory issues is the conscious regulation of breathing rhythm and overcoming the instinct to hold one’s breath. As mentioned above, lungs are fundamentally gas pockets that will expand and contract as the ambient pressure changes. This can cause a serious lung over-expansion injury if a diver, for example, holds their breath and swims upward. Slight changes in lung volume (inhaling and exhaling) will also influence a diver’s buoyancy, allowing for fine mobility control. For these reasons, dive training courses emphasize conscious control of breathing and expect students to maintain that control throughout every dive. I know one individual on the spectrum who struggles with sensory over-stimulation when she starts to think about her breathing. While I imagine this might be a rare issue, it would be a significant problem when undertaking dive training.

I have known some Aspies for whom anxiety is a defining facet of life and who are prone to panic easily. If this sounds like you, I recommend that you approach diving with caution. While scuba diving can be a tool to regulate anxiety and panic through comfortingly thorough training, clear communication, and reduction of sensory over-stimulation, this regulation must be learned early in the training process. The best advice I can give to someone in this situation is to share their concerns with their instructor clearly, and to accept that extended training time in the pool may be necessary. Anxiety does not preclude you from becoming a successful diver but pretending that it isn’t part of the equation might put you in a dangerous situation.

Finally, diving is a social sport. While Aspies generally don’t experience speech delays in childhood, many of us have to work very hard to figure out the unwritten social rules that neurotypicals grasp quickly. Different Aspies do this at different rates during different stages of their lives, and some will probably never understand their neurotypical peers. I don’t personally see this as a failure or shortcoming, but it does create practical issues when entering a highly social activity that is, like most things, dominated by neurotypicals. There is no magic advice that will make your dive peers like or understand you. All you can do is keep a good attitude and open mind, give your best effort, and communicate genuinely. If possible, it may also be best to dive with a friend or family member who knows you well and will not be put off if a social rule is broken.

Getting Started—Finding a Healthy Dive Culture

While the vast majority of dive operations are shining examples of safety, there are plenty of less-than-reputable businesses that cut corners either out of laziness or to minimize expenses. Once you have engaged with such a business, they will frequently use peer-pressure (yes, really) to get you to finish your training while overlooking equipment safety issues or rushed instruction. All prospective divers should make sure that they are pursuing training through a reputable organization, especially those on the spectrum who anticipate needing extra time or assistance.

You’ll want to start by looking for an open water or introductory scuba course (these are common terms for a “basic” recreational scuba certification) offered by an internationally recognized dive training agency. These include the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), Scuba Schools International (SSI), Scuba Diving International (SDI), the British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC), the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS, also called the World Underwater Federation), the National Academy of Scuba Educators (NASE), and others.

Visit a dive shop, school, or training center associated with the agency of your choice and inquire about the dive certification process. Voice any questions or concerns you may have, including relevant sensory issues or significant anxieties. This initial conversation can tell you a lot about how a dive operation is run and, when coupled with online reviews, will form the basis of your decision. Learning to dive requires honesty and vulnerability, particularly if you have sensory/autism related concerns. That can be scary! You need to decide whether you feel comfortable being honest and vulnerable while working with this operation’s staff. All the effort will pay off when you receive patience and individual attention during training, and with a certification card that will be recognized by dive operators around the world. If you decide to pursue advanced dive training or even a career as a dive professional, you can rely on this familiar and trusted operation for guidance.

Getting Started—Adaptive Diving

The world of adaptive scuba training is growing rapidly, and new opportunities are popping up all over. This type of training was originally conceived for paraplegic divers, but it has expanded to cover a range of physical and mental conditions including most forms of autism. While the process I’ve outlined above may work for many Aspies who are capable of “passing” as neurotypical and/or who have relatively mild sensory concerns, people (Aspie or otherwise) elsewhere on the autism spectrum may benefit from adaptive training. This includes anyone who struggles with basic verbal communication or learning in a traditional academic setting, has severe sensory issues, or who does not function autonomously to the degree a diver normally would.

If you fall into this second category and want to learn to dive, your best bet (in the U.S., at least) is to find a shop with an instructor certified by the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA). This sort of thing will usually be emphasized on a store’s website. The HSA site (hsascuba.com) is supposed to help you find instructors, divemasters, and dive buddies who are HSA certified, although at time of writing each of these links causes the site to crash. I recommend starting with an internet search for “HSA Instructor” followed by your area.

HSA instructors are scuba instructors who have undergone additional training and are qualified to teach students with a range of physical and mental disabilities and conditions. Depending on the dive operation and your unique situation you may be placed into a class with neurotypical students and given the extra attention and support you need, or you may get entirely private lessons. If you have a friend or family member who dives and would like to dive with you, the HSA offers a Dive Buddy Course (DBC). This course prepares divers who are already certified to partner with paraplegic, quadriplegic, amputee, and blind buddies. I have been told that the most recent version of the DBC includes information about diving and the autism spectrum, though I can’t personally confirm this.

For me, scuba diving is as much about focusing my mind on a single task as it is about exploring. It grounds me, calms me, and keeps me active. While I can’t guarantee that diving will have these effects for all Aspies, I encourage you to try it if you are at all interested.

Your best source of advice about diving in the context of a science career will be faculty mentors engaged in diving research, so seek them out and talk to them. Lastly, remember that diving is far from required in the aquatic sciences; it’s just one of many tools that can be used to study marine or freshwater systems. Whether or not you decide to (or are able to) take up scuba diving, you are welcome in the natural sciences.

I am not a medical professional; the advice and views expressed here do not constitute formal medical advice. Further, these writings are my own and do not necessarily represent the official positions of any dive training or safety agencies with which I am affiliated, including the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Scuba Schools International (SSI), and Divers Alert Network (DAN), or that of any dive operations for which I have worked.

Formal Applications: How to Stay on Top of Everything

For most people, job applications are an occasional frustration. It’s common to stay in the same position for years at a time, and frequently the application process can be bypassed through personal connections. Scientists are not most people.

Whether you are trying to build a career in academia, industry, or government, you will have to fill out complex formal applications at several stages. These applications might be for admission to an undergraduate or graduate program, consideration for permanent or seasonal jobs, or for funding opportunities like scholarships, fellowships, grants, and research assistantships. Intense competition within the natural sciences means you will likely need to handle multiple applications for each academic year, field season, or funding need, and each application will ask for different components.

It can be a lot to keep track of, and I have known the frequency and intensity of these formal applications to drive students away from pursuing academic careers. Further, they can be a double-edged sword for Aspies. While many of us are drawn to the consistency, clear expectations, and sense of progress offered by the application process, we can also be prone to executive dysfunction, increased stress, and anxiety.

The purpose of this post is to share the strategies I have developed for managing the moving pieces involved in a formal application, whether it be for college admissions or a prestigious funding opportunity. The advice I share here is general and some points may not translate well to specific applications. However, the sequence and practices I recommend are valuable tools that can help you feel less anxious and more in control as you navigate your application.

1) Search for Places to Apply

This may seem obvious, but I mention it here because it can be easy to jump on the first decent opportunity you come across and to stop searching after that. Just because the position or program you found is good doesn’t mean that there isn’t another equally good or better opportunity to be found. It would be wise to complete a thorough search at the very beginning of this process to avoid missing anything important. That said, you must know when to end your search. It can be just as easy to get so bogged down making lists of places to apply that you never actually start an application!

My advice is to start by defining your search parameters. Ask yourself what exactly it is you are looking for. If you are choosing an undergraduate program, try to identify the qualities, courses, resources, or programs that you want from your college experience. For graduate programs, consider what research themes and methods you would like to explore, what connections and mentorship style you would like your advisor to have, and what resources for further career preparation you need your program to provide. When looking for jobs of any sort you should start by deciding whether you need a seasonal or permanent position, or if you are open to either. The same should be decided for full-time/part-time. From there you can worry about the kind of work you would like to do. When looking for funding determine exactly what type of research or equipment the funding is needed for and consider the different types of organizations that might be interested. Also consider the amount and type of funding you would like. Do you need a small one-time payment to cover an expensive piece of equipment, or are you looking for a multi-year fellowship to support your graduate education?

Once you have identified these qualities, you should define the length and depth of your search. For example, if you are looking for a seasonal field position in your area, limit yourself to local job postings/fairs and a handful of searches on Google, Indeed, Linkedin, Glassdoor, etc. It will not be worth your time to search for positions on national and international platforms like the Texas A&M Conservation Job Board if you are limited to jobs in your area, because anything local that appears on these bigger lists will likely also appear on your basic local searches. For undergraduate and graduate programs, figure out which desired quality or resource is most important to you or most uncommon, then limit yourself to investigating the programs with that quality. If, for example, you want to do regular field research on salamanders, limit yourself to schools within the natural range of salamanders. If your desired research area is very niche, there may only be a handful of labs working in that area and this step is done for you. For funding, repeated searches are necessary to stay on top of every relevant opportunity. In this case I recommend that you limit yourself to searching one or two funding sites (Pathways to Science, NSF, etc.) at a time. It is always ok to come back later and look for more funding, but you can’t afford to paralyze yourself by searching infinitely either.

2) Make a List of Application Components

Once you have decided to apply for a job, funding opportunity, or academic program, you should thoroughly read over the solicitation and make a list of everything that is expected of you. For some jobs this may be a short list, requiring only a cover letter, resume/CV, and a couple of references. For grant applications and graduate program admissions, there may be as many as 10-15 different required documents and forms. Write all of this down in one place and be sure to separate components into sub-lists for each office if you must send things to multiple emails or offices (very common with graduate admissions).

3) Identify Components that Require Significant Time or Effort

Some application components will require a lot of effort (writing cover letters, statements of intent, various essays) and others, while simple, need time (ordering standardized test scores or official transcripts, waiting for people to write you letters of recommendation). Your next step is to identify every component within each of your applications that falls into either category. These are the requirements that can sneak up on you and give you a nasty surprise if you don’t start on them early enough. I usually put a little asterisk next to components that require me to write more than a paragraph, and a circle next to ones that involve ordering documents by mail or asking for letters of recommendation.

4) Make a Timeline for Completing Components

Find the deadline for your finished application, then lay out a timeline between now and then. You don’t have to write out when you will complete every single component, but find a specific place on the timeline for each of the components that need a lot of time or effort! This is the key to my application strategy. By plotting all of the tough components that have the potential to sneak up on you on the same timeline, you will be completely safe from last-minute crises so long as you stick to the timeline.

Your timeline will be heavily personalized because it has to fit around your existing schedule, but there are a couple of considerations you should make regardless. For anything that involves other people, greatly extend the time allotted from what you think they will need. Depending on the academic level I have heard that the acceptable amount of time to ask for a letter of recommendation is anywhere from four weeks to three months prior to the deadline. My position is that, in academia, earlier is always better and there is no such thing as too early! You will probably have to remind your letter-writers multiple times, depending on how early you ask them. Put those reminders on your timeline. Likewise, you should account for how long it will take for things like standardized test scores and official transcripts to arrive. Some universities can send transcripts digitally through document services like Parchment, but others will need to mail them. Plan for this on your timeline. Finally, you should absolutely seek feedback on your essays, personal statements, cover letters, research proposals, etc. No matter how experienced you get, having a second qualified set of eyes look over your writings can make a huge difference in quality. Especially while you are a student, this will massively improve your chances of landing the job/funding. Remember to incorporate time for feedback into your timeline.

5) Synthesize Your Timelines

For the most part, you are likely applying to more than one job, funding source, or academic program at the same time. Once you have completed steps 2-4 for each of them synthesize your timelines into one master timeline. Now you only need to stick to one timeline, which includes the major components of every application. If you followed these steps completely you won’t have any last-minute surprises about missing documents, forgotten requirements, or sudden deadlines. If you are like me and normally manage your life through a day planner, your application timeline can be easily integrated into your planner and you won’t even have to keep track of a new document!

6) Create If-Then Dependency Plans

For most types of formal applications dependency plans can be simple. When applying for college admission or seasonal jobs that will all start around the same time, you are likely to hear back from each place you applied at about the same time. This will allow you to choose the best program/position that accepted you. For these situations, all you need to do is have a general sense of which jobs or programs you like more.

Things get a little more complicated when timelines aren’t synchronized. Sometimes when applying to multiple jobs, academic programs, or funding sources you will hear back from one and be expected to accept or decline before you hear from another. Other times one application may be dependent on the success of another. This frequently happens when applying for outside funding while simultaneously applying to a graduate program. In these situations, I find it helpful to create an if-then dependency plan. I will consider which entity (job, school, funding agency) I am likely to hear from first, then plan what to do next after being accepted (positive plan) or denied (negative plan). Carefully consider whether you would be happy with this job/program if they made you an offer and needed a response before you hear back from anywhere else. Likewise, if this position is no longer on the table where will your priorities lie? Which opportunity would be best for you excluding this one? These plans can get complex and highly varied, especially when dealing with the world of academic funding. I can’t write out a universal plan here for those reasons, but remember that when making your plan you need to have a thorough understanding of both when you might hear back from your various opportunities and whether/how they depend on each other.

Advice for Specific Types of Applications

Big-System Job Applications

Jobs within massive organizations like universities, state or federal agencies, and big corporations can be subject to extensive regulations and regularly receive hundreds of applicants. This necessitates a complex job application system to advertise positions and screen applicants. You’ll know that you have come across a “big-system” job like this if the application requires you to set up an account on the hiring entity’s website.

There are a couple of things you should know about this type of job application. First, the initial cuts will probably be made by a computer algorithm. If your application doesn’t survive these cuts, it likely won’t ever be seen by a human being. These algorithms generally look for pre-defined keywords in your application materials, so don’t be afraid to mention the desired qualities/skills from the job posting explicitly. You can even use the same phrasing as the job posting. This will increase the chances of your application passing the algorithm and being seen by a hiring manager.

Frustratingly, you will probably have to upload your resume/CV and then later enter pretty much everything from that document into a form. This is so the algorithm can more easily parse through everything. Personally I find this infuriating (If I have to enter the details from every job I’ve had in the last ten years then why do you need my resume???) but it is very much the norm with this type of application and you should be prepared for it.

Lastly, don’t be surprised if you come across a job posting from yesterday with a closing date set for today or tomorrow. Sometimes (particularly for government jobs) there is a requirement that all open positions be posted publicly, even if the intent is to hire internally. I generally don’t bother applying for these jobs.

College Admissions

Undergraduate admission is a different world from most other types of formal applications. Employers, funding entities, and graduate programs will all want to hear about your relevant experience, and in some cases what your specific plans are should you receive the position/funding. Generally you should tailor your resume/CV to the position, emphasizing experience related to what you are applying for and removing things that aren’t relevant. When applying to colleges almost the opposite is true. While this should never come at the expense of writing a coherent personal narrative, you are expected to include as much detail as possible! List every extra-curricular activity you have been involved with, every leadership position you have held, all of your work experience, and maybe even a hobby if it relates to your personal narrative and/or intended field of study. My reason for including this section is to advise against treating your college application like a job application. Colleges want to see a well-rounded person with both refined interest in their intended major and well-rounded experiences outside of that field. Do not be afraid to include something just because it’s unrelated to your program.

Scholarships and Academic Funding

This is the area where I (at the time of writing) have the most experience. I can’t yet speak to applications for funding at the professional level, but as an undergraduate student much of my free time was spent searching for and completing research-centered scholarship applications. The most important piece of advice I have for this type of application is to craft a narrative. If the scholarship is for college students in any program, talk about your journey to your program, how your program is benefitting you, and what you will do with your degree. Don’t get bogged down in technical descriptions of your work. For research-based scholarships, talk about what draws you to the process of research and to your field specifically. Talk about the methods and techniques you find interesting, and don’t forget to link everything back to your personal narrative and future plans. I can’t get more specific than this because the narrative needs to be a personal one but remember that applications with an easy to follow narrative are ones that will appeal to the funding entity.

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Fieldwork as an Aspie

Fieldwork is all but certain to play a part in your career as a natural scientist. Even if you plan on exclusively analyzing data, working in a lab, or teaching, your education will likely include a field component somewhere along the line. Working in the field can create challenging situations for Aspies that aren’t an issue in other types of work. Whether you are taking a course at a field station, occasionally collecting samples for your research, or working a full-time field job, you should be aware of and prepared to meet these challenges.

Perhaps the most obvious issue with fieldwork is socialization. Not only will the number of people with whom you can regularly interact decrease, but you will probably be spending long periods of time in their company. For some work you will have to spend weeks at a time working with only one person. As an Aspie this can be a terrifying prospect. What if interacting with this person drains you too much to work? How do you cope if you don’t get along with this person? How do you move from seeing a person on and off during the workday to spending the full day working exclusively with them? Socially exhausting situations like this are unfortunate, but they may be unavoidable depending on your line of work.

My first full-time field job is a good example of this struggle. After graduating from college I spent a summer working as an electrofishing technician for a state agency. My unit would send out 2-5 person teams on 4-day data collection trips every week, weather allowing. This is what the job demanded. My first time working with a new person was always socially intimidating, especially if it would only be the two of us that week. Working ten plus hour days together, eating dinner together, then doing that three more times can get exhausting even for neurotypicals, so you can understand how an Aspie might be extremely stressed.

Your first line of defense concerning fieldwork is deciding whether a position is right for you. The last thing I want to do is discourage Aspies from pursuing fieldwork, but you should know that the nature of the job often requires situations like the one I’ve just described. It is important that you read up on a job before applying. You need to have a good understanding of what that position will expect of you, and what you need in order work well. Don’t despair if this limits you, though, because there are plenty of jobs that can give you field experience without the socially intimidating conditions. You just need to sort out which ones are which.

When in the field, try to identify and retreat to “your space” whenever you can and feel you need to. This can be your hotel room or cabin if you have one, a walk away from the campsite, etc. It won’t always be possible to do this, but there will be opportunities for you to step away from your partner/group. You can explain that, when appropriate, you need a little alone time. This is not an unreasonable request, and your teammates will understand. Even if the whole group eats dinner together, you are not required to eat with them. Neurotypicals may consider you rude for disappearing without explanation, but most will understand so long as you make it clear that you need time to unwind, and that it isn’t personal.

Another helpful strategy is to familiarize yourself with the expedition details beforehand. If you are preparing for a marine research cruise, there may be an opportunity to do a walkthrough of the ship before departure day. This will allow you to start acclimating to the environment gradually, potentially striking that from your list of stressors. If you will be spending some time at a field station, you are likely to find online photos, videos, and maps of the station that can similarly help. For short-term expeditions, I recommend you participate in the planning process as much as possible. Provided you are not in charge of the trip, hearing those who are discuss equipment and methods that will be used, as well as the team’s goals and priorities will give you a better sense of what to expect. This will also give you a chance to ask questions.

Finally, know that it is ok to discuss your needs and apprehensions with your partner or teammates. If you feel comfortable having an open conversation, your team’s understanding can go a long way toward alleviating your social stresses. In my experience, scientists are generally aware of Asperger’s Syndrome and tend to be supportive of their colleagues on the spectrum. However, you should not feel pressured to share your diagnosis and personal struggles with anyone. Only do this once you trust your teammates and are comfortable enough to be open with them.

I hope these strategies for coping with the challenges of conducting fieldwork as an Aspie are as helpful to you as they have been to me. This post will be updated as I continue my career, encounter new challenges, and develop new ways to meet them. If you have your own related challenges or advice that you would like to share, feel free to reach out. I am always happy to learn from the experiences of others.

I would like to clarify that the above personal anecdote is in no way a criticism of or complaint about any of my coworkers or the agency in general. The people I met in this job were all wonderful, fascinating people, and I did enjoy my time there. I simply want to characterize the fears and frustrations I experienced as an Aspie in this situation that my neurotypical coworkers likely did not.

Am I Doing Enough? Dealing with Work Guilt

Wasting time and energy comparing yourself to others is generally discouraged, but in a scientific career it can be especially dangerous. This career path can be competitive and cutthroat at times, frequently leading us to ask an important but troubling question: “Am I doing enough?” Whether you are one of seven hundred applicants for a fieldwork job or trying to land a tenure-track faculty position anywhere in the world, you probably feel the need to set yourself apart. You need one more internship, or publication, or certification to give you an edge. This sentiment isn’t necessarily misplaced. Natural science jobs are notoriously competitive, and you likely will benefit from these resume boosters to a certain extent. There is a hidden cost to this mindset though, that you must balance with your effort to do more. As you push yourself further, heaping more tasks and goals onto your plate, your anxiety will likely grow while your mental fortitude crumbles. It is easy to picture how you might take on “just one more thing” beyond your current responsibilities, but it isn’t always easy to see what you will sacrifice for it.

Everyone lets out their stress in different ways, whether it be a hobby, reading, or just taking a nap. When you work these things into your schedule it is natural to feel a little guilty. After all, this is time you could have spent building your career! But I have a theory that without a healthy outlet, your stress will sneak back into your working time and subtly decrease the quality of your work. This principle is repeated by teachers everywhere, who know that a good night’s sleep will benefit you more on a test than staying up all night cramming.

Today is day 71 of my pandemic quarantine, and this idea of work guilt has never been so real to me. With both of my jobs shut down for the past two months and unlikely to open for at least another month, I have been isolating at home and struggling with how to spend my time. My instinctive work guilt is telling me that I should be doing anything and everything with this time to get ahead in my career. I should be reading textbooks for background knowledge and recent papers for new developments. I should be refreshing myself on statistical methods and software because I won’t have this much free time to do so after starting grad school. And of course, I should be making headway writing for this site. I don’t have an excuse not to!

I initially tried to fit each of these projects into a daily and weekly work structure but attempting to worry about everything for several hours each day left me feeling emotionally burned out and anxious. I noticed the quality of my work slipping. I struggled to focus on the technical language I was supposed to be taking in when reading, and my own writing began to stagnate. In the end I decided that the stress and emotional turmoil brought on by my situation could not be ignored or channeled into work. It had to be processed and let out through conscious efforts to exercise, relax, read for fun, interact with friends and family, and maintain a regular sleep schedule. In short, the fun/unproductive activities that often make me feel guilty for not working are, in moderation, necessary outlets for stress and emotional tension.

If you are trying to make a career in the natural sciences, an internalized sense of work guilt will probably help to some extent. You should remember, though, that spending all your time on work and work-related tasks will eventually lead to burnout and lower-quality deliverables. I believe finding a healthy and productive balance between work and stress outlets is the best tactic in the long run, even if that balance changes throughout your career. Find your balance, and don’t let work guilt ruin your relaxation time.

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I Want to Become a Natural/Marine Scientist. Which Classes Should I Take?

Right out of the gate, I’ll start with the (often infuriating) caveat that you’ll see all over the internet: There is no single “right” way to become a natural scientist, or any type of scientist for that matter! This is, strictly speaking, true. When scientists say this, they are generally trying their best not to discourage anyone from pursuing a scientific career just because they took time off before college, don’t have a lot of money, have a child to support, or various things like that. They are right to do this of course, but in my experience many of them cast too wide a net and don’t end up giving much practical advice! That’s the niche I hope to fill here. Please note that none of the classes I mention are “required to become a scientist,” they are simply good uses of your time that may be helpful. Your ultimate resource for starting a career in the sciences are the scientists working in your field at your institution. Ask them for more detailed information that may be more relevant to your specific situation.

Brief caveat: I’ve tried to keep this advice generalized to the natural sciences, but my personal experience is mostly marine. If my course recommendations seem heavy on fish and ocean-related topics, that would be why. Use common sense to figure out which of these would be most useful in your career.

High School Students

Priority number one should be locking in a good work ethic and strong study habits. If you can only do one thing I mention here, make it this one!

Most of your important professional science experience will probably come starting in college so now is the time to lay the groundwork. Does your high school offer a marine biology or field science course? Take it. Is there a zoo, aquarium, museum, or science center nearby that you can volunteer at? Do that. Would your parents/authority figures let you set up a small aquarium or terrarium and learn to care for fish or a turtle? Sure, why not. If these aren’t options for you, it’s ok. Most American high school students don’t get to pick their high school, and they probably didn’t have a say in where they live. Colleges know this, and absolutely will not keep you out of your dream program just because your high school doesn’t offer a particular class. Take advantage of what your school and living situation have to offer, study hard, and you will be fine.

A few classes to take if your school offers them:

-Marine Biology

-Statistics

-Chemistry

-General Biology

-Physics

-Follow your school’s track for math classes. Don’t just stop taking math classes if they’ll let you, that stuff might be useful soon!

-Any other relevant sciences that might be available (Ecology, Wildlife Science, things like that).

-Other non-science courses that interest you!

Lastly, don’t pigeon-hole yourself into just science! Take foreign language classes, maybe woodshop or automotive maintenance, cooking, history and political science, music, theater, whatever else you’re interested in! High school isn’t supposed to just prepare you for one career, it’s a chance to expand your knowledge and find new interests. You aren’t in a rat race to take the most science courses. Several of these classes may even prove useful in a science career (Fieldwork in a foreign country is easier if you speak the language, cooking or repair skills always come in handy, etc.). Besides, having diverse interests and skills can only help your college admissions prospects.

College Students (Undergrads)

I assume if you’ve been admitted to an undergraduate program and you want to be a marine/natural scientist, that program probably involves, if it isn’t centered on, natural science or biology. This doesn’t need to be the case however! If for example you want to use big data to understand ecosystem functions and analyze species populations, a statistics or computer science degree might serve you well. Maybe you (like me) chose a land-locked school because in-state tuition is a wonderful thing, but really want to study the ocean. You are still ok!

It all comes down to taking advantage of the opportunities and resources your school offers. If your degree program is in the field where you’d like to make a career, just follow the graduation requirements and add any extra courses that interest you. If (again like me) your school has no program in your desired field take as many relevant courses as you can (Marine Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Zoology, Animal Behavior, Population Biology, Biometry, Oceanography, Ichthyology, Mammalogy, Ornithology, Herpetology, Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Invertebrate Zoology, Marine Biogeochemistry, Organic Chemistry, Cell/Developmental Biology, Plant Biology, etc.). There may even be some study abroad programs that will get you experience in a field that your school generally lacks. For example, I took a Coral Reef Ecology class that involved doing fish and invertebrate surveys on a reef in Honduras. Even if these programs only last a week over winter break, try them out!

If your program is in the biological or physical sciences, you probably have requirements for some of these courses that can be helpful. If one of these isn’t required for you, consider picking it up anyway.

-General Physics (Kinematics, Electricity, and Magnetism)

-General Chemistry

-Statistics

-Biochemistry

-Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

-General Biology

-Public Speaking

To be clear, this is not a checklist of classes that you must take if you want to be successful, it’s more of a vague list of classes that you may find helpful or relevant depending on your interests (I didn’t take all of these as an undergrad!). Your academic advisor and/or research mentor will be able to help you pick out the most relevant and important classes for you.

At the end of the day, choose your degree program and classes based on your interests, then let those interests lead you wherever they will. If you work hard, learn the material, and take advantage of the resources your school offers, you will be just fine.

Why and How You Should do Research as an Undergraduate

Careers in the sciences are centered around research. Whether you want to be a scientist doing the research, a journalist writing about the findings, or a policy-maker or environmental manager using those findings to make decisions, a thorough understanding of the scientific method and the process of research are vital. There is no better time to get acquainted with research than college, when you will likely be surrounded with faculty and graduate students working in a wide variety of fields. Working in a research lab will help you to narrow your professional interests, inform your future career decisions, and give you a taste of what graduate research is like.

How do I get Research Experience?

Depending on your school you have a few options. Most labs are constantly strapped for cash, so they are always willing to accept undergraduate volunteers. If you are a student at a research university (or if you just happen to live near one), all you need to do is find a lab that sounds interesting to you on the school website and email the PI (Principal Investigator) offering your time. In many cases he/she will have a hard time turning away free help! Some schools may offer course credits for working in a lab. If you can get your PI to sign off on it, this is an excellent way to document volunteer research experience on your transcript while (possibly) giving your GPA a boost.

The ideal find would be a paid position working on a research project. Unfortunately for reasons stated above, these are few and far between. There are paid technician roles in many labs that do more repetitive or menial work however, and you may be able to use these as an “in” with the lab manager or PI. For example, if you’ve been working as a tank cleaner or animal feeder for a semester already when the lab has a need for help on an existing project, the PI might offer you the spot before advertising it to other students. Your school might also offer undergraduate research funding that you can apply for, which may or may not include a stipend for you. Consult your PI or your school website to find out what is available to you.

Some schools require an undergraduate thesis or capstone project during your final year. If you haven’t gotten some experience with a research lab by that point, this is your chance! Every school handles this a little differently, and some (mostly American schools as I understand it) only require a thesis of Latin Honors graduates rather than all students. If your school has a formal process of choosing a lab in which to do your thesis then that is the process you should use. Otherwise, it would be wise to start volunteering in a lab well in advance of your thesis time so you are familiar with your lab-mates and the available resources. An undergraduate thesis/capstone project is also a perfect experience to leverage when applying to graduate school.

Finally, I recommend you look into the National Science Foundation REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. I’ve written about the program here, but the idea is that you apply to one or more REU Sites where, once accepted, you get to conduct a research project in a PI’s lab. You are given a stipend, research mentoring, and sometimes room and board. REUs are typically more involved than research at your home institution because most programs last 3-4 months over the summer and are typically a full-time job. The REU program can be helpful if you want to do research in a field not studied at your home institution, or if you aren’t sure whether graduate school is the right path for you.

These are all excellent ways of getting research experience as an undergraduate student. I heavily recommend that anyone working toward a science degree of any kind gain experience with a research lab before graduating. Having a hand in the scientific process early in your academic career can give you an edge in graduate school applications, help you figure out which career path is best for you, and make you a more scientifically literate citizen.

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The Academic Roadmap Explained: How to Make Science Your Career

I made it all the way to college before knowing the difference between a master’s degree and a PhD. Seriously. I knew they came after your four-year college degree, but not much more. If you’re spending any amount of time on this site you may be considering a career in the sciences, in which case you should be aware of how the academic roadmap generally works. Learn this now and use it to inform your career decisions going forward. The last thing you want is to get a graduate degree only to discover you don’t need it for your intended career path, or to assume your bachelor’s degree will be enough to land your dream job when a PhD is absolutely necessary.

Quick disclaimer: Academic careers are highly variable; no two people will take the same path. This post is not designed to be a be-all, end-all guide. That said, there are some constants. You will not be considered for a full tenure-track professorship without a PhD, for example. My intent here is to show you the general flow between degree programs and jobs in academia.

An academic career generally starts with earning a four-year degree, called a bachelor’s degree. People in a bachelor’s program are called undergraduate students. Two-year associate degrees can be enough to get you into some fields as a technician, but if you want to continue in academia you will need to then earn your bachelor’s. This can be done at essentially any four-year college or university, depending of course on where your desired major/program is offered.

In the natural sciences, a bachelor’s degree is not always enough to start a career. There are exceptions of course, but the pickings can be slim. I know folks working as animal caretakers/zookeepers and government field technicians who only hold bachelor’s degrees, but these jobs are often quite competitive or will only hire you seasonally at first. I don’t mean to discourage you from taking this route, I just want you to be prepared for the job hunt. This is also where people who want to teach grade school science typically exit the academic pipeline. There are teaching programs nested within colleges which net you a teaching license while you earn your bachelor’s, allowing you to pursue, for example, high school science teacher positions. You may also find a paid research position in a university lab that mentors you as a budding scientist while also being a full-time job. This is called a post-baccalaureate (or post-bac) research position.

After earning your bachelor’s degree, the next step in the academic pipeline is often a master’s degree program. Depending on your program, this may take anywhere from 1.5 to 4ish years. It is important to note that, unlike other fields like music or education, you can sometimes skip over a master’s program and start a doctoral (PhD) program right after your bachelor’s! This of course varies from program to program, so check the websites of the schools you are interested in. In any case, while Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees generally teach you what to know, research-based Master of Science (MS) programs begin to teach you how to uncover new knowledge through the research process. There are also course-based MS programs that don’t require any research on your part, only classes. A research-based MS will generally require a capstone research project/report at the end called your master’s thesis. Course-based MS programs don’t often require a thesis. Other master’s options also exist, like a Master of Professional Science (MPS) program. These vary quite a bit from place to place, so you’ll have to check the program’s website to see how exactly each one works.

With an MS, your career options expand significantly. Depending on the subject and type of your degree, you can apply for positions in the public sector (Government positions at the Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, various state agencies, etc.), private sector (Company positions at places like Sea World, environmental consulting companies, private zoos or aquariums, etc.), nonprofit arena (Oceana, The Wildlife Conservation Society, The World Wildlife Fund, The Ocean Conservancy, etc.), academia (Research positions at colleges or universities, often as lab managers or full-time technicians), and any number of other places. Master’s programs are so varied that I can’t possibly list everywhere you might work after completing one.

Continuing along the academic route, you will need to enter a doctoral (PhD) program. These can take anywhere from 3-7 years depending on your program requirements, research project, and even country of study. A PhD graduate needs to have made a significant, original contribution to the body of human knowledge. What this means is that, whether your program requires coursework or not, you will be doing a lot of research. At the end you will present a massive final research report called a dissertation, and upon graduation you get to put “Dr.” in front of your name. In the research sciences, where you earn your doctorate is often much less important that in whose lab you earn it. The school you attend may not be the best, most advanced school in the world, but if the narrow sub-field you’ve chosen to study has three professors working in it you go wherever they are.

In addition to (potentially) higher-level positions with each of the organizations open to master’s degree holders, your doctorate will allow you to apply for tenure-track academic positions! However, you may not be as competitive for those until you complete one or more post-doctoral fellowships (post-docs). These are limited term (often 1-2 years) research positions in a professor’s lab that allow you to better your research and lab-management skills while working on a funded project. They are not easy jobs, and the stress of not having a guaranteed income beyond one or two years turns a lot of people away from this step of academia. But, with perseverance and some (a lot) of luck, you can land a tenure-track professorship! This is kind of the golden goose of academia, and usually allows you to set up your own lab and start taking on graduate (master’s and PhD) students. From there, you can advance along the “tenure track” from Assistant Professor, to Associate Professor, to Professor.

There are also non-tenure-track positions, such as adjunct professors or lecturers. While these are certainly academic teaching jobs, they generally have lower pay, less job security, and little to no research involved. There are also many other academic positions available (research only professorships, teaching professorships, etc.), but these vary a lot from place to place and may be part-time, temporary, or both.

This is the general academic pipeline, from undergraduate student to tenure-track professor. The exact route any one person takes may vary heavily from this roadmap, and your results may vary (especially during the post-PhD period). Many folks take breaks from academia in between these steps, most commonly after earning a bachelor’s degree. That is ok! This post is not intended to funnel everyone down the same path, I just feel that anyone operating at any level of academia should be aware of how the system works. Use this roadmap as a career planning tool, not a set-in-stone path. Best of luck!

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Conferences: A Highly Social Environment

As a scientist, you will probably be expected to present your research at academic conferences. These are meetings of professional societies where you can present posters, give research talks, participate in roundtables and workshops, and network with scientists from other institutions. Well-known marine/natural science conferences include the annual meetings of the American Fisheries Society, Ecological Society of America, American Elasmobranch Society, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation, etc.

As an Aspie, these intensely social experiences can be overwhelming. When surrounded by unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar city it can be tempting to hide in your hotel room as soon as you’ve finished presenting your research. This was how I felt at my first conference, and I imagine I’m not alone. It’s also possible to have the opposite problem; many students push themselves to attend as many talks as possible, ending up exhausted!

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, I have a few pieces of advice that you might find helpful when attending your first conferences.

Listen to Other Research Talks

Look over the list of talks and pick out a few that interest you. It’s always good to support your lab-mates or advisor if they will also be presenting, but you likely already know a lot about their work! Depending on how long the conference is/how many talks there are, I recommend listening to 3-5 presentations not counting the ones from your lab. As you attend more conferences you’ll get a feel for how many talks you can handle before getting overloaded and forgetting all of it. DO NOT try to hear a talk during every single time slot, you’ll get exhausted and stop paying attention anyway. Find your balance!

Set Specific Networking Goals

I am a huge proponent of breaking larger tasks down into smaller ones. Even if your project is broken into tiny baby steps it will get done if you take a step every day. Networking at a large conference can feel like a nebulous goal, but if you set a specific benchmark for yourself it becomes much more manageable. For example, if you are attending your first conference as an undergraduate, you might be scoping out potential grad school advisors. In this case your specific goals might be 1) Pick the three most interesting research talks, 2) Take notes during the talks and write down any questions 3) Find a time to introduce yourself to the speakers, either during a social event or after their talks if they don’t appear to be too busy, and 4) Inquire about openings in their lab and, if possible, swap email addresses. You can follow up with them after the conference. These are measurable, realistic goals for networking that make the process seem more approachable.

Don’t Feel Obligated to Attend Every Social Event

Many conferences have cocktail-style socials or full formal dinners. While these are often included with your conference tickets they are not required! If you’re feeling socially drained from a full day of presentations you absolutely don’t have to attend. It’s also ok to leave early if you need to. These events are common places for networking, but there is no rule against getting your networking done during the actual conference and taking some alone time during social hour. Remember, these things were designed by neurotypicals so you shouldn’t feel bad if they aren’t easy for you to get through. You certainly wouldn’t be the only person that struggles with them and needs to take some time for themselves.

Try Something Outside of the Conference

If you’re in a new place you should try some new experiences! Just because you are in town for the conference doesn’t mean you have to stay there the whole time. Try some local food, see some sights, or even participate in a day of service if the conference facilitates one. My first conference was the Southern Division American Fisheries Society meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. My advisor recommended that I go kayaking on a bioluminescent bay, and it was a fantastic experience! I realize most conference locations aren’t quite that exotic, but any city will likely have something worth doing or seeing outside of your work. Do something to help you unwind after a long day of talking and socializing.

Consider Getting More Involved with the Conference

If you are an undergraduate student presenting at your first conference or two, you don’t really need to worry about this part yet. Once you are a grad student, post-doc, staff researcher, or professor, you should think about becoming a full member of the research society/organization that puts on the conference. Depending on how frequently you attend and what exactly you research, you may even want to run for a leadership position within the organization. Every group has different rules for how this works, but these additional responsibilities may help you to network and improve your professional standing.

Academic conferences are a whole ecosystem unto themselves, and they can be very intimidating for Neurotypicals and Aspies alike. They are also excellent opportunities to meet others in your field and hear updates about other areas of research. I highly recommend you start attending as soon as you can and take full advantage of all they have to offer. Your research advisor will have the best idea of which conference(s) are most appropriate for your interests and will likely help you apply for funding. Best of luck!

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The Autistic Spark

When I was first diagnosed with Asperger’s I was emphatically told that this didn’t make me lesser, only different. My parents were sure to explain that being an Aspie came with positives and negatives. “Specialist subjects,” a common facet of Aspie life, can be viewed as either depending on the context. These are subjects with which we are intensely fascinated, and we often jump at the chance to talk about them. For parents, educators, and siblings hearing about the same topics over and over can be frustrating, but to us collecting new knowledge in these areas is addicting and fun. If intellectual engagement with a subject is like a flame that may burn out, Aspies have an autistic spark that reignites the flame and drives us to learn more and more about our specialist subject. I believe this drive can be put to good use, both for our individual wellbeing and the planet’s.

Turning Your Specialist Subject into a Science Career

“Choose a job you love, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” -Unknown

This cliché often attributed (doubtfully) to Confucius seems obvious, but for Aspies it goes double. For many of us, making a career out of our specialist subjects would be a dream come true. This is not always possible, but for those of us interested in parts of the natural world like species of birds or relationships between plants, statistics and big data, or even how humans structures are designed, a path exists to an enjoyable and vital career. The scientific endeavor is by its nature slow and methodical. To properly function it needs stewards who are committed to expanding knowledge in their field and protecting the integrity of the process. The road is long and complex, but passionate scientists are needed to improve human understanding of the world we inhabit.

The World Needs People Like You

“I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.” -Greta Thunberg

The Earth is changing. Increasing atmospheric temperatures, ocean acidification, overfishing, deforestation, eutrophication of streams and estuaries, habitat loss, and many other destructive forces are reshaping our planet. We don’t yet fully understand how our global ecosystem functions and inter-connects, let alone how it will change as a result of human actions. Continued human existence as we know it, not to mention that of millions of other species, depends on a thorough understanding of how the world works and what we can do to protect it. This requires dedicated scientists who can work on all aspects of the problem. Ecologists are needed to characterize ecosystem structures and to identify keystone species. Data analysts and population scientists are needed to determine which species are in the most imminent danger and to set hunting and catch limits. Geologists and climatologists are needed to assess what will happen to the Earth’s biosphere and what we can do about it. Conservationists are needed to design and implement new strategies to protect life in each of our ecosystems. These are only a few natural science careers through which you can help protect our planet.

What is this Blog About?

My goal here is to convince other Aspies (and non-Aspie/NT folks too of course!) to put their autistic spark to work by joining the scientific endeavor to better understand and protect our world. As an aspiring marine scientist with a specialist subject in bony fish biology, I am familiar with the unique assets Aspies posses that may benefit them in a scientific career. I have also run up against a few challenges that may be unique to Asperger’s. With this blog I aim to-

Encourage young Aspies to pursue a career in the natural sciences,
Answer common questions Aspies might have about the academic world through my personal experiences,
Address unique issues Aspies may face in academia (specifically the natural sciences) and share strategies for overcoming them, and
Improve general public awareness and acceptance of Aspies in academia and society.

This blog addresses issues that may arise at different points in a science career, from high school to full-time researcher. It is designed to be read by Aspies at all career stages, as well as any neurotypicals that find it helpful.