Sadie Witkowski

Sadie Witkowski received her PhD in psychology at Northwestern University studying the impact of sleep on memory. During her graduate work, she also pursued science communication opportunities as a AAAS Mass Media Fellow-Science Reporter for Voice of America and also created the podcast PhDrinking where she interviews graduate students across a variety of fields about their research. Sadie has helped develop SCOPE (Science Communication Online Program), an NSF funded online program to train STEM students in science communication skills and is currently a Director of Communications and Engagement at IMSI - Institute for Mathematical and Statistical Innovation. You can check out her personal website with more science content here! 

Can you describe your academic and professional background? What path led you to pursue this field?   

My first experience in research was actually during my freshman year of undergrad at the University of Texas at Austin. I volunteered in a neuroscience lab, primarily just scheduling participants and learning the basics of matlab. To be honest, I found the research relatively boring, but I think it's because I wasn't engaging with the literature behind the work and why we were doing what we were doing. It wasn't until I joined a second lab- Dr. Schnyer's cognitive neuroscience lab, that I started to do reading on sleep, cognition, and attention that I really got engaged. I spent the rest of my undergrad years volunteering in that lab and learning all about sleep deprivation and sleep restriction. I loved doing research on how a lack of sleep could really impact our ability to think, monitor our emotions, or even just pay attention for extended periods of time. Straight from undergrad, I joined Dr. Paller's cognitive neuroscience lab as a grad researcher so I could continue studying sleep- this time focusing on how sleep can improve memory. I LOVED the research I did in grad school, but I also realized that I didn't want to pursue a traditional academic career. More than applying for grants, I wanted to take the research that I had learned and help share it with a broader, lay community. When I wasn't doing research in grad school, I was working on all sorts of science communication projects like podcasting, science writing, and running communication training programs. So when I completed my PhD (in April 2020- midst the pandemic no less!), I immediately started looking for science communication positions.

How did you find this particular position, and what was the hiring process like? Is there a typical structure for this in your field?  

My previous position was Senior Copywriter with AbelsonTaylor, a health and wellness advertising agency. Getting hired in the midst of a pandemic, straight out of grad school, was a pretty tough experience. I applied to at least 70 positions, through a range of types of positions and types of science communication. I knew that I wanted to stay linked into the world of science and medical research so those were the sorts of positions I applied for. The interview process was pretty straightforward. I had an initial call with the human resources manager, followed by an interview with my manager. Finally, I had a final call with the HR manager again to talk through the specifics of the offer before I reviewed the paperwork and accepted the position.

I found my current position (Director of Communications & Engagement for the Institute for Mathematical & Statistical Innovation(IMSI)) through my science communication networks (mostly slack channels). It was a pretty typical hiring process for a communications position with the first round requiring a cover letter and resume. The second round was interviews, followed by a writing test (I was asked to write a newsletter as if it were coming from IMSI).

Can you tell us about your current responsibilities? What is a typical day or week like in your role? 

My typical day is quite varied. My 5 main priorities are creating a podcast, starting a math & stats blog, managing social media, writing the newsletter, and running math communications bootcamps where I train early career researchers in how to better communicate their work. My work ends up splitting pretty evenly between training others to communicate and doing communications myself. We have plans to do more community events in the future, but due to the pandemic many of these have been put on hold.

What are some of the challenging aspects of your job? Is there anything you wish you had known about your job or industry before joining? 

It's been tough to start a new job (two new jobs now!) during quarantine and trying to meet my coworkers. Our offices have been allowing limited occupancy (masked), but most of my interactions with co-workers have been through video calls. It can be really hard to get to know people in this manner, and takes a lot more time than it would in person.

What’s changing in your industry? Are there any future trends we should be aware of?  

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed every industry as far as I can see. In terms of science communication positions like my own, it has meant getting creative in how we reach out to folks and planning more hybrid events (online & in-person).

What activities, internships, or organizations would you recommend someone get involved with to help them break into this field? 

I cannot recommend ComSciCon enough! It's a science communication workshop series created by grad students for grad students, and you can find chapters all over the  US (and Canada! and France!). I attended the Chicago 2016 workshop and it really opened my eyes to all the amazing science communication careers open to scientists like myself. Additionally, if you think you're interested in writing I highly suggest applying to the AAAS mass media fellowship. It's a competitive program to get into, but the experience of spending a summer as a science journalist really can't be beat.

Do you have any final words of advice for those navigating these career questions? Is there anything you would have done differently given what you know now? 

Finding a career path can be a long and always changing experience. I found that meeting and talking to lots of different people about their work and how they got there reassured me that there's no single path. And the more I met and heard different experiences, the more I understood the kinds of positions and experiences I was looking for.