Don’t Do What I Did: A Circuitous Career from Science to Science Policy and Beyond

Don’t do what I did. That is the best advice that I can give anyone considering an “alternative” career after getting an advanced degree in science. My career after the lab has ranged through writer, journal editor, the US Senate, the White House, philanthropy, and now work as a consultant. I have had the President of the United States read the words I have written, moved tens of billions of research dollars, changed research practice for most US scientists, and even launched a new federal agency. It has been a humbling and exhilarating ride, and along the way I have carved a place in this world where I only work on things that I believe in and always toward making the world a better place. There have been a pile of lessons and even more personal insight into what will bring me job satisfaction and, ultimately, happiness. But the path I took was more circuitous than need be because there really wasn’t a clear path for those motivated solely by making the world better than they left it. There are no degrees in doing the right thing, and like most careers, there are a thousand ways to get derailed by notoriety, money, power, and self-interest. This chapter describes my weird journey and what it took to do the work I am passionate about.