So of course I googled this summer policy institute at American University. It turns out that it is for professors and postdocs in international affairs who want to learn how to write policy-relevant academic scholarship, including some information on how to more effectively reach target audiences. I think that this is a great resource. Especially in the current era of sequestration, where congress can rationalize shutting down scientific funding for a particular unit of science in a federal research funding agency (i.e. political science in the National Science Foundation).

A similar resource that was not mentioned by McMurtrie, is the To Think To Write To Publish project. It focuses on developing communication skills among scientists, science journalists, and social scientists who can make contributions to science and technology policy. One of the principal investigators is Lee Gutkind, the founder of the Creative Nonfiction Magazine. The second is David Guston, a prominent science and technology policy scholar and a past editor of Science and Public Policy.

Another network of scholars that McMurtrie mentions in The Chronicle  is the Scholars Strategy Network. This is directed by prominent sociologist, Theda Skocpol. Unlike the first two, it does not appear to provide training, however its staff actively pursues public venues for the affiliated scholars to share their research briefs.

I welcome further information about opportunities for training in how to make the social sciences more relevant to policy.

In the article, I discuss the work of NGOs (primarily South Asian), and analyze how their model(s) of social entrepreneurship help or hinder their mission of providing eye health services. My main argument is that there have been two previous funding/technology transfer models in the appropriate technology movement, and that my multi-sited research demonstrates a third such model.

With thanks to Brill (and their permitted use policy), I have posted a self-archived copy on my personal website:  please see Three Models of Development: Community Ophthalmology NGOs and the Appropriate Technology Movement. Any critical comments or feedback are welcome, thanks!

I wanted to add to her direct insights with some of my own. I basically think of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) PhD'er as the ultimate project manager. A HASS PhD'er has to be self-disciplined and meet deadlines (e.g. comprehensive exam deadline, candidacy exam deadline, dissertation defense and filing deadlines, etc.) This self-discipline demonstrates that you know how to balance your workload and your time.

One of those deadlines/pieces of writing (the candidacy exam/ dissertation proposal), is key to showing that you know how to put a project together including identifying the resources that you will need to successfully complete the project, setting reasonable goals, putting together a project timeline, etc. Essentially it shows that you can visualize how to move a project from A to Z. Any research grants that you have won means that you have shared that vision with others (typically in a shorter format than your dissertation proposal) and your vision was convincing. Such skills are necessary for any sort of white-collar job.

As part of meeting those deadlines, one has to read, process, and synthesize various types of knowledge in order to regularly produce pieces of writing in various formats (i.e. Doherty discussed blog entries, proposals, publications, and her 400 page dissertation). She highlights that the knowledge itself adds value to your application for a non-academic career. While I had never thought of the knowledge produced during the dissertation as being valuable outside of academia, I believe that she is correct. Having reviewed all relevant literature you have become an expert in small HASS heartland program subfield 'HASS-HP-x'. Depending upon the job for which you apply, your expertise will be valued differently but it is valuable.

Another of those deadlines/pieces of writing (filing the dissertation/ the dissertation), is evidence of how you can identify important questions or topics in HASS-HP, define (or redefine) your subfield HASS-HP-x and engage with others who are also interested in the subfield HASS-HP-x.

So in addition to the writing, analysis and presentation skills that Doherty mentioned , the HASS PhD'er is the ultimate project manager because he or she can:

• balance work with time
  
• set reasonable goals
  
• identify and/or redefine important questions or topics
  
• identify necessary resources
  
• convince others of a vision
  

Post Edited 25-Feb-2013

1. starting to crochet a blanket for a Christmas gift (which required a trip to a fabric store; did I mention that I have not done crochet since 2009? so I will have to read up on that a little)
2. reading the first chapter and reference list of books written by science and technology studies scholars that I want my dissertation to enage with (yeah -- this required finding them on the MIT Press website, then in the NCSU library or RPI library e books collection...)
   
3. reading the first chapter and reference list of books written by sociologists that I want my dissertation to engage with (see the work required for #2 above)
   
4. presenting my dissertation results (I had to prepare the presentation first; and solicit feedback from mentors on the presentation)
   
5. lurking on the socjobs.proboards.com site for the results of my numerous academic job applications
   
6. keeping Gmail open and checking it every five minutes
7. making lists of all the work that I have to do (every day a new list)

These are the ways that I have worked hard on not writing my dissertation just in the last two days:

1. cutting the dead grass (not all of it, just the tall little patch that I had missed the last 2 times...before it died)
2. unpacking my DVDs from their storage boxes and organizing my collection alphabetically
   
3. emptying crumbs and old receipts and pennies from my purse into more appropriate places
   
4. going through my summer clothes and moving items I can live without in a donation box (that I will eventually have to drive to the donation center, thus taking more time away from my writing)
   
5. fixing an old tablet laptop that was frozen in a software update installation; installing the new software and pondering the wisdom of updating the operating system to Windows RT/Windows 8

So.. that's great! I have a newly functional laptop now. That means tomorrow I can return this borrowed laptop (from which I am writing this blog entry... instead of working on my dissertation).  Hmmm, that will require a trip to the post office, and a few hours copying files from the borrowed laptop to the newly functional one. Heh. That's a great procrastiwork project for tomorrow....

(Please note: for discussions of institutional situated-ness in knowledge production, by anthropologists and STS scholars, please see the collaborative guest blog post collated by Deepa Reddy here on Savage Minds. In particular, I recommend Rensselaer's STS program graduate Dr. Nathan Fisk's post on applying to corporate and military positions in "Going Rogue" and Rice University's Cultural Anthropology program graduate Dr. Laurel George's post about her stint doing corporate ethnography.)

Jennifer Tucker: "I was interested in interdisciplinary work; I had an existing background in science and technology but had always liked the more social aspects of these subjects. Also, I was VERY impressed by my first meeting with Barbara Allen at VA Tech - she really sold the program."

JC: "I was interested in studying engineers and engineering, and their relationship to science, politics and culture. Only STS offers this possibility"

Casey O'Donnell: "The theoretical frameworks in STS were those that best fit my desired empirical realm of inquiry."

Sean Lawson: "The interdisciplinary nature of STS appealed to me, as did the ability to focus on either historical or contemporary (or both) topics."

JC: "For my first job, I applied to a humanities ad. My advisor trained me to go for traditional ads and show my relevance to engineering programs in technical universities. So far this strategy has worked successfully. I applied for my current job the same way but by then I had more experience under my belt. I also had secured grants, developed courses, served in committees and secured tenure. So it was easier to make a case for my current job." 

Casey O'Donnell: "I'm moving to my second tenure track job now at Michigan State starting Fall 2012. Both were identified through a email listserv."

Sean Lawson: "I signed up for professional society email lists and then created persistent email searches for job postings within the messages that I received. I also signed up for job posting alerts from the Chronicle of Higher Education."

Jennifer Tucker: "I was a full-time consultant throughout the time I was getting my Ph.D. I moved into a different job about 2 years after finishing my Ph.D. -- the degree was definitely a factor in my switch. As for my current position, I had consulted for the organization that I now work for -- I was impressed with the mission, the leadership, and the people, so when a position opened up, I applied." 

Casey O'Donnell: "You have to be able to cast yourself as filling a gap in a disciplinary space. You're not going to get hired as a commmunication, anthropology, or sociology scholar. Cast yourself as someone in conversation with those fields and bringing that STS perspective on an empirical area those departments are interested in.

I'll say this. A memo circulated here at UGA recently was of the opinion that the communication college should no longer hire communication scholars, because they were doing nothing interesting. Instead, they pointed to people/programs like RPI/MIT/Cornell's STS programs as exemplary of what they're looking for."

Sean Lawson: "First, all STS Ph.D. candidates are on the job market from day one of graduate school. Grad students should be encouraged to write and publish as soon as possible. Presenting at conferences is good, but many job candidates these days have an impressive publication record coming out of their graduate program. Those who are not publishing as grad students are at a disadvantage.

Second, cast a wide net. There are not a lot of jobs in dedicated STS programs each year. So most STS Ph.D.'s will need to find jobs elsewhere. Luckily, STS allows one to be conversant in many areas. So, finding a job in a non-STS department is entirely possible. But again, STS grad students should be encouraged to think about where they might make a professional home for themselves after graduation and should be aware that in all likelihood this will not be in an STS department."

Jennifer Tucker: "Talk to a lot of people, network throughout your degree program, stay connected with past colleagues, and stay open to all the possibilities that may lie ahead. Let go of any pre-conceived notions about what a 'good career' is and see what's out there with an open mind."

JC: "Unfortunately not many STS Ph.D. candidates consider engineering studies as a subfield worth studying. Yet engineering schools is where a lot of available resources (and jobs) are. Engineering programs are in great shape (in spite of the rest of the economy) with graduates entering a job market with only 4% unemployment and some (like my students) making 6 figures right off the bat."

Here is a picture of "Varsha from Kerala" and I, in my favorite place to shop Vishaal de Mall. Sometimes called "Max" after its major retailer, this mall is located in the Chockickulam neighborhood of Madurai. While some girls may enjoy all of the brand name stores (European, American and Indian) I most enjoyed the Reliance Digital Store. I also bought a pair of sandals from the Reliance shoe store. Reliance Industries owns a chain of small Reliance Fresh grocery stores throughout Madurai.

My favorite place to eat of the places on the google map is the tiny bakery Blaack Forest in K. K. Nagar. It certainly is "A Happening Place" at least, it seemed as if we were always blessed to find a table and some chairs just before a wave of families. After a long day of work, we would take a brisk walk in Sundaram Park (or Walker's Club) in the cooler 90F evening weather. Then we often found it convenient to wander across the street to Blaack Forest before taking an autorickshaw back to the hostel. The cakes, of course, are quite good. However, the chicken pizza (despite, or perhaps because of the spicy flavor) are extremely tasty and filling despite their small size.

My favorite place to see of the places on the google map is the Gandhi Museum. It is located in a beautiful building in the Gandhinagar neighborhood of Madurai.  I enjoyed learning about the history of the Indian independence movement. The museum grounds are also home to other museums (natural history, etc) and an institute where one can earn a certificate or degree in Gandhian philosophy.  The grounds are beautifully maintained and provide a serene environment for serious-minded study. Also present is a replica of Gandhi's final home that one can peer into.

Over the past year, I have had an eye on the job advertisements suitable for recent science and technology studies PhD graduates and there are several trends which correlate with Siler’s findings:

1. The majority of "interdisciplinary social science" departments hiring science and technology studies scholars for tenure-track and lecturer positions for Fall 2012 are in smaller private technological universities: Illinois Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Oregon Institute of Technology[1], and Stevens Institute of Technology. Alternatively, departments hiring science and technology studies scholars on tenure-track for Fall 2010 were in newly established (within the last 15 years) branches of large state universities, i.e. University of Washington-Bothell. I presume this is because these smaller technological universities and new state universities do not have the resources to establish what Siler calls “heartland” social science departments. Siler does point to the service function played by science and technology studies departments in technological universities such as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Georgia Institute of Technology where heartland social science departments do not exist.
2. A second trend of hires for Fall 2012, were contract-based lecturer positions in well-established undergraduate science, technology and society programs at comprehensive universities such as Stanford and University of Virginia or liberal arts universities such as Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
3. A third trend of hires for Fall 2012, were tenure-track positions offered jointly by sociology departments and interdisciplinary studies departments, including: Sociology & Gender Studies at the University of Southern California; Sociology & African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia. On page 30 of his article draft, Siler goes on to say that only 8.3% of the sociologists publishing in SSS are from the "Top 30" sociology departments in the U.S. (ranked according to U.S. News and World Report). This is seen in these two job announcements. While each of these two universities is prestigious on its own merits, their sociology departments are not ranked in the top 30 by U.S. News in 2009.
4. Finally, I did not get a good sense of whether the post-doctorate positions advertised for science and technology studies scholars in the U.S. coalesced around specific department types or university types.

The limitation of Siler’s methodology for this particular paper is that he traces Science and Technology Studies as a field based on one journal (SSS) and twelve interviews. Siler points out that this is the de facto institutional journal for the field because of its longevity; the de jure institutional journal is Science, Technology and Human Values. STHV was formally established by the primary institutional body of the field, the Society for the Social Studies of Science. I argue that it has a different audience and slightly different aims and scope than SSS. It is my perception that STHV is predominantly oriented outwards to explain important contemporary issues on science and technology already being discussed in the social sciences using science and technology studies theory and concepts for a mixed science and technology studies and non-science and technology studies audience. Furthermore, I believe that SSS is predominantly oriented towards other scholars in the field and focuses on developing important empirical projects based on the canon of the field[2]. If my perception is correct, then tracing the development of the field based on SSS neglects some of the “entrepreneurial” strategies that are being employed by science and technology studies scholars publishing in STHV, Science as Culture and other journals. As an example, Science, Technology & Society is an internationally focused science and technology studies journal where they are attempting to demonstrate the importance of science and technology studies concepts and theory to world development.

Siler also seems to be using some sort of rational choice theory with which I am unfamiliar and cannot evaluate effectively. However, I am skeptical of any methodology which treats social relations as a zero-sum game.

That being said, there are obvious implications for science and technology studies scholars with recent PhDs who are looking for academic positions. The first being that, as science and technology studies does not have many tenure-track lines, it is important to be able to shape your teaching and research portfolio to fit either interdisciplinary departments with their unique aims and objectives, or heartland departments in history or sociology where you might provide an additional strength to their program.

The second implication is that science and technology studies scholars will not necessarily find academic positions in institutions similar to the elite research-intensive universities in which they were trained. It is possible that search committees have something of a “buyer’s market”. In the current job climate, search committees at research-intensive universities, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges have the ability to select from many accomplished recent Ph.D. graduates and post-doctoral associates with excellent teaching and research credentials for tenure-track and non-tenure-track jobs.

The professional higher education articles also discuss the need to orient Ph.D. students towards non-academic positions earlier in their career planning process (i.e. the second semester instead of the second-to-last semester of graduate school). Taking a second look at the many articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education or Inside Higher Ed that discuss the overproduction of humanities and social science Ph.D.s for academic positions, one finds that humanities and social science graduate students, similar to graduate students in science and engineering, are an exploitable source of labor for the university. Similar to science and engineering, post-doctoral fellowships after the humanities or social science Ph.D. are becoming more and more common after writing the dissertation. It is less likely that a humanities or social science Ph.D. student who is not graduating from an elite university will get a tenure-track academic position. Burris notes, that in field of sociology “[g]raduates from the top 5 departments account for roughly one-third of all faculty hired in all 94 departments. The top 20 departments account for roughly 70 percent of the total”.[3] Extrapolating from this data, if elite sociology departments tend to circulate their own PhD graduates for job searches, and less-elite sociology departments tend to hire PhD students from elite sociology departments, where does that leave junior STS scholars (like myself) who are interested in joining sociology departments? As Siler notes, STS scholars tend to reside in less elite sociology departments. How will such scholars convince their department's search committee to hire an interdisciplinary person such as an STS scholar from an elite research-intensive university? It is more likely that the less elite sociology department will hire a recently graduated sociologist from an elite sociology department.

Therefore, depending upon a junior STS scholar's interests, it might also be useful to consider non-academic positions. I personally like the idea of conducting informational interviews in order to navigate the confusing variety of non-academic positions in museums, policy institutes, international development organizations, U.S. federal government, member associations, technology companies, etc.

One person I might ask about careers in the federal government would be Jennifer Tucker. Dr. Tucker received her Ph.D. in science and technology studies from Virginia Polytechnic Institute.  She worked as a consultant for a while before joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the Associate Deputy Administrator of the National Organic Food Program. We are privileged to have her as a career panelist at the “International Context for Science and Technology Policy” Gordon Research Seminar from August 4-5, 2012. Another person I might ask would be Pauline Kusiak. She received her Ph.D. in science and technology studies from Cornell University and since 2008 has worked for the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning (U.S. Department of Defense).

I am not sure who I would ask about careers for social scientists in technology companies. For example, I know that Assistant Professor Jenna Burrell worked for Intel in the “Peoples and Practices” group before going into a graduate program in sociology at the London School of Economics. What did she do at Intel?  That would definitely be interesting to find out in an informational interview. Especially as Silicon Valley needs more humanities Ph.D’s, right?

Any suggestions of STS scholars whom I might interview about careers in policy institutes, member associations and museums?

[1] Actually Oregon Tech and NJIT are public institutions.

[2] This understanding of the roles of STHV and SSS is gained by (1) reading articles from both journals; (2) conversation with other science and technology studies scholars in my department and other departments; (3) the science and technology studies +20 workshop organized by Sheila Jasanoff at the Harvard Kennedy School, where several speakers, including previous editors, provided information and statistics about both journals.

[3] Burris, Val. 2004. “The Academic Caste System: Prestige Hierarchies in Ph.D. Exchange Networks”. American Sociological Review.69:239-264