Parshati Patel

I am an Astrophysicist turned Science Communicator. I work as an Educational Outreach and Communications Specialist at Western University’s Institute for Earth and Space Exploration. 

During my master’s and PhD, I started volunteering for the Public Education and Outreach Program. I eventually ended up getting teaching assistantships in multiple outreach programs during my graduate studies. I built my communications skills, experience and resume through the paid and volunteer opportunities throughout those years. My current position opened up when I graduated and the years of experience having worked in the field of science communication, education and outreach landed me my current job as Educational Outreach and Communications Specialist. 

A typical day for Parshati: 

The most interesting aspect of this job is that there isn’t a typical day. Some days I am in the office preparing for the events while the other days I am leading the programs. We do variety of events and programs including K-12 classroom workshops, public events, after school and summer programs, educator training workshops as well as graduate student training workshops. 

In addition to the above, my role allows me to engage with media, and I am often called in to comment on the latest space related news. As communications is part of my portfolio, my day starts and end with checking our social media channels as well as planning, scheduling and posting on social media. A large part of my job also involves development of programs and workshops, these are my key aspects, and I generally work on these when I am not in preparing and facilitating events. Certain times of the year, I am also working on and applying for multiple grants to fund education and outreach efforts 

Top tip from Parshati for those interested in a similar career:

My advice would be practise and try different aspects of Science Communication. Another key skill you will require in this field (at least what helped me) is to observe others and try it yourself! Look at the way they approach students or talk to the public and learn the techniques that way. If you enjoy writing, try writing articles or blog posts about whatever interests you in space. If you are interested in speaking opportunities, try joining an organization to develop and lead presentations and workshops. If you enjoying developing videos and sharing on social media, give it a try on your personal social media profile. The field of science communications has skills that can developed either my going to school for it (i.e. getting a degree in science communication) or by just trying them out, analyse, incorporate anything that did not work well and repeat.