Careers in scientific publishing
Roberto Conte
Sunday, 08 February 2009 17:05 UTC
Dear editors,
after a PhD and some postdoctoral experience, I am seriously considering the possibility of undertaking a different career: to what I have read throughout the nature website I would be very very interested in scientific publishing.
I have a few specific questions that I did not find in this forum:
-is it possible to have an estimation of the number of candidates which get employed with respect to the number of applicants?
-is there a limit age?
-in the evaluation process of a candidate, what features of the candidate are considered most important?: in particular, the publication list is determinant? (let’s say for an assistant editor)
-do you have guidelines for writing news&views pieces?
I thank you very much in advance,
kind regards
Updated 08 February 2009 17:29 UTC
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Replies
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Hello Roberto
Thanks for your questions.
(1) As mentioned in other responses to questions here, there are several different types of editorial roles. Probably the most competitive are the journalism ones, but for most jobs we advertise at Nature. we receive tens, often well over a hundred, good applications. Sometimes we receive several hundred, depending on the time of year, the position described, and other factors.
(2)There is no age limit. Usually, we employ people who have shown a demonstrated interest in communication of science, so these candidates tend to be people relatively early in their careers – rather than people who have done 20 years of research with specialist publications, and little evidence of wider communication. For manuscript handling editors, we sometimes employ people who have done two or three postdocs. For sub (copy) editors, we sometimes employ people who have graduated fairly recently – but who have some demonstrated ability to communicate science.
(3) This would depend on the specific job being advertised. In our advertisements, we state the essential and desirable qualifications. An all-round knowledge of, and interest in, science (beyond one discipline) is essential, but other skills depend on the job. Sub (copy) editors, for example, need very good english-language and technical skills.
(4) Yes, we have guidelines for writing News and Views pieces. These are commission-only pieces, so are sent to authors when they agree to write. There is some information for Nature at our guide to authors.
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thank you very much maxine!
roberto
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