How do you break into the publishing world?..

…That is, media and publishing, not publishing your manuscript. It isn’t the easiest path ever, but there is a breadth of opportunities and creativity, as celebrated this week by the UK Department of Culture, Media & Sport and the Creative Industry Council. And ‘break’ is not the key word – you don’t need a break. You just need to get creative – and get started.

Getty Images/Mateusz Zagorski

How to know where to even begin? It’s best to identify how you prefer to communicate, and determine which avenues of communication match your style. And what sort of background is required? It depends on the type of job you seek. As a science editor, you’ll need a PhD. In other positions, your communications skills are key.

Here’s how one science-communication professional is trying to launch her career. Panellists at a Naturejobs Career Expo also offer some useful tips for carving out a you-shaped niche.

You might feel wobbly about your reasons for wanting to work in the field. Not to worry. Publishing professionals have all kinds of motives: they love the thrill of never knowing what’s going to happen from one day to the next, they’re riveted by the wonder and curiosity of science or, quite simply, they enjoy change.

And while you might have specific ideas about what science communication is, and about the type of job you’d like to have in the field, you also should know what science communication is not. (Hint: It isn’t easy. Or stable.) Still — where there’s a will, there’s a way, isn’t there?