American Chemical Society AMA: I'm Jennifer Novotney, the Public Programs Coordinator at the MIT Museum. Ask me anything about transitioning from the lab or working in a science museum!

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Hi Reddit -(Happy #MuseumWeek)[http://ift.tt/1MLnMpx]!

I am Jennifer Novotney, the Public Programs Coordinator at the (MIT Museum in Cambridge, MA)[http://ift.tt/1duPZPI]. I joined the museum in June 2015 after finishing my graduate work at Cornell University with (Professor William Dichtel)[http://ift.tt/ZNytX3]. In my current role, I act as a conduit to connect MIT researchers with the general public through talks, hands-on activities, and other exciting formats.

I want to share with you my story of how I left the lab and became an informal science educator. I started graduate school, like many students, wanting to be a professor. By my second year I knew I did not want to stay in academics, but I was not certain what type of career I would like. The only chemists I knew were professors or worked in industry. During my fourth year I served on a hiring committee for an outreach coordinator. It was then I realized there were careers in science communication and outreach, not just volunteer opportunities. This started the ball rolling for me – I started blogging, entered communications contests, and applied for almost every job I could find that focused on improving scientific literacy.

Along the way in 2014, I became the first Chemistry Champions winner. This contest run by the American Chemical Society is now open for 2016 at http://ift.tt/TGLvT0. If you think you can explain your chemistry work or a chemistry concept to non-scientists in a 3 min YouTube video, and you’re 35 or under, you should enter like I did!

I accepted the position at MIT since it is a wonderful community with a great reputation for science and engineering. Now I spend most of my days creating new opportunities to connect researchers with our community.

I'll be back at 1pm EST (10 am PST, 6 pm UTC) to answer your questions, Ask me anything about informal science education or “alternative” chemistry careers!

">American Chemical Society AMA: I'm Jennifer Novotney, the Public Programs Coordinator at the MIT Museum. Ask me anything about transitioning from the lab or working in a science museum!