I graduated in December, 2016 with a bs in psychology, and found that what I really want to do rather than research is combat the antiscience mentality in the US, especially in regards to climate change. Eventually, I want to establish my own organization sometime in the future, and my aims for that project are not very well defined at present, but I'm trying to find a place for my skills in an established organization while getting paid for my work. There is no issue in selling my skills to employers, but what I'm struggling with is finding employers to apply to.
Might anyone have any recommendations of methods to finding these organizations or know any specific ones that I could look into? I live in Nashville, TN, and would like to stay here, so if you're unfamiliar with the area, may be you know some larger nationally acclaimed organizations that have flown in under my radar.
A couple of people have suggested volunteering. While I recognize the value of increasing the range of opportunities to me to gain skills by making the experience a cost to me, surely there are more PAID opportunities than that. I understand that southern cities may have fewer of these kinds of jobs than larger metropolises, I hope to go back to school in the next year, so I do want to stay here.
Ya gotta go where the money is. Almost any show worth anything on NPR is supported by a small handful of foundations that can be found here: https://stateimpact.npr.org/supporters/ Each of those organizations give money to people to support their funding mission. Like the Hewlett Foundation who have given more than $144m to organizations working on environmental issues, this year alone. Then you dig in to the organizations that they have funded. Go to their web sites. Look into what they do. What positions do they have open? Do they have internships? Job openings? Partners they work with? What about those partner orgs? Are they hiring? --- Big picture, here, you are trying to get work in an industry that doesn't MAKE money. It SPENDS money. So you will never earn much money. Jobs will always be hard to find, because every dollar spent on your salary is a dollar not spent on furthering their mission. And none of these jobs are gonna be in your area. Nashville is just not where the leading companies working on climate change are located. --- Another option is to go to work for a local company that shares the environmental goals you seek to encourage. Find a sustainable coffee company. Or a landscaper that uses native plants and minimizes water usage. This type of experience will lead directly to you gaining practical, boots on the ground knowledge, that employers will look favorably on. There is also Tennessee's own department of the environment: http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/article/efo-nashville And even the Mayor of Nashville is pushing to make Nashville the "Greenest City in America". But the problems she faces have mostly to do with policy. So dig into local politics. Champion issues that support the Mayor's mission. Work with local orgs to get people to vote for good policy changes, that will help the Mayor make things happen. Climate change is a problem with a thousand facets. Creating another poorly funded think tank web site to spew a bunch of words out, is simply going to take that money from other orgs that can do that work better already. So get out there. Get stuck in. Try and schedule a meeting with the Mayor. Follow and read ALL of the links in that article about the Mayor's plans, and get up to speed on what needs to happen in the local political scene. Because, in the end, legislation and policies are not written from scratch. They are edited versions of other policies that were successfully implemented elsewhere. If you get a good policy passed in Nashville, you can share it with other environmental policy leaders in other cities and states, and get them to implement it as well. Bit by bit, the ship turns, and you have your hand on the tiller...
https://www.facebook.com/350-Nashville-272052589595940/ http://www.sierraclub.org/tennessee/middle-tennessee https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/tennessee/index.htm Tough love time? Tough love time. I am unaware of any particularly lucrative careers that come out of a BS in psychology. You're going to have to find money from somewhere else for a while, while also volunteering. There are probably a few paid positions in amongst those organizations. There are lots more volunteers. Most of those volunteers make a living doing something unrelated to what they're volunteering for. You become friends with them because you'e like-minded. You learn the process of the individual organizations you're working with. You make connections and you learn stuff. You develop a skillset highly refined to the types of positions you're seeking. Before too long you're Stephen Miller. Know the difference between volunteering and apprenticeship? Apprentices stick with it. If you want this, if you mean this, if you want to live this, do it. Stick it out. Meet the people. Learn the routines. Become the guy they call when they have a little money. And drive for Uber or whatever for a while. Because really, a BS in psych is great if you're going on in academia and if not, it doesn't really set you apart much from many other entry-level positions. Not saying don't look for them. But don't turn down free stuff if you just graduated. It's damn tough in this day and age to find a job related to what you love with a BS in something that isn't STEM; you have to put in the time. But once you put in the time, who knows the places you'll go.
Thanks for the links. I'm well aware of how tough it is, believe me. Its almost been a year looking for real work, but my interests have to something I do have schooling in. Which means I just don't know where to look for this sort of thing as compared to neurostuff. The career search hasn't yet slapped me in the face on this new front, because I didn't know the organizations to job search for. Hell I don't have a full grasp of what query terms I should plug into search engines. What is apparent to me is that I'm competitive for the kinds positions I hope to apply to.
I'm aware of the Nature Conservatory. I'll look into these other names. Thanks for the help.
I... am almost the same? I graduated in Psychology and Political Science, I've been thinking about going to grad school to study Moral Psychology because I wanted to contribute to get people united for big issues. I've done freelance in web and graphic design to make ends meet since I graduated 3 years ago, but I don't really see myself getting into it any further. There is an interview by Julia Galef that I keep relistening to, she kind of touches on how she makes money through her organizations, but I keep going back to it to daydream about what I'd do if I continued to pursue psychology. https://80000hours.org/2017/09/is-it-time-for-a-new-scientific-revolution-julia-galef-on-how-to-make-humans-smarter/
Not to diminish the ambition here, but I'd argue that building a brand in the form of producing media on the issue doesn't do well for swinging minds to your side, particularly nowadays. Unless it's a matter of getting people who agree on your issues to act on them, broadcasting develops an audience of people that are the opposite of fallingsaucer's target. Think of campaign ads in an election.
You're right. I'm going to check out a political party and see if I can contribute that way.
Looks like it could be a way to get experience via volunteering. It will give me political connections for when I get my own organization up and running. I don't intend to do the vlogging thing anyhow; I don't have that kind of expertise. I merely want to contribute to a cause I see as important with the skills my psychology degree and experience has provided. There may yet be better options..
Maybe kind of a long shot but look into your local or state government agencies. The job may not be exactly what you are looking for but this is a time when government agencies are looking to change how they do what they do and you might be able to create something of the job you want. A good place to start is governmentjobs.com - good luck!
Maybe this place https://www.climatechangecommunication.org Its in Virginia though. What you want to do is really niche. I doubt you can find success if you are not willing to move.