Name: Monica Granados (she/her)
PhD: Ecology, McGill University, 2016
What was your main area of research?
I studied the effect non-native omnivores have on food webs.
What is your current job?
I am the Director of Open Science at Creative Commons, and I work remotely.
I lead a small team tasked with leveraging the Creative Commons licenses to make science outputs more accessible and reusable.
I love that I get paid to make science better!
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
I was promoted into this position from an initial posting I found on Twitter.
PhD graduate ➡️ postdoctoral fellow ➡️ policy analyst ➡️ policy advisor ➡️ senior policy advisor ➡️ campaign manager ➡️ assistant director ➡️ director
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia? Was this a difficult decision or one you felt came easily?
I became more interested in the science of science than the research I was doing. While I did find the decision difficult at first, I very much believed it was the right decision and felt easier as I saw myself succeed in my roles.
What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
Think about adding skills to your CV that are not just bound by research. Outside academia you will need management, presentation, strategy and budgeting skills to name a few.
Go to events where you are exposed to careers outside of academia, your supervisor/professor won’t be able to give you a good perspective outside of academia.