Three and a half months in, enjoying every day, and always looking forward to the next!
As I was nearing the end of my PhD in synthetic organic/medicinal chemistry, the next stage of my career looked more nebulous than it ever had. What to do next? Then an opportunity with the RSC came up!
Doing anticancer drug discovery research was wonderful, and I couldn't be happier with the choice I made back in 2006 when I decided to leave my native Italy to pursue a PhD. It was a great experience and it has enriched me in countless ways. Yet, when it came to deciding what to do next, I knew I wanted a new challenge.
I have always been hugely passionate about reading and writing since a very young age. And while I thoroughly enjoyed the practical aspects of my PhD research, predictably, it was writing about it afterwards that provided the highlight for me. The machinery behind the "other side" of research, where the results are made public and become available to the rest of the world, was always deeply fascinating for me.
So when my PhD ended, and the RSC opened up some vacancies with the publishing graduate scheme, I literally jumped at the opportunity! I have joined the Synthetic Organic team and am currently being trained in abstracting and proofreading. I am enjoying this immensely and look forward to the next stages of my training with much anticipation. The new skills and insights I was able to absorb in this short time (which has flown by with amazing speed!) have been manifold, and since day one I was in the company and in the capable hands of lovely, knowledgeable (and massively patient!) trainers.
In a recent development, I was made the cover coordinator for
Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry and have been assigning covers to the latest issues, choosing from a range of wonderful artwork submitted by eager authors from around the world, and providing aesthetic (!) guidelines for them as they create new and impressive images to highlight their work. Who says science is not artistic?!
The next stages of the training will involve editing and peer reviewing, and I am looking forward to these with excitement and curiosity. Watch this space for what comes next (resolution for next blog entry: find a decent picture to upload!). The future looks bright - I have a job where I always look forward to the next day with anticipation, and I count myself incredibly fortunate for that.
Elisa is a Graduate working in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Editorial Production Department. To see if there are any current vacancies go to 'RSC: Latest Vacancies' Blog or subscribe to 'RSC: Latest Vacancies' by Email
