Once you know what you really want to do, how do you get there? I’ve been asked a few times how I became a research methodologist and can someone else become a methodologist as well. It’s really quite simple. It’s not easy, but it is simple.
The advice I give is don’t wait for someone to offer you a job as a methodologist or to declare that you are a methodologist. If you know what you want, then it is your job to make it happen. No one else.
- If you are a project manager and you want to be a methodologist. Start tweeting about methodology. Share educational white papers and intriguing blog posts that helped you learn about methodology.
- If you’re in report prep and you want to be a methodologist, start a blog about methodology. Share your thoughts and opinions about good and bad methodology in easy to read, weekly or monthly opinion pieces. Be brand and bold and take a stand.
- If you’re a data analyst and you want to be a methodologist, stay a few hours late after work and re-analyze datasets with methodology in mind. Analyze speeding rates by survey topic, straightlining rates by number of grids, random responding by demographics. Then write a paper and share with your colleagues.
No matter what your current role is, you can find a way to incorporate what really excites you into your day. If you do it well, a good boss will find ways for you to expand into that space. And if your current boss doesn’t, one of your Twitter followers or blog readers will. Enjoy your new job!