Q&A: Aiden Million, Network Science Initiative Fellow @ National Journal

Each year, Atlantic Media hires around 40 recent graduates for its fellowship program. Fellows are placed in editorial or business positions across Atlantic Media’s four brands: The Atlantic, National Journal, Government Executive, and Quartz.

Tell me about your role.

I am a fellow on the Network Science Initiative at the National Journal. I work with analysts on NSI as they work on projects for the many different types of clients that we have. The best way to describe what we do is custom research projects. When we’re working on these custom research projects, I’ll jump in, and I’ll help with the research, or help build the deck and make sure that we’re putting out a really good product.

What were you working on right before this?

I was working on a mapping project for one of our clients, putting together a network map. If a company is particularly interested in seeing who is influential in a certain space, they might give us a list of people and say, “Who are they connected to?” Or, “Who are the people who they look to for advice on this topic?”

What were you up to before this fellowship?

I graduated in June, and then I did a 10-week internship in advertising. I found out that I got the advertising internship and this fellowship in the same week, and I wanted to do both. I was able to because they were really accommodating here.

I graduated with a degree in history and political science, so I always had an inkling towards policy and policy-oriented work, and I think the fellowship is a really great way to explore that. Especially because what we do is a lot of policy research, and I’m really in the weeds of a lot of that stuff everyday. The advertising internship was really fun, so I’m also really glad I got the chance to do that.

What’s the coolest thing you’ve gotten to do since you’ve started the fellowship?

A couple weeks ago we went to a client meeting, and I got the chance to jump in on a conversation — we were briefing one of our clients in person. That was really cool, being on site and being involved in that conversation, contributing research that I had found. We were talking to someone who was a former Congressman, and being able to just say, “Hello! I found this thing. This research is interesting,” and having people who are very important listen to you and take your advice is pretty cool.

What’s the best advice that someone has ever given you?

I read a book last year that said, “Networking is only bullshit if you’re bullshit.” It’s basically the idea that you shouldn’t be afraid of leveraging your connections, talking yourself up, and going out there and putting yourself out there on the best foot that you can.

Is there anything that you learned in a non-policy job that’s applicable to what you do now?

I was a tour guide and I worked in the admissions office on my college campus for all four years of college, and the biggest skill that I learned out of that was that people love people who can have a conversation with them. No matter what you’re doing, whether it’s with your co-workers, clients, or whatever role that you’re in, people want to know that you’re a person and that you see them as a person. It makes everything more rewarding to get work done and in a work environment if you’re able to acknowledge that first.

What’s your dream job?

I have no idea. But, some of my dream jobs involve some combination of media, policy, research and writing. Part of me was really excited to take this fellowship, because even though I’m not here in an editorial capacity, it’s really cool to be around all of the editorial people and see the journalism space. I don’t know anyone who works in journalism, I didn’t intern at a journalism company (because those are really hard to get), so this has been a really fantastic experience for me as I try to figure out whether I want to actually stay in the policy world, or if I want to do a pivot to journalism, and just kind of figuring out my career.

What was your dream job as a kid?

I think I really wanted to be president as a kid. I was a very bossy child.

Do you have any advice for people seeking entry level jobs in media or policy?

Yeah, I would just reiterate the first piece of advice I received. Don’t be afraid to leverage your networks, and if you know for a fact you want to work in journalism, that’s half the battle, just deciding this is a thing you want to do. Because then you can just practice the skills you need to get there. You’ll practice pitching, you’ll practice applying, and doing all that kind of stuff, and you’ll figure it out. Just give yourself the time to figure out what about this is what you want to do, and give yourself room to explore other opportunities if that’s what you want to do on your way to get there.