published article in magazine - put on CV?

[iowaguy]

I'm an incoming PhD student in natural sciences/engineering.  I recently published a 4,000 word article (not related to my PhD research) in a reputable outdoor magazine, which I was paid for.  For example, a typical article that you might read in Field & Stream, Backpacker, Outside, etc.  Is this something that I could/should include on my CV (which is a little light at this stage of my career) as an example of my writing abilities?  Thanks in advance for any advice!

[fuzzylogician]

Do you need to have a CV for anything at the moment? You're just now entering a grad program so perhaps you don't need to worry about this and hopefully by the time you graduate you'll have better ways of demonstrating your writing abilities. As it stands I don't think I'd put such an article on my CV unless I had reason to want to stress my writing abilities or outreach (or similar properties) because it's not academic writing and it's intended for a general audience, and I assume it's also not peer-reviewed. For most purposes, it won't help you to have such an entry -- it might simply look like padding.

[TakeruK]

I wouldn't put an article like that on my academic CV (that is, something I would use to apply for academic jobs or fellowships). However, I would probably include it if I was writing a CV/Resume for other work, where non-academic writing is a useful skill. For example, some schools ask students to submit resumes for TA appointments, so something like that could help you get a course you want, if it's relevant. It might also be useful for small competitions like getting a travel grant for e.g. a teaching, outreach, or science communication conference/workshop/etc.