These are great Qs! And quite frankly, I am still in the doorway (really just a toe over the threshold maybe) of the entrance to wide-scale scientific communication. We'll see what happens. But I've basically been just putting myself out there as much as possible, and talking about the science that I'm passionate about in as many formats as possible (social media, speaking gigs, productions). Over time, people start to recognize that you're good at what you do (well, I try to be, anyway - at least I'm enthusiastic??), and they start knocking on your door more. I don't really know what other concrete advice to give except to not be afraid to cold-email people and put yourself out there as much as possible toward the goal that you have. The worst people can say is "no".

I do agree that we have a problem with scientists and science communicators being paid very poorly or not paid at all. We need to draw our boundaries. I try really hard not to accept any unpaid speaking gigs unless 1) I know the person, 2) the speaking gig will be serving underrepresented groups and/or for another good cause. I'll do those for free no problem. Hopefully we can move the needle by drawing these types of boundaries.