As a fresh-faced 21 yr old, I did a one-year placement at a pharmaceutical company as a synthetic chemist – a position that involves a lot of what is remarkably like cooking but with ‘reagents’ (fancy word for chemicals) instead of ingredients, making potential drugs instead of cakes. I loved the placement, I loved the work and I loved the people so I set about on the pathway to getting back in to the industry. It’s eight years on, I have the qualifications to do the role, I’m applying for jobs and I’m starting to wonder ‘Is this what I want to do? and 'Can I use all the skills I've learnt elsewhere?’
This blog is going to cover my research into what scientists like me are qualified to do that’s not in the laboratory. I’ll do my best to reference websites and people that actually do these jobs and hopefully I can help some people out by sharing what I’m learning. It’ll probably be interspersed with anecdotes and rants from the lab so you can see why I'm leaving this ‘unique’ environment! If you read this, think it’s useful/funny/worth reading, pass on the link – I’d love to know if I’m any good at this writing lark.
Friday, 25 October 2013
What's the point of this 'Twitter' thing then...
#2:Scientific Communicators...
Last October I started looking in to scientific communication, using Twitter, Blogger, Facebook and Google+ to learn as much as possible about who was saying what and how. I had no idea where to start but I quickly built up a selection of people whose tweets and work I liked. I thought it would be useful to list this somewhat random bunch, in order to help anyone else out there who fancies skulking around ('following' on Twitter) these people to see how they communicate their opinions and ideas. And the occasional picture of something cute/funny.
Something that I've noticed is that there is definitely an in-crowd in this 'anti-the-in-crowd' crowd. For example, there's a distinct inner-circle of avid bloggers and science journalists who cover a lot of ground between them, re-tweet each-other's work and all manner of interesting stuff.
On Twitter...
Carl Zimmer - Writes books, articles for the New York Times and Slate, blogs for National Geographic (often cross-referencing his articles - clever use of directing traffic to his articles) and tweets on all things science-related. Definitely a 'biology' man with lots of books published on evolution but also more esoteric topics like science tattoos of the science-and-pain-loving! 'Revered' is a strong word but he is highly respected, it seems, by all in the community.
Julie Gould has also recently launched a network of science bloggers called Speakers of Science that brings together new people in the SciComm community to try their hand at blogging on different science-related topics. Using cartoons, pictures, videos, text and handy hints for new SciComm attempts, it's ace! (Dislaimer: I am one of the new bloggers and am indebted to Julie for getting me involved!)
PSCI-COM - I can't really complete this post without mentioning this huge site, chock-full of threads, conversations and requests related to all things around 'the public communication of science and public engagement with science'. The most useful thing about this site is that it's a JISCMAIL that you can subscribe to. It's somewhere between a forum and a huge e-mail list where everyone can speak to everyone very easily about anything they need. Generally people abide by etiquette and don't just use it to promote themselves. So far I've learnt of loads of different events and applied for numerous jobs that I heard of through this. It's moderated by Jo Brodie, a veritable font of job adverts, SciComm info and helpful advice on the forum and Twitter.
It 'started' with the removal of a post from a black female blogger (DNLee) who wrote about being called a whore for not wanting to blog for free - causing a massive backlash questioning whether she would have been expected to work for free, or her post deleted, if she'd been a white male scientist - (answers on a postcard). For a whistlestop tour of the ensuing fiasco see here and here.
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Some people say I'm chatty...
Friday, 11 October 2013
So, you want to be a medical writer...
If it’s not writing the leaflet that goes inside medication – what IS medical writing?
If we turn to a higher power, e.g. Wikipedia…
Projects included:
- Posters
What kind of skills do you need?
As a medical writer you will need:
as you will be required to explain complex concepts and data to a
wide and varied audience
— To work independently to research, write, edit, and proof copy to the
highest scientific and editorial standards across a diverse range of
educational materials including abstracts, posters, manuscripts, and
slide kits
— To be able to manage your time effectively, enabling you to work on
multiple projects and meet deadlines
— A professional and enthusiastic approach to working with both clients
and physicians
— To be an ‘advanced’ user of Datavision™
Day to day...
3. Read the clinical trial protocol, do any background reading and formulate the information.
4. Written work is checked by a senior medical writer.
5. Material is finalised and sent to the editorial team.
6. Liase with the editorial team to answer questions and fill in any gaps.
7. Document is sent to the client for review.
8. After a few rounds of review (1-3), the word files are then sent to be 'prettified' by a 'source team'.
9. Pictures are added, layout is perfected etc.. As a writer you may be able to request appropriate imagery which is found by the source team and then added.
10. The finished piece goes for a final client review which can involve more, usually minor, changes.
11. Print and distribute.
There's also promotional writing around a particular medication and researching the market in order to be able to do this - it appears that there is a lot of 'reading around' required in order to be a good medical writer. As a result, medical writers learn a lot about the disease area or trial that they are working on, but, of course, carry out very little science themselves. This could perhaps be a drawback for people who like to be on the ‘business-end’ of the work but I’ve been told it’s very rewarding to turn often incomprehensible data and facts into readable, digestable text.
A few quotes (positive and negative) from our medical writing colleagues...
- I would definitely recommend the line of work though, overall it is pretty rewarding.
- ...sometimes feel that it is not 'scientific' enough.
- Sitting at a desk all day is...one of the downsides of the job.
- It definitely wasn't an easy decision to leave the lab, but I don't have any regrets now!
As with most jobs nowadays, this appears to be a competitive market but it is actively seeking new skilled people. So, have at it!
Monday, 7 October 2013
Before I Die...
Meanwhile...
I was strolling down Borough High Street during my lunch break last week (a heady mix of students, foodies and busy people) when I saw that they've installed the chalk board below. The idea is that the general public add their own take on the starter 'Before I Die...' Whilst I thought it was quite cool and more than a little bit beautiful in a 'ten-year-olds-left-with-the-blackboard-whilst-teacher-leaves-the-room' way, I also (without looking for it) came across the musings on the below right.
'I want to be a scientist'. It takes all sorts, I suppose.
In other news...
Nature Blogs
Nature continues to provide a number of helpful blogs that I've been perusing this week
One on Career Transitions is particularly interesting: It covers people who've had unusual career paths after science degrees and PhDs, as well as people who've had lucky breaks!
Here are some choice quotes/advice lifted from the articles...
From a Post-Doc..
'There is pressure from a variety of sources to work longer and harder.'
'Social dynamics in a lab have a huge impact on the quality and creativity of the work produced.'
'Call your mom (or other non-scientist relation). Try to explain your work. It is very good practice.'
From a Medical Writer
'...communicating science is just as important as doing it.'
'You never know what you might learn when you listen to voices very unlike your own.'
From a PR specialist
'...go the extra mile by doing internships and attending events. Apply for writing competitions, training days and fellowships. You have nothing to lose!'
How to get a job in scientific communication is effectively a summary of one of the talks given at the Naturejobs Career Expo recently, including advice from a senior press officer, a science correspondent, a public astronomer and the director of the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology (POST).
and
Miscellaneous from t'internet...
#IAMSCIENCE a twitter page dedicated to unusual career paths in science
This is what a scientist looks like a Tumblr page centred on scientists who work away from the bench
#Jobinaweek Top tips and advice for jobseekers
Eat my science Fellow blogger Andy Swale (btw, I don't know him, so this isn't a 'plug') writes about his experiences as he moves from bench to scientific communication
On Twitter...
@LauraWheelers - regular 'tweeter' on all things SciComm (Communities Co-ordinator at NPG)
@LaurieWinkless - Physicist tweeter, lots of SciComm stuff...
For some Australian inspiration
Baz Luhrmann puts some good advice with some good music. Urban Myth spoiler - this is NOT a real graduation speech,
This is...Tim Minchin's - 9 Life Lessons (I don't know why this clip is titled in Spanish, it's in English. I promise)
I'll be back soon with some Medical Writing stuff and summarising the variety of careers that are open to science PhDs using material I've picked up these last few weeks.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Parasites, dolphin autopsies and space-dust. Standard friday night.
Below: Making modern ‘cave paintings’...
Below: Listening to ‘Soapbox scientists’ discuss their given topic with anyone who would listen – and a few who would not - some 'interesting' questions...
Left: Watching the dolphin autopsy – apparently a major cause of death is internal heamorrage from male adolescents i.e. excited and horny teenage dolphins
Pickled octopus tentacle. Yum! |
An octopus 'Beak'. Very nasty! |