Magazine: Press Box

Changing=20 Course

by Jim=20 Kling

(Posted January 30, 1998 ? Issue = 24)=20

At a recent meeting in Seattle, a friend of mine who is a = geneticist at the Fred = Hutchinson=20 Cancer Research Center offered this observation: "The = job market=20 in the biological sciences stinks."

This scenario is being played out everywhere, it seems. = "I (know)=20 a tenured faculty member who resigned his position over the=20 senselessness of institutions continuing to graduate ever = more=20 Ph.D.s who cannot find jobs.... He is leaving science and = academia,"=20 says Arthur Sowers, a consultant on the subject of = scientific=20 careers who maintains a web site called 'Contemporary=20 Problems in Sci Jobs.'

Indeed. Those comments = drew me back=20 to my days in the organic chemistry = department at=20 Indiana University, when I was a Ph.D. candidate struggling = vainly=20 to overcome poor lab skills. I loved the classes and the = informal=20 'chalkboard chemistry' pursued feverishly in organic = chemistry labs=20 everywhere, but three years of working as a bench chemist at = the=20 pharmaceutical company Eli=20 Lilly - followed by two years of graduate research - = finally=20 drove home the lesson that I neither enjoyed doing lab work, = nor was=20 I very good at it.

I considered my prospects for a successful scientific = career, and=20 I was not encouraged. Although the job market for organic = chemists=20 is better than for geneticists, I nonetheless foresaw a = bleak future=20 as a second-rate research chemist.

In the summer of 1995, = with a=20 research project that was going nowhere and a floundering = scientific=20 career, I determined that it was time to find an occupation = better=20 suited to my talents. After considering pharmaceutical sales = and=20 biotech investing (and another couple of years hustling = after an=20 MBA), I settled on science writing. My reasoning: I loved = reading=20 and talking about science, but I didn't like doing science. = As a=20 writer, I would get paid to learn about new science, and = then=20 explain it to others.

That reasoning was sound. I love what I do, and today I = make a=20 decent living as a freelance writer and consultant. =

My career path has been unusual in that I have no formal = training=20 in writing or journalism, although I am by no means the only = science=20 writer who has made that direct transition. What follows is = my story=20 followed by a discussion of other resources and educational=20 opportunities geared for those who would rather write about = science=20 than practice it.

My first step was to begin writing a science column for a = local=20 arts and entertainment magazine, called The=20 Ryder. I wrote articles on the evolution of the AIDS = virus,=20 antibiotic resistance, prions (infectious proteins), and = even a=20 description of the bone scan I had undergone after I = severely=20 sprained an ankle playing basketball.

Those columns were an = excellent=20 training ground - I wrote about topics of my own choice = (usually=20 gleaned from research articles in Science, Nature, or the Proceedings of the National = Academy=20 of Science), and was given a gentle introduction = into the=20 world of editing. Watching someone read your sculpted prose = (besides=20 your mother or your significant other), who then has the = nerve to=20 suggest changing it in some manner, is an ego-blow that many = new=20 writers have trouble adjusting to. Although the indignation = never=20 vanishes completely, you do get used to it in time. But the = best=20 response to an edit is to ask, why? A good editor will have = a good=20 explanation for the change, and armed with new insight, your = writing=20 will improve. Of course, not all editorial suggestions are = good=20 ones, leaving the writer to discern the valuable lessons = from the=20 red herrings.

My next step was to sit in on a science writing course = being=20 offered by the journalism department. Although my schedule = limited=20 my visits to only five or six, I took the time to introduce = myself=20 to the instructor, a visiting professor from New York = University's=20 science= =20 journalism department by the name of Lynn Payer, whose = writing=20 credits included Science, the New York Times, = and a wide=20 range of health magazines. She liked my work, and offered = guidance=20 and pointed questions as I struggled with my decision to = leave=20 graduate school for a writing career. Later that semester, = she=20 forwarded to me a job announcement for an internship at the = Cancer Research = Institute=20 in New York City.

Now, being an Iowa farm-boy (okay, not quite - I grew up = in corn-=20 and soybean-nestled Iowa suburbia), the prospect of six = months in=20 Manhattan was a bit daunting. But I applied using the clips = I'd=20 collected in The Ryder, and not long after that I got a call = asking,=20 how soon could I be in New York?

The next six months are a hazy blur of Times Square, = Central=20 Park, Rockefeller Center, Wall Street, Chinatown, and, oh = yeah,=20 writing press releases and promoting scientific meetings for = the=20 Cancer Research Institute. It was also my first really heavy = dose of=20 editing. I suffered through a steep learning curve, but when = I left=20 the internship my writing was much more = polished.

I came to my second real crossroads at the end of the = internship,=20 when the New York Academy = of=20 Sciences offered me a position in their public affairs=20 department. Meanwhile, in El Paso, Texas, my girlfriend = offered to=20 pay my bills for a couple of months if I wanted to make a go = at=20 freelancing. I weighed $30,000 a year in New York City = against an=20 uncertain income in El Paso, and decided to take the=20 plunge.

I figured that my best = shot was to=20 write for the trade magazines, which cover hard-core science = news,=20 rather than join the multitudes clamoring at Discover=20 and the New York Times to publish their work. There = isn't as=20 much glory in the trades, but there is far more available = work. So I=20 went to the library and looked up a copy of the Bacon's = Magazine=20 Directory, which lists magazines by the subjects they = cover=20 (your librarian can point you to other, similar sources). = When I=20 learned of a meeting being held a few hundred miles to the = north -=20 in Taos, NM, about gene therapy in hematopoietic stem cells = - I=20 wrote a cover letter (with a few clips and a resume) to the = managing=20 editor of each of the 30 or so trades that were listed, = suggesting=20 that I cover the meeting for their news section. I received = just two=20 replies, but one was from Nature=20 Biotechnology, which immediately assigned me to = cover the=20 meeting. The other reply came from R&D magazine, which, = as it=20 turned out, couldn't have cared less about gene therapy in=20 hematopoietic stem cells - but they liked my credentials and = assigned me several articles.

As soon as I published in those magazines, I sent another = round=20 of letters to the same magazines as before - with these=20 "professional" clips enclosed - and this time I got an email = from=20 the news editor at Science magazine. Science = didn't=20 have any correspondents in the southwest, so I set about = gathering=20 story ideas at a frantic pace (terrified that the editor = might=20 forget he'd ever contacted me, and I'd never get a phone = call=20 returned). I came up with a profile of the University of Texas = Southwestern=20 Medical Center - a medical school started in the 1940s = that rose=20 rapidly to research stardom in the 1970s and 1980s to stake = a claim=20 as one of the premier research centers in the world. The = editor=20 agreed, and I got my first "breakthrough" clip. I can't tell = you how=20 many times I've used that and the additional articles I've = done for=20 Science to land assignments at other magazines.=20

For those less = interested in the=20 trials and tribulations of freelance writing, there are = plenty of=20 opportunities to land staff positions, especially at trade=20 magazines, newsletters, and other specialty publications. = Scientific=20 publishers are also looking for acquisition editors (i.e., = someone=20 to peruse submitted manuscripts) and copy editors. These = sorts of=20 positions are an excellent way to hone your writing and = editing=20 skills while developing contacts within the industry.=20

Probably the least bumpy route to landing a staff = position is to=20 go to journalism school. Whether or not you believe your = writing and=20 reporting skills need refinement (and for most, they do), a = year or=20 two of J-school will garner you numerous contacts within the = publishing world, and you'll have an inside track to top = internships=20 at places like Science, Scientific = American, and Science=20 News. I didn't go to J-school, but I sometimes wish = that I=20 had. There is something of an old-boy's network that = radiates from=20 the top science writing programs, and in science writing, as = in most=20 any discipline, who you know can be almost as important as = what you=20 know.

Probably the top science writing = program is=20 run out of the University of California at Santa Cruz. = Program=20 director John Wilkes requires that applicants have an = advanced=20 degree in science as well as research experience. The = program's=20 other steep entrance requirements make it exclusive, but it=20 graduates many first-tier science writers who have gone on = to star=20 at Science, the New York Times, and = Discover,=20 among other media outlets.

The New York University science writing program is also = highly=20 regarded, though its standards for admission are not as = stringent.=20 Boston University offers another first-tier science = journalism=20 program.

Of course, if you = already know your=20 science (and I'm assuming you do), you might also consider = J-schools=20 that do not specialize in science journalism. In such a = program=20 you'll likely receive a more rounded education in writing = and=20 reporting - but keep in mind, science reporting has its own=20 challenges and idiosyncrasies, and a school that specializes = in=20 science writing will give you a better education in avoiding = pitfalls and discovering the scientific resources that can = make or=20 break a story.

I certainly wouldn't recommend my profession to everyone, = but for=20 you free-thinkers out there who love science in general and = feed on=20 the challenge of communicating it, science writing can be a=20 rewarding way to make a living.

Jim=20 Kling writes in Washington State about science and the = environment. His work has appeared in Science, = Nature=20 Biotechnology, The Scientist, and Popular = Science=20 magazine's Web site.

Andrzej= =20 Krauze is an illustrator, poster maker, cartoonist, = and=20 painter who illustrates regularly for HMS Beagle, The=20 Guardian, The Sunday Telegraph, Bookseller, and New = Statesman.

Send us your comments and ideas for future=20 articles.

Endlinks

For more on why and how scientists become journalists, = see Dr.=20 Reporter? in the last issue of HMS=20 Beagle.

European Union Of Science Journalists' Associations - Resources For = Science=20 Writers with links to: The EUSJA Newsletter; So You Want = to Be a=20 Science Writer? - brochure prepared by the Association of = British=20 Science Writers; Computer Tools; Events; On-Line = Resources;=20 more.

Science's Next = Wave - An=20 excellent source of career information and guidance for = young=20 scientists, from The American Association for the = Advancement of=20 Science (AAAS). Includes a public forum on career topics; = "nuts and=20 bolts" career advice; links to the Science Professional = Network and=20 the NAS Career Planning Center; and features on alternative = careers=20 for scientists.

NASW-talk Mailing List - Advice for Novice = Science=20 Writers ? How to launch a career in science writing - = NASW=20 members respond to questions from a newcomer to the field. = Veteran=20 and beginning science writers share their opinions and=20 experiences.

Communicating Science = News -=20 Available courtesy of the National Association of Science = Writers,=20 this brochure describes the ins and outs of science = reporting, and=20 is intended as a guide for both scientists and the=20 media.

Resources for=20 Science and Technical Writers - From Inkspot, a web page = for=20 writers. Numerous links to resources offering guidance and = advice to=20 science/technical writers on developing skills and careers. = Includes=20 links to General Information; Essays and Articles; Mailing = Lists;=20 Newsgroups; and see especially Associations,=20 Publications, and Directories.

Careers in=20 Science Writing - Brief introduction to the field, plus=20 information on how to get a free copy of "A Guide to Careers = in=20 Science Writing," provided by the Council for = the=20 Advancement of Science Writing.

Previous = Press Box=20 Articles

Dr.=20 Reporter?

by Dean A. Haycock (Posted January 9, = 1997 ? Issue=20 23)

Celluloid=20 Genetics

by Jim Kling (Posted December 19, 1997 ? = Issue 22)=20

Push,=20 Push

by Herb Brody (Posted December 5, 1997 ? = Issue 21)=20

Online=20 Hangouts for Science Writers

by Dean A. Haycock (Posted November 14, = 1997 ?=20 Issue 20)

Driven=20 to Abstraction

by Phillip F. Schewe (Posted October 17, = 1997 ?=20 Issue 18)

Reach=20 Out and Teach Someone

by Lori Skopp (Posted October 3, 1997 ? = Issue 17)=20

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