Pipettes for Pens: a Brief Guide to Transitioning from Scientific Research to Writing: Part 1, Transition to Industry

When I started in research over a decade ago, I was motivated by the scientific topics that interested me: I wanted to learn more about infections and their role in global health. But if I’m honest, I never loved the lab. I enjoyed the fine motor skill component, listening to podcasts while I worked, and the independence, but I found lab work somewhat tedious and anxiety-inducing; a necessary evil to study important science.

Over the next 12 years, my patience for the lab shrank as a repetitive motion injury in my arm grew. Combined with my emerging interests in other avenues of science, I recently left the bench to pursue medical writing full-time. While the decision to give up hands-on research was difficult, I’m now much happier, in less pain, and delighted to learn that there are endless ways to work as a scientist, including as a writer. Since my transition, many of my peers have asked me how to pursue scientific writing- and communication-focused roles outside of the lab, and I’m passionate about helping other scientists find fields that leverage their communication skills in ways that they might not have previously considered.

Here are my general tips for identifying and landing a scientific writing role that you will enjoy:

1. Be open-minded and flexible. Scientists are often trained to rigidly identify with a specific technical expertise or title. However, if you are open to a range of roles, some of which may have unexpected names that fall under a subject matter area outside your own, or leverage your communication skills in new ways, you’ll be surprised how many fields you may be interested in that you had not previously considered.
2. Relatedly, focus on job responsibilities, not the title. Many positions, especially in biotech, may have vague, corporate-sounding titles, or may simply be roles that you aren’t familiar with. I recommend that you list  out all the skills you have and want to keep (just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean you should keep doing it!) and the concrete tasks that you enjoy, and match these to job descriptions. After a while, you’ll get a feel for which types of jobs might be a good fit, regardless of what they’re called.
3. Consider roles that aren’t explicitly “writer;” conversely not all “writers” write. There are many interesting fields that need literal writers, but there are even more roles that leverage strong scientific writing and communication without including “writer” in the title. For example, a research coordinator at a university hospital will likely draft, edit, and review research proposals, and regularly communicate with funders and stakeholders. The reverse is also true: in my role as a medical writer, I spend about 40% of my time writing: I’m just as often managing timelines, communicating with interdisciplinary teams of scientists, and functioning as an editor. Strong communication is  important in most roles, so you can get creative with how you apply your skills.
4. Interrogate the type of writing and communication you want to do. Stay flexible, but generally deciding between main tracts of scientific writing will help guide your career search when the range of paths seem overwhelming. As I see them, they are:
   • Technical and regulatory documents
   • Scientific publications and medical affairs content
   • Public-facing communications and outreach
5. Network and conduct informational interviews. I’ve been asked by my peers how I made both of my recent job transitions so quickly, but in reality both took time. I began conducting informational interviews with professionals in a range of fields one full year before I graduated and landed my first role in biotech and months before I made the transition to writing. I needed that time to not only make the connections necessary to get hired, but more importantly to parse which roles I could realistically get and would like. Initiating networking is the hardest part; once you begin, your contacts snowball. 
6. Consider contract or freelance roles to get started. For many of the writing roles listed below, freelance or contract opportunities exist. While it may take time and effort to build up enough clients to fully support yourself on freelance work (and many people do), consider taking on smaller projects in your area of interest to gain experience while you search for a permanent role. To get started, identify one person who works in your field of interest and send them a very brief message asking to discuss their role (example correspondence below). It’s okay if you barely know them, but it’s helpful to ask a mutual contact to introduce you. When you meet, ask what they do, how they got the role, and other relevant questions about the transition. Importantly, make sure to ask this person for one other contact and your network will grow from here. Most people are happy to talk: I received responses from nearly everyone I contacted. At this stage, you’re not explicitly asking for a job, but instead gathering information while also subtly advertising your transferable skills.  If you speak to enough people and make good impressions, one of these connections may think of you when a role eventually opens up.

The first step to making a transition into a scientific writing career is to identify your interests and build your network, and then it’s time to start exploring new roles. Up next in the series: a roundup of writing-related jobs in biotech, academia, and beyond.

Sample Email:

Hi Maria,

I’m a research scientist at X University, where we overlapped between 2020-2022. My background is in lab research, but I’m also passionate about science communication and am interested in pursuing medical writing in my next position. Sarah (person in common) suggested I reach out to you since you’ve made a similar transition (or, I found your profile on LinkedIn and saw that you’ve made a similar transition). Would you have 20 minutes in the next few weeks to discuss what you do in your current role and how you got there?

I’m available after 4 Mondays-Wednesdays.

Thank you.

Brianna.