To unlearn all my bad science writing habits (passive voice, jargon) and make valuable contacts (networking does matter), I enrolled in the science journalism program at New York University. My thesis was not very good, but I did so much research and reporting on whales that I realized how much I loved writing about the natural world, and what a dream it could be to turn it into a career. Seeing what nerves look like, holding a human heart, dissecting the brain—it was amazing. But my career shows there is no one path. Science confused and intimidated me. I still collaborate on ambitious narrative projects as a research affiliate at MIT. I joined an NGO named “Zewail City Friends” at that time and volunteered to manage their Facebook page. My regret is not in leaving the lab, only in staying far too long. My beginnings in science writing were a mix between being in the right place at the right time and me making the most of it. For instance, if I applied for an internship and wasn’t chosen for it, I asked the editor who sent the rejection if I could pitch them instead. I tried to convince myself it was just a phase. At the time, Malaysia was (mass-)producing science graduates, but I saw little effort by scientists to engage the public and talk science. After I graduated, I pledged to make others’ journeys in science smoother than my own. From that point, I focused on finding writing opportunities while finishing my degree as a way of hedging my bets. It was also the idea of doing the things sharp journalists do: seeing patterns and ideas that others don’t normally see, doing the reporting and research that can validate those ideas, and synthesizing everything together into compelling narratives thrust forward by human voices. Senior Science Reporter, News@Northeastern (Northeastern University). In four years, I initiated the Arabic edition of SciDev.Net, and till now I am the regional co-ordinator of MENA region, and the editor of the Arabic edition. I also started driving up to the Kennedy Space Center to witness shuttle launches and look for novel ways to cover space for little-known outlets. I didn’t set out to become a science writer, and I’m still not sure the title fits snugly—I think of myself more as a writer interested in the intersection of science, culture, and politics. She graciously said yes. I learned what would become my permanent attempt as a science writer: to tell journalistic stories with the scientific information necessary for people to decide. Copyright © 2010 - 2021 The Open Notebook, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ... Wow! South Asia content coordinator, Internews' Earth Journalism Network; Nepal editor, www.thethirdpole.net. But that’s the thing about journalism; being trained as a generalist gives you a unique perspective and an ability to see the big picture. There are other ways in—many, many of them!—but I definitely needed that level of instruction and guidance. I never would’ve guessed how much I’d love science writing until I tried it. Every now and then I run into that grad school friend at a conference and thank her again for pointing out the obvious. And as fascinated as I am with science, having a background in newsroom reporting and investigative journalism enabled me to switch gears with relative ease when I was head-hunted by Nature Middle East, the regional copy of Nature magazine, in 2013. I acquired a master’s in climate change and did postgraduate studies in conservation and management of natural areas, and environmental law. In my case, this route worked. After moving to New York City to pursue graduate studies in literature, I soon concluded that the academic life was not for me. It proved to be a right pathway. I didn’t know anything about the brain or brain injuries, so I decided I would real quick learn neuroscience while getting my MFA. Along the way, I learned even the most complex science can be explained. I gave myself three years to try and make it as a science writer. I often profile recruits who haven’t gotten here yet. I ask if they think their specialty is underappreciated. When I came to El Espectador newspaper, I didn’t know that those two sides of my brain could be connected thanks to science journalism. So I approached the health beat like any other: a foreign but fun challenge. I had a small science blog, and wanted to someday become the kind of scientist that writes books for the public. At school I majored in English to learn from great writers, while doing my best to avoid getting sucked into the self-annihilating maze of literary theory. Write about the questions/discoveries/histories you find most compelling. Freelance journalist Carmen Drahl worked with The Open Notebook to collate writers’ stories with Yong’s support and involvement. Network virtually & IRL, join groups, attend workshops, find calls for new writers, check outlet pitch reqs, apply for fellowships, don’t work for free. When I first learned about science writing, it didn’t occur to me that something I wrote someday might be able to help someone. At one prestigious eastern school, the department chair knotted his arms across his chest and peered at me over his glasses. Hostetler. Regional co-ordinator of MENA region, and the editor of the Arabic edition of SciDev.Net; Cairo, Egypt. Make opportunities for yourself: Cover science (or even non-science) for the campus newspaper. I lucked into a job at a local newspaper when it was trialling a technology blog—that stint at the Boston Globe still guides the way I think about my responsibility to readers. However, I felt increasingly burned out and unsure about whether graduate school would be the right fit for me. It is relaxing to deepen on just one area, even if it is huge, and I focused on health. The last story I worked on at SciAm, about a flawed study from SeaWorld, was never published, but I really cared about it and it eventually sprawled into my senior thesis in college. Since independent media was an elusive concept in Romania and across the former Eastern Bloc, nobody knew how to do radio. Science writer, ScienceLink; Johannesburg, South Africa. I applied for other internships and considered going to graduate school for science journalism. Director of Research Communications; Madison, Wisconsin. That’s what I had been looking for. But I learned valuable skills at each. I said I wanted to do a 3-minute segment on technology, covering cutting-edge things such as CD-ROMs, the Internet, or Windows 98. I was a biochemistry major, and between my junior and senior years of college I was working in a lab and it became clear that not only did I not have a knack for bench work, but I found it kind of tedious. After that, I left broadcasting to focus on science writing full-time. I had been working there for all of two weeks when the Twin Towers fell. I volunteered writing for BioMedNet and the Science Museum in London—before I sold my first stories to The Economist, Irish Times, and Nature. It took three years of hauling lines, tarring rigs, and pronouncing words like “forecastle” with as many apostrophes as possible for the learning curve to flatten out, and for me to feel like I was ready for something new. I wrote story after story about the West Nile Virus then, and I’m writing them now about the coronavirus. Iâm part of the IT team at Applied Connective, so my days are spent setting up new PCs for customers; troubleshooting broken PCs, printers, etc., and installing new hardware. Then, I was chosen as one of the 2017 The Open Notebook early-career fellows. And I was hooked. I picked up carpentry and electrician work at local theaters (maybe I love using tools and pulling on ropes? Then one day, I came across a story of a prisoner-turned prison correspondent and my life was changed forever. I’ve always been a writer, and I’ve always loved nature, especially the stranger parts. The pieces got longer, from 120-word news stubs to 3,500-word features. However, I learned quickly a bit, and then managed to prepare a demo of the show I would like to do and named it Bishwo Bigyan (World Science). (It was 2013, I think I was their first semi-remote fact-checker, which is wild). There, I learned science journalism in real life and got connected with science journalists in the region. Have fun! Simply use the pen to color in each scene--details and vibrant color appear with every stroke! Diving into the fossil record didn’t help my studies. Between that and other savings from a job at school, I had enough runway to live for a few months, even if I didn’t make any money, so I started freelancing. And as I transitioned out of the lab, I picked up odd jobs all over New York City, each bringing me one step closer to science writing: burrito roller, TV commercial production assistant, Grateful Dead guitar teacher, hedge fund analyst, seed-stage biotech intern, Biotechniques news intern. So I moved to Utah and started work as a freelance science writer. Why does academic misconduct happen? These days I cover biomedical research at my day job and publish essays, poems, and occasionally articles as a freelancer. Then I got edited mercilessly, by people who actually knew what they were doing. Keep pitching. I got into science writing when I was about to graduate MIT with a geology degree and realized I didn’t want to work in the oil and gas industry or stay in school for a PhD. And scientists were willing to help me understand their discoveries, in long conversations over the phone or visits to their labs and field sites. Freelance science journalist and video producer; Los Angeles, California, Read everything on The Open Notebook, connect with science writers on Twitter, start building clips where you are (personal blog, ask to write for your alma mater, current dept website). These science fair projects for 6th grade allow kids ages 11-12 to explore science concepts from polarity and density to electricity and circuits.. 1. It was the summer of 2001, and I was in an ecology PhD program at a very fancy university. Right after the internship, I got a job as a science writer at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, with the added benefit of it sponsoring my work visa. I started trying to find opportunities in rejection. I had no idea how to write. It was my first mid-life crisis. My income goal, which if I remember correctly I approximately hit, was $36,000 that year. As I researched and wrote about the science of science communication, I published it all on my blog. From the minute I walked into the newsroom I knew I had made the right career move. This switch made me realize how the science story is part of every single aspect of our lives. From meeting renowned scientists doing impressive, cutting edge work to touring labs and rubbing shoulders with fellow science communicators at international conferences, it’s been a wild and awesome ride. So, I used my university library access to start reading technical papers on the topics I loved most. Also, reach out to other science journalists—you’ll find a generous community eager to see you thrive. As a fallback I went to a short, affordable, practical journalism masters’ program, hoping to credential myself as some kind of writer. Skittles Science Fair Project. Often I would go to a Starbucks after work and do freelance fact checking and write pitches and work on a cherished magazine assignment or two. The program dropped me into a newspaper internship before classes even began, and I loved news reporting from the very first terrifying day on the job, when I had to write stories about the upcoming weekend weather and an unfortunate accident north of town. News editor, Hakai Magazine; Stratford, Ontario, Canada. I doubled down on selling the stories I’d written in my journalism classes. My quick answer was NO, with capital letters. I thought scientists were boring, then I read James Gleick’s Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman. I think that first experience inserted in me the interest to write stories of how the land feeds the human being and how the human being, with his knowledge, can enrich the land. But I didn’t find my calling. The connections I made through the program were also helpful, as folks who came to speak to the class often advertised internships, and that really helped jump-start my career after graduation. Eventually, I found a path forward when I met a science writer. I knew that once I graduated, I would need three good clips to apply for writing jobs so I started building up clips wherever I could. I decided to apply for a master’s program. I had always enjoyed reading about science, but Critical Mass found me at a moment in my life when—maybe for the first time—it didn’t seem ridiculous to think that I could write about it too. I majored in English and biology, but was convinced I didn’t want to be a journalist and “just” write about other people’s research. I only became a freelancer in 2014, when I started to write science and technology pieces for international publications. I relish the excitement of constantly learning something new, and probing how people, politics, and money influence how science gets done. Science is as much ridden with ego, corruption, abuse, scandal, and funding pressure as any other human endeavour. And in 2015, I was headhunted by The Atlantic to be their first staff science writer. All that experience, in turn, led to my first book, as well as setting up my blog, Cocktail Party Physics (now on hiatus, because my day job is all-consuming). She’s the best writing coach I’ve ever had. Eventually, my “maybe” arrived. I took writing classes here and there. It was this moment that forced me to make an important decision: Find another faculty job or try something new. Visit laboratories. Another Friday morning, another bone seminar. A dream job! The station was looking for secondary school students to contribute to its weekly show for children. The best stories come from your genuine curiosity. That was until a colleague convinced me to apply for a travel fellowship offered by the NASW to attend the 2015 AAAS annual meeting. I almost cried out: “That’s me! I started working in radio in 1998, less than a decade after communism collapsed, and my country, Romania, opened its borders to the West. WRITE as much as possible and publish anywhere you can. And at the time, blogging was still a relatively new thing. How I took its irregularly shaped puzzle pieces and assembled them in a way that created a holistic vision of the world. After graduating in 2015, I landed a fellowship at my university’s science museum, Universum, where science hooked me for good. With no career-development options in Mexico, I decided to enroll in the master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz after finishing undergrad. I most assuredly do not. My fellowship at The Oregonian changed my life. My most recent book, The Alchemy of Us (from The MIT Press), combines storytelling with science—a merger of my two worlds. In my third year of grad school, I started a newsletter for my department, and then joined the editorial team of the Berkeley Science Review, which covers science news on campus. Science writing (it seemed) was a job, and that meant it could be my job. I was an English major in life until, in my 30s, driving the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I realized I didn’t know why sometimes on roadcuts the lines went up when you’re going uphill and down when going down, and other times the roadcut lines were dead flat no matter whether you were going up or down. Freelance science journalist and writer, São Paulo, Brazil. And then, I received a master’s degree in communications, further merging the two fields I’m most passionate about. More info here. I managed to land a spot in the AAAS program and was placed at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia, where I was mentored by the science reporter A.J. Now, my duties also include mentoring interns and helping them get their start. I began with an undergrad neuro course, sitting in the back row of a room full of bright-eyed college freshman. While figuring out what to do next, I got a fortunate voicemail in my cell phone from Javier Flores, a science journalist from the national newspaper La Jornada. I figured I’d become a biologist instead. But interestingly, during that “unemployed” period, I kept on writing about science. Their writings inspired me to become a science writer. (I’d loved astronomy since I was a kid. The rest will follow. When I was in high school, debate and book discussions were something that we did almost regularly in our home. Biovigilados (Biomonitored) reached the bookstores two years before SARS-CoV-2 closed them. In my two most recent books, looking at sexism and racism in science, I’ve tried to bring my investigative experience to bear. That is how I came up with a dangerous flu-like virus that emerged in Asia and went by almost unnoticed in a fully monitored but unprepared world. I shadowed top journalists at The Guardian and The Times. #diversity, Senior writer, molecular biology reporter, Science News; Washington, DC. My father died before my birth, so I was raised in an absolute poverty by a single mother who brought me from a remote village in western Nepal to the capital city, Kathmandu. Every now and then, I would get a copy of the Science Times (of the NYT) or magazines like Time, New Scientist, or Discover. Currently, I write for a South Asian environmental online publication, www.thethirdpole.net. So I enrolled in the Johns Hopkins University science writing masters program and after I graduated, gave myself a year to make as much money freelancing as I had teaching gifted junior high school students. I try to channel her generous spirit whenever I interact with new writers. It seems change is the one constant in this business. As I was finishing up my undergraduate biology degree, I actually applied to both PhD programs in microbiology and MFA programs in creative writing because I thought I had to choose one or the other. I’ve occasionally taken another staff job, but the ability to set my own project mix keeps luring me back to freelance life. The last, lasting three months, was my ticket into a producer role at the radio show Science Friday. Seek connections. I began thinking of myself as a science writer, and I began trying to become as good a science writer as I could. Many editors didn’t know how this worked; many companies in media just didn’t do it at all. I was a PhD student at the time, and my advisor had plopped the book down before me, I think in the hope that it would inspire me to think more deeply about statistical mechanics. It has informed all the work I’ve done since (editing, reporting, writing, teaching). My mother, a biologist, and my father, an economist, were both professors at the University of Chapingo, considered the largest university in Latin America specialized in agronomy.
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