Alternative Science Careers

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I came across an October 2008 Nature article by Jason Brown on the venture industry titled “So you want to be a venture capitalist?” It is well worth a read for any of you aspiring to have a career in venture capitalism. A couple of takeaways from the article:

– Venture capitalists provide both financing and guidance to companies that have technologies that have great potential. It is important to realize that a large part of being a good venture investor is not just providing the upfront money, but also providing your expertise to aid in the companies success.

– Responsibilities as a venture capitalist include performing due diligence to thoroughly evaluate investment opportunities, negotiating investing terms, and providing ongoing support to the management team.

– There are many different pathways to become a venture capitalist, but there are a limited number of entry-level positions, making it challenging to get into right out of school. Getting biotech or pharmaceutical industry experience first can open the door to landing a position.

The article goes into more detail about what venture capitalists do, their main responsibilities, and transitioning out of the laboratory. To read the entire article, click here. You do need a subscription to access the full text article, but most of you as graduate students and post-docs should have institutional access.

Technorati Tags: alternative science career, career opportunity, venture capitalist

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Below is an interview with John Ferguson, a Freelance Medical Writer and Strategic Consultant. He has 10 years of industry experience and has provided senior-level strategic consulting. He has delivered nearly 600 successful projects to a variety of clients.

Can you briefly describe your career to date?

I received my Masters and PhD from Columbia University in Microbiology. After graduate school, I got lucky by getting a position in medical information for Pfizer. After about one year, I decided to write for a medical communications agency. I was there for two years and several writers from the agency decided to start their own business. This gave me the opportunity to become a freelance writer.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

For freelance medical writers, a typical day is working from home, sitting in front of the computer, and writing for agencies. You may be writing papers, abstracts, science slides, or other projects. This is what I did towards the beginning of my career, but writing consumes much less of my time now. I mostly work as a consultant where I work in front of the clients by designing communication strategies for agencies and pharmaceutical companies.

Do you have any advice for graduate students wanting to become a freelance writer?

The greatest asset is to get experience before graduating so that when applying for positions, you have projects to hand the interviewer. One great way to get this experience (and make a little extra cash) is to work part-time for an agency while still in graduate school.  Another suggestion is to help write papers for fellow students in your laboratory or program that are not proficient in English. This can help build up your repertoire. The last option that has been successful for several of my successors is to find a successful, well-established writer and convince them to give you a project to work on. Many times, these writers are overbooked and are willing to give out small projects.

How do you network in this field to find agencies to write for?

Networking happens naturally once you get your foot in the door. If you decide to go into writing, my advice for you is to work for an agency right out of school before freelancing. This gives you the necessary experience and may give you your first freelance client. Oftentimes when you leave an agency (on good terms), they will still ask you to write for them, giving you a good start when you are on your own. Additionally, there is a lot of turnover in the field. Employees that you may have worked with through your first job may move to other agencies or become freelancers themselves. When this occurs, they may ask you to work on a few projects for them, helping to build up your client base. As you start writing for several agencies, your name will get out to more organizations and your client base will continue to grow. The first year in freelancing is always the hardest. After that, getting client growth occurs organically.

Is there anywhere to get more information?

Anyone with more questions can take a look at my website, http://thefreelancemedicalwriter.com/home.

Technorati Tags: alternative science career, freelance medical writer