I love to write

I must say I love to write.  It's been my passion for as long as I could remember; writing simple stories and poetry as a child.  One project that I remember the most is probably a school project during the third or fourth grade, when I had to make a picture book.  I wrote about the miss-adventures of officer Klutz, the worst cop in all of San Francisco.
 
True my writings have matured over time, as my passion for the science, but creatively, I'm still a silly imaginative kid at heart.

So yes I love to write, but you know what is even better than writing?  Writing while watching one of my favorite movies of all time in blu-ray, Independence Day. True it is a silly movie, but its a damn fun movie too.  It always brings a smile to my face.

But really this blog isn't about my movie preferences, nor is it really about my childhood stories, its about my quest to find a new career path that will work with my PhD and my love of writing/editing.  
So, I recently took a half-day off from my research and I went to a career counselor.  I had never gone to a career counselor before. I never felt any reason.  My path was laid out for me; a PhD, one or two post-doctoral fellowships, and a fulfilling career in academic research.  But as I found out, passions change and evolve. 

I mean besides a stint as a teenager at Carl's Jr, and a few jobs as a freelance writer, I really knew nothing about a job that wasn't attached to a university or a hospital. 

Private industry?  What's that?

And what the hell is a resume?

Now I'm not stupid, I knew what a resume was, but I never really had to create one, because in academia, we have a curriculum vitae (CV).  While resumes are generally concise summaries of experiences; a quick selling point for specific jobs, a CV is generally anything but concise.  A CV is the total amass of experience, both educational and professional.  But beyond that little knowledge, I was kind of lost.   

The career counselor, however was really was quite helpful.  Firstly, he eased my anxiety by reminding me that the unemployment for PhDs was actually quite low, and the experience that my education and experience gave was invaluable for any industry let alone science.  Secondly, he gave me some tips how to convert my CV into a polished resume that would focus on my science experience but really underline my writing experience as well.  A great resume for potential medical writing jobs.  

So after giving me a few tips and couple websites for science editing firms that hire scientists to edit research articles; a great transitory job as I search for my new career, the career counselor wished me luck and sent me on my way. 

My Journey Begins...

Perhaps this journey isn't just beginning, but simply ongoing since the day I was born.  For as long as I could remember through encouragement of my parents and grandparents, especially my grandfather Pa, I was fascinated with science and held a deep passion for writing.

While I absolutely love writing poetry, short stories, and anything that hits my fancy, I have largely pushed this part of my life into the realm of a hobby.  I instead, through my education and professional career, focused on my love of science.  I successfully received my PhD in pharmacology, held two great post-doctoral positions, successfully competed for grants, and have written and published numerous abstracts and first-person authored scientific journal articles.

However, I have felt that something was missing.  I loved the science, I loved finding new ways to solve problems, but I realized that I was happier not in the lab, but when I was on the computer writing grants, or abstracts or papers.  I was happier when I volunteered to help my colleagues edit their work. 

To further satiate my writing bug, I began to work as the occasional freelance writer.  I wrote study aides for professional pharmacy entrance exams, and have recently started to write science/health related articles for www.livestrong.com.  I even had a two-month stint as a movie reviewer for a now defunct online magazine.  However, as my sporadic updates to my first blog, The Uncomplicated Scientist, can attest, I still treated my passion as a hobby, focusing most of my time on my research.

However, in the last four weeks things have begun to change.  My grant wasn't funded and my fellowship is ending in four months. I have found myself at a crossroads.  Do I continue and find a new position?  Perhaps as an assistant professor at a university?  Do I give industry a shot?  Maybe a research manager position for a biotech company.

However, the same day that I found out about my grant, I was also approached my a headhunter that was looking for a medical writer.  While the job didn't work out for me, it did remind me that not only is writing a great viable option, but that it is as important to me as the science.  I couldn't ignore the passion any longer.  While lab bench work wasn't for me, I was sure that medical/science writing held the answers.

Now, I find myself scared out of my mind because, I was actually going out on a limb, taking a risk for the first time in a very long time, to do something I absolutely love. Now I just need to figure out how to make it happen.

Crap? Now what?

Well tomorrow is another day :)