I’ve been drawn to science since I was a kid. I had many excellent and creative teachers along the way, including one who taught us students to be more observant and to think critically and another who smashed bowling balls into desks and who ran into a wall (while wearing pads and a helmet, of course) to demonstrate momentum conservation. I grew up in Colorado, and I enjoyed gaping at the Milky Way and the beautiful night sky while in the Rockies, even if I couldn’t name many constellations. Carl Sagan’s Cosmos program and the Star Trek TV shows also inspired me to explore astrophysics later in life.

Milky Way over Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado. (Photo by Carl Fredrickson)

But my head isn’t always in the stars. I have many other interests too, including sociology, political science and philosophy of science, and I’ve always enjoyed literature and poetry too. I’m not just interested in doing science and analyzing datasets and phenomena; that, by itself, is not enough. I also desire to use science and critical thinking to help people and connect with them. Since science plays such an important role in human society, I’d like to communicate scientists’ research and debates and the scientific process as well as I can. While the behavior of neutrinos, ice sheets and red pandas might sound interesting, for example, we always have to ask, why are they important? What do scientists claim to have learned about them and how did they learn it? What are the broader implications and context for the research?

Ever the lifetime student, a couple years ago I thought I might become an absent-minded, nerdy, activist professor, maybe widening my scope beyond astronomy and physics into interdisciplinary research and public outreach. But then I realized that I wanted to do more. I examined many interconnections between science and policy—often posting about them on this blog—and I investigated ways I could utilize and develop my science writing skills. I earned fellowship opportunities in both science writing and science policy, and I considered going on both directions. As the head of our astrophysics and space sciences department told me while I mulled over the options, “Those aren’t actually that different. They both involve communicating science to people who might not understand it well.”

In the end, after fifteen years working as a Ph.D. student, teaching and research assistant, postdoctoral researcher, research scientist and lecturer, I decided that I would make the shift and become a science writer! It’s a big step, and I felt a bit nervous about it. Now that I’ve made the decision, I am happy and excited to be trying something new, and I look forward to improving my skills and working on it full-time.

For those of you considering working in science writing or science policy, or for those of you just interested in learning more, I am happy to help. In any case, here are a few suggestions and pieces of advice, which will be particularly relevant for you if you’re coming from a science background as I did.

First, I recommend becoming involved in public outreach and education programs. You may even decide to organize your own events. Just connect to people in whatever ways work well for you, such as speaking in local school classrooms, making demonstrations for students at your university, mentoring prospective students, interacting with members of the public at museums and planetaria, talking to people at cafes and pubs (such as Two Scientists Walk into a Bar, Astronomy on Tap, and other programs), etc.

Second, become more involved in and volunteer for the relevant professional scientific societies, such as the American Astronomical Society, American Physical Society, American Geophysical Union, etc. Be more than just a card-carrying member. All of these societies, and especially the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), have many useful resources, scholarships and internships at your disposal.

Third, it is crucially important to talk to a variety of people who work in science writing or science policy (or whatever you might be interested in), get involved and try it yourself. Make sure that you don’t merely like the concept of it but that you actually enjoy and excel at doing it. You will need to make the time to do this. You may find new people in your own college, university or community working in these professions who have much to teach you. Try a variety of media and styles too, possibly including social media, blogs, podcasts, news articles, feature stories, videos, etc. If you’re curious about what I’ve done over the past year or so, look here.

Fourth, check out professional science writing organizations. In particular, I recommend looking up the National Association of Science Writers, the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Association of Healthcare Journalists. Furthermore, you might find useful local organizations too. (We have the San Diego Press Club here, for example). Science writing workshops, such as those in Santa Fe, New Mexico and in Banff, Alberta, could be beneficial for you and could introduce you to others like yourself who are also just starting to venture into the profession. Finally, if you are interested, the AAAS has mass media and science policy fellowships, and the University of California, Santa Cruz, MIT, NYU, and other universities have graduate programs you may consider, though these involve an investment of time and money.

Before diving in, consider the job prospects. Although we have our ideals, we also want to work for a livable salary with sufficient job security. Staff writers, editors, freelancers and public information officers (PIOs) all have pros and cons to their jobs, and it’s important to understand them well.

I’ll make it official: I decided to head to the UC Santa Cruz science communication program, and I’m looking forward to it! In a few days I will be on my way north to Santa Cruz. I plan to try my hand working with a local newspaper, magazine, and an online news outlet, and this fall I will be working with PIOs at Stanford Engineering. Stay tuned for my new articles!

Coming from a science background, I have many challenging things to learn, but I think I’m up to it. I’m trying to learn to write more creatively and evocatively, while identifying compelling characters. I’m learning to assess which scientific discoveries and developments make for the most intriguing stories. Moreover, scientists and science writers have different ways of thinking, and bridging the gap between them involves more steps than you might think it does. Perhaps most importantly, after thinking of myself as a scientist for so many years, it’s hard to craft a new identity. It turns out that while I am an astronomer and a physicist, I am many other things too. I’m continuing to explore the universe, just in a myriad different ways than before. I’m boldly going where I haven’t gone before, and the sky’s the limit!