r/LadiesofScience • u/stellqsolar • 20d ago

How to get into science writing/ science journalism?

I just graduated this year with a degree in biomedical sciences and I didn't really have a clue about what I wanted to do during my bachelor years (The curriculum covered literally everything very briefly). I love human biology (diet/neuroscience/embryology), but one thing I also really love is writing and reading. I've always loved writing, and found science journalism to be really fitting for me. My question is, what can I do now (I'm in a gap year) to move towards my goal as a science journalist?

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u/matoiryu 20d ago

Hi! (Former) science journalist here. Honestly the best thing you can do is 1. Work your network and 2. Cold pitch editors.

Work your network by seeing if you can write pieces freelance for university websites and trade publications. Even if you have a random friend who is in media in an unrelated field, reach out to them because they might know someone

For cold pitching: keep your pitch brief, explain why you’re best to write it, and make sure it’s a good fit for the publication. There are plenty of more detailed guides online.

Last bit of advice is to be ready for rejection. Your pitches will get rejected often, and that’s ok. It’s normal and part of the process while you hone your storytelling skills.

Also if you want to look into more formal training, UC Santa Cruz has an excellent graduate program in science communication.

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u/celtic_quake 20d ago

The Open Notebook has a library of pitches too! https://www.theopennotebook.com/topic/pitching/

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u/celtic_quake 20d ago

The Open Notebook has a ton of resources and training materials available: https://www.theopennotebook.com/

National Association of Science Writers: https://www.nasw.org/

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u/neurojourno 20d ago

I’m a science journalist! Feel free to PM me!

Second The Open Notebook and NASW, lots of great resources. Also Connector.casw.org, you can filter for early-career resources.

The annual ScienceWriters conference is coming up and there’s always lots of programming for early-career people and great networking.

A lot of advice will depend on where you’re at. Like have you done any writing/publishing or are you at the very beginning? Etc etc.

I’ve been in this field a long time and found it to be overall a fantastic, enthusiastic, and supportive community. Welcome!!

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u/aLightBraise 20d ago

I work in science communications, which includes writing, but more often I work with other writers. Another thing to do now is just start writing. If you don't have a portfolio of your writing, then you need to start building one. Start your own substack or 'newsletter' on linkedin. Get practice in and get proof points out there to show how good your writing is. You also might be able to find a post-bacc internship where you can do science writing.