Science Writer

In 1999, gene therapy researchers accidentally killed a healthy nineteen-year-old boy and then covered up the evidence. Only the work of two newspaper reporters—one a science writer—brought the story to light. The science writer's work showed that the scientists had continued risky experiments on humans for months.

A science writer is a person who writes about science for newspapers, magazines, television shows, or university public information offices. Anyone with a talent for writing can become a science writer. Most science writers have at least a college degree. Some have no training in science and learn what they need to know on the job by talking to scientists. Others have at least a B.A. in a science such as biology or chemistry.

To become a science writer, you can just start writing articles and try to get them published, perhaps in a college newspaper. Once you have "clips" from your volunteer work, you can show them to an editor and find paying work. Many students enter a graduate program in science writing, then launch their careers by taking an internship or job at a newspaper, radio station, or magazine.

Jennie Dusheck

Bibliography

National Association of Science Writers. <http://www.nasw.org> .