In the request thread, there was a fairly strong push for me to cover alternative careers in chemistry. I can't go out and do profiles like the JAEP folks, so I decided to do the next best thing and consult a book that's already out there. "Nontraditional Careers for Chemists" is authored by ACS Careers Blog's very own Lisa Balbes; Dr. Balbes graciously sent me a copy of her book.
The book is divided into chapters for each different non-bench career path, the first being communications. I'll be reading and covering the book chapter-by-chapter over the next year and seeing where this takes us. Today's snippet is from a technical writer named David, who had an interesting epiphany while working as a chemist*:
*David's career path to being a chemist was pretty remarkable, including law school, refrigeration mechanics and being a chemical technician.
The book is divided into chapters for each different non-bench career path, the first being communications. I'll be reading and covering the book chapter-by-chapter over the next year and seeing where this takes us. Today's snippet is from a technical writer named David, who had an interesting epiphany while working as a chemist*:
Oddly enough, my experience at the chemistry bench introduced me to technical writing. The synthetic protocols I followed as a production chemist were poorly written. They were ambiguous and unclear, and I would routinely take it upon myself to rewrite them before I used them. After a while -- and to my considerable surprise -- I realized that I actually enjoyed the task. I had always been a wordsmith of sorts, and I welcomed the challenge of expressing information so that it would be readable and precise. Serendipitously, DuPont had applied for the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 9001 accreditation, which meant it faced the massive taks of formalizing its operational documentation, including its protocols. Inasmuch as I had already been rewriting documents for several years, it was no surpose when management assigned me the task of revising the bulk of its protocols to conform to ISO guidelines.I think finding a position outside of bench chemistry is about finding something else that you like doing, and that people will pay you to do. You can find your inspiration to be a writer/editor in the oddest places, including synthetic protocols.
*David's career path to being a chemist was pretty remarkable, including law school, refrigeration mechanics and being a chemical technician.
Technical writing is a skill you can use in a lot of "alternative" chemistry jobs, even if they don't have the title of technical writer. I switched from the bench to a regulatory job, and I spend a lot of time doing technical writing. If you like to write (and especially if you can list some writing you've done on your resume), you'll be valuable to employers.
ReplyDeleteI need a technical writer to produce R&D and regulatory based documents/procedures that will comply with ISO 9001:2015
ReplyDeleteWhat's your contact info?
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