Case studies: Medical writer: Christine

Christine has a PhD in Cancer Sciences and is a medical writer at a specialist medical communications consultancy. Her story demonstrates the importance of a proactive approach to finding a job and the value of developing relevant skills during your PhD

I completed my PhD in Cancer Sciences at the University of Birmingham and in the penultimate year I started to consider non-lab based career options. I was introduced to the company I now work for when one of their employees came to our university to give a presentation on a career in medical writing.

I spoke to him about what the career involves and contacted him later to enquire about available positions. Although there were no specific job vacancies, I was then asked to send my CV and perform a writing test, after which I was invited for two interviews and was offered a job.

To be a medical writer at the company I work for, you are required to have a PhD, so the investment I made to complete my PhD is certainly paying off. I have also been placed in the oncology team, which means that I'm often able to draw on the knowledge I acquired studying cancer sciences.

My day-to-day work involves writing scientific papers and marketing materials for pharmaceutical companies. A large part of the job involves communicating with clients and authors to ensure the project is progressing well. There is quite a lot of teamwork involved, and we often work together on projects to meet the required deadlines. The job is really varied - I work on around four or five different projects at any one time.

As I have never done medical writing before, there is a lot to learn and one of the most challenging aspects so far has been learning to work in such a large team, to ensure that everything goes smoothly during a project.

Writing, project management and communication are three key skill areas developed during my PhD that have proved valuable in my current work. Whilst doing my research I took the opportunity to develop my writing skills by writing my own paper for publication, as well as writing for a science website and scientific society's magazine. I developed project management skills by taking responsibility for my work schedule and taking on supervision of a student. I improved my communication skills through presenting my work to different audiences, which has been particularly useful as in my job we produce articles in varying levels of detail for audiences with a range of levels of scientific knowledge.

I am relatively new to the role, but I am already starting to have more independence and responsibility. My career ambitions are to progress in medical writing and become more involved with pitching to clients and creating new opportunities.

Compared to working in academia, there seems to be a lot more job security and, as you become more experienced, there are also opportunities to work part time, work from home or become a freelancer, so the career is very flexible

If you are interested in getting into this career, get as much writing experience as possible throughout your PhD. Employers want to see that you have relevant and varied experience.