Absolutely not, but I am astonished by the number of people coming out of graduate school who want to pick my brain about how I "got into" science writing. I went to journalism school and also got a BS and MS in a science. The two degrees came 20 years apart and mostly have helped me understand the current lingo in science that I didn't learn as well in the 80s. I often feel like these people who come to me with newly minted PhDs are looking for an "easy" alternative to academia or industry work. I think they assume it would be a cakewalk to just start a science writing career. Good luck with that.

It depends on where the job is coming from. Look through NASW or the American Medical Writers Assoc. job postings or Emma Hitt's Hitt List and almost always, the projects seem to insist the writer hold a PhD (or some other scientific degree, like an RN, PharmD, even MD).

I think that's a shame. There are so many projects for which such degrees are not necessary, and in fact, not having one often allows a finished project to have a fresh approach. I have a friend who began with nothing but a BS and for years has been one of the leading clinical med writers in the field.

For myself, I have a BA in English and I've been writing white papers, advertorials, patient ed booklets, newsletter/magazine articles, training manuals, and many other items for both clinical audiences and a wide variety of lay markets--hospital admins, IT personnel, and others--since 1988. I was one of the first to cross the direct-to-consumer line, both in writing custom web content and even lecturing on the subject at national conferences. Because of my background, I easily cross within departments: marketing, sales, HR, IT...it varies.

The constant comment I hear from clients: "If I hire a tech/medical writer, they can't write in 'consumer-speak'...and if I hire a consumer writer, they don't understand the clinical side. You can do both." My first love is medicine, but again I my ability to "cross over" has led to a broad range of clients: NIH, Merck, NY Presbyterian, Ares-Serono Biotech, Sears, Pirelli Engineering, BASF Chemical, numerous magazines and newsletters, et al.

I appreciate the companies/organizations that have recognized this kind of skill. It makes for exciting opportunities! Wendy Meyeroff, www.wmmedcomm.com

I think having Ph D is far better than not having it, otherwise how can you explain the idea behind the scientific discovery to a broad range of audiences. How many times you hear people complaining about not being clear about their work (research) or not explaining enough? You can explain the point in a very simple way only when you understand it in detail. All this understanding comes from your training during Ph D.