On Interviewing a Legit Science Writer

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to interview the woman that has my dream job: Angela Herring, the resident science writer at Northeastern. Not only do I find it so cool that my school has its own science writer, I loved talking to Angela about her life and her job. While the article I wrote, which was posted on the NUScience blog for Northeastern's science magazine, communicates everything I learned about Angela from the interview, I want to take some time to reflect on the experience and how it affected my own science writing aspirations.

Part of the confusion I feel looking towards a career in science writing, which I talked about in my previous post, is the difficulty of intersecting the journalism and biology majors. The journalism courses I have taken so far are so clearly catered to working at a print newspaper that it's hard to imagine having any other job. However, I am most passionate about science writing, and I wish there was a way to better integrating science with journalism in my studies (other than writing for the science blog, of course). For Angela Herring, who studied English and Chemistry while she was in college, this disparity must have been even more pronounced. However, through a combination of blogging, working in a lab, internships, and pure interest, Angela Herring landed what I can only describe as my perfect job: she spends her days interviewing scientists and writing for Northeastern's iNSolution research blog, as well as for various other publications at Northeastern and beyond.

As a college freshman, I already feel pretty certain in my desire to write about science as a career, even if I'm not sure how to get where I want to go. This is quite different from Angela Herring, who only started to seriously consider science writing several years after she graduated from Bennington College. I'm not quite sure what to make of that, since I have trouble feeling comfortable thinking I'll get a good job the future, or even assuming I can follow the career path I'm interested in.

However, talking to Angela Herring has made me feel a bit better about that uncertainty. Here's someone who's always possessed the skills of a science writer, but tried out several different different paths - including creative writing, chemistry, and working in a lab - before she found a career as a science journalist. She's a confident person and a talented writer who not long ago was a confused college student, just like me. Her advice for aspiring science writers ("ask lots of questions") as well as the story of what led her to this point will stick with me as I continue to make my way through college and work towards a successful and happy future.

I hope to continue to use Angela as a resource as I move forward in my journalism and science studies, and also to write something for the iNSolution blog sometime in the near future.