From Academia to Pharmaceutical Advertising: A STEM Graduate Student’s Perspective
Written by: Felicia Peng, Medical Writing Intern (she/her)
Graduate students who eventually want to transition out of academia often don’t receive many resources to learn about their career options. As I get closer to finishing my STEM PhD program, the question of what my non-academic career will be looms large. With an interest in science communication, I was curious to learn about medical writing within pharmaceutical advertising. This summer I’ve been lucky enough to join the Razorfish Health team as a Medical Writing Intern. If you’re in a similar boat as me or simply curious, read on to see how being a Medical Writing Intern at Razorfish Health compares to being a STEM graduate student!
Science Communication in Academia vs Pharmaceutical Advertising
In both academia and pharmaceutical advertising, science should be communicated accurately and fairly. In either setting, it’s essential to prove that your research or product makes a significant contribution to an unmet need or problem, though the audience differs. In academia, the audience is usually peers with similar backgrounds, while in pharmaceutical advertising, the audience could be healthcare professionals or the general public.
In academia, good communication comes from straightforward representation and interpretation of data. Though the same is true in pharmaceutical advertising, the field allows for more creative freedom, with the goal of evoking certain emotions in an audience. For example, forceful imagery could suggest a drug will aggressively stop disease in its tracks, and gentle colors or imagery could evoke a sense of safety with a particular product.
The creativity in pharmaceutical advertising has been a fun aspect of my internship. I’ve been able to write and review different types of promotional content, and seeing the creative department at work has been a highlight. Pharmaceutical advertising is a regulated industry for good reason, and as a medical writer I enjoy the challenge of balancing scientific objectivity with artistic subjectivity.
Collaboration in Academia vs Pharmaceutical Advertising
In graduate school, I lead a research project that I will eventually summarize into a scientific publication. I formally meet with my advisor once a week to discuss my progress, and I occasionally meet with other scientists around my university for feedback. Although I receive guidance on my project, it’s largely an independent endeavor.
In contrast, frequent communication and teamwork is essential in pharmaceutical advertising. Building a campaign for a client is a massive undertaking that requires many people from all departments to work together to meet deadlines. Between department-wide collaboration and daily check-ins with my manager, it’s not out of the question for meetings to fill up hours of my day. No one wants to be stuck in meetings all day, but I have found the level of collaboration at Razorfish Health to be a refreshing change of pace.
Lifestyle in Academia vs Pharmaceutical Advertising
As a graduate student, I generally set my own hours. There are obvious advantages to this, but it can be hard to have good work-life balance in graduate school. Research in academia involves a lot of trial and error (and luck!), and there can be uncertainty as to when a student will finally have a body of work that qualifies them for graduation. This ambiguity creates a constant pressure that makes it hard for me to truly take a break from my research.
As a medical writing intern, I have found my tasks to be very clearly defined, whether that be summarizing a recent research paper or creating content for a science conference. While I adhere to a stricter 9 to 5 schedule, I find that my work life-balance has improved greatly. With less uncertainty in my day-to-day, I can make more time to focus on my personal life.
My Internship Takeaway
Getting hands-on experience as a medical writing intern at Razorfish Health has been amazingly informative. This position is drastically different from being a STEM graduate student, but it still builds upon the specific knowledge and skillset I have from my time in academia. Knowing a science communication career like this exists that both challenges and excites me is reassuring—what I’ll do after graduate school isn’t set in stone, but I now know that I can find a role that fulfils and fuels me.
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Are you just graduating college? Are you wanting to make a career change? Or maybe you’re looking for a place to start your career? Check out our open roles to see if we have something that sounds like you. We know you are not your resume, we understand you are not your work, and we respect that you are so much more than a job description. You are you. So come be you and do you with us.