Finding a job in a different field

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Hi,

Currently I am working in R&D in at a small biotech company in assay development. It involves lab work and writing lab reports. My strength is in math and not in writing...in fact I hate writing. I was thinking of switching to biostatistics. For anyone who is in statistics and biostatistics, how much writing is involved? Just want to see what I am getting into.

I think you're going to find there's a fair amount of writing involved in any professional work. You're going to have to communicate the meaning of your research/analysis, not just turn over data. If you like the work you do otherwise, maybe it'd be better to strengthen your writing. Otherwise I suspect you'll be limited to tech-level work (and salary).

Your issue with writing in the sciences is not uncommon. Peter F. Drucker, a management guru, many years ago talked about how companies were paying scientists to spend a large part of their time writing reports that a university intern could do.

Before you switch careers, from an area where you've gained experience and higher pay to a new area where you may have to take a pay cut as entry level, I would find out if you could get a new job doing the same work but with less time spent on report writing.

My suggestion would be to contact people you can trust for recommendations of a recruiter ("head hunter") who would search for such employment for you: a good recruiter will take your job preferences into account and not waste your time on a position that's a rehash of your current one.

Job advertisements in statistics and biostatistics often list "good spoken and written communication skills" as a requirement. They may also mention assisting in the production of reports for government regulatory agencies and/or peer-review publications. At a minimum, such jobs are likely to require some sort of documentation of your analysis, although that might just be documented R or SAS code (for example http://yihui.name/knitr/ ).

I have always struggled with spoken and written communication. I have had bosses complain over the length of time it takes me to write reports. To make matters worse, those reports were usually ignored.

Logan,

How long have worked in statistics or biostatistics? Would sort of reports did you write?