When we try to explain how we got to where we are, we tend to act as if it were intentional, but for me, various decisions and chance encounters over a long period of time have led me to where I am today.
Growing up, I always focused on maths and science, so when I started my university education, I wanted to try something different. After enrolling in a course on empire and colony, I selected my major and later graduated with my BA in Comparative Literature. I was happy with my degree, but I wasn’t qualified for any job.
I started to work in finance, but I wasn’t fulfilled. After helping my wife to study for a course in neurology, I decided to further my education and started taking science courses in the evenings. Then, one day, I was searching for medical careers when I found two professions that I thought were interesting: medical writer and cytotechnologist. At the time, I wanted to be certified for a specific job, so I pursued becoming a cytotechnologist and later graduated with my MSc in Bioscience Technologies.
For a couple of years, I worked in clinical pathology as a cytotechnologist, but never really forgot about medical writing. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, I decided to do something that I had always wanted to do; I furthered my education by studying for a PhD.
A few years into my programme, I knew that academic research wasn’t for me, so I helped to establish a series of seminars at my university that focused on alternative careers for postdoctoral fellows. I was interested in medical writing, so I pushed for alumni who went into medical writing to come and talk about their careers.
A couple of medical writers spoke at my university, and after defending my dissertation, I immediately started looking for jobs in medical writing. One of my classmates had been working at Oxford PharmaGenesis, and through a series of connections, I had the opportunity to take the medical writing test for our company. Unfortunately, the position that I originally applied for had already been offered to another candidate, but I persisted and a new position opened in our Value Demonstration Practice. When I met the team at Oxford PharmaGenesis, we talked about medical writing, the company culture and, most importantly for me, the company ethics. After that, I knew where I wanted to be and turned down a postdoctoral fellowship that I had been offered at Princeton University.
Years later, Oxford PharmaGenesis has presented me with countless opportunities: opportunities to learn from some of the most motivated, kind and intelligent people I could have hoped to meet after my PhD; opportunities to engage in new therapeutic areas, opportunities to earn the confidence of every client that I’ve worked with and advance my career; opportunities to grow with the company and secure new business, and opportunities to feel like I am making a difference by helping to disseminate HealthScience research that has an impact on patient care and access to new medicines.
I can’t say that it’s always easy, but working in medical writing at Oxford PharmaGenesis has certainly been rewarding, and I am encouraged for the future!