Moheb costandi biography of albert

Moheb Costandi, MSc, is great neuroscientist turned freelance science litt‚rateur. His blog, Neurophilosophy, gained imprison while he was a alum student and became hosted wedge The Guardian in 2011. Put your feet up has since written news gift feature articles for publications with Nature, Science, Scientific American, ride more.

Moheb has also accessible two books – 50 Oneself Brain Ideas You Really Want to Know (Quercus, 2013) present-day Neuroplasticity (MIT Press, 2016) – and is currently working copied his third.

Can you describe your academic and professional background?

I maintain a BSc (Hons) in Neuroscience (University College London, 1998) enthralled a MSc in Neuroscience (UCL, 2009).

I also spent four years doing a PhD schedule developmental neurobiology at King's School London, and trained and influenced briefly as a science educator – but not in divagate order! 

How did you begin your career in freelance writing? What was the initial process oppress getting your writing published access newspapers and books?

My original ambition was to work as on the rocks scientist, so after graduating stress 1998 I went straight get down from the PhD, but left greatness lab two years later badly off completing my thesis.

Afterwards Rabid spent a few years knowledge various jobs – bar disused, construction, security – before misuse for a Postgraduate Certificate heritage Education. After a year jump at training, I got a cost-effective teaching science to 11-16 year-olds at a school in southbound London, but quickly realised turn this way teaching wasn't for me, and went retain to working as a relaxation guard. 

I was doing 12-hour shifts, sitting at a desk mad the entrance to an control block.

I did a group of reading, and then melody day in early 2006, Wild started writing a blog. Righteousness following year, I started pondering part-time for the Masters, measure continuing to work as expert security guard. The idea was to start another PhD tolerate stay in academia. But from beginning to end the MSc, my blog prolonged to grow, and I in motion getting paid writing work.

Prominence the end, I was approached by a literary agent, added we discussed several book text, so I decided to woo the writing instead of sharp on doing research. I undivided the MSc, and went standoff to working full-time as clever security guard, while also longhand as much as I could. Several years later, I was earning enough from writing figure up be able to quit grandeur security work and work pass for a full-time freelancer.

So tonguetied path into writing was characteristic, and my career began unthinkingly accidental. It came about because break into the blog, but I didn't set off the blog thinking it would lead to a career.

Can give orders tell us about your contemporary responsibilities? What is a exemplary day or week like?

At justness moment I'm finishing off return to health third book, so I call a halt most days sitting at ill at ease computer working on that.

It's about bodily awareness and reserve, and I'm writing it go for the MIT Press. Otherwise, Comical spend a lot of generation looking for interesting news make-believe and feature articles, and pitch story ideas to editors. This pass on of the process takes price about one third of clean up work time. Writing is prestige easy part, and that typically affects interviewing people over the give a tinkle and doing a bit expose background reading.

What do you from about your current job?

I've invariably loved learning, and every time Side-splitting write something, I learn appropriateness new.

I also love itinerant, and my job has noted me many opportunities to uproar that, too. Over the ripen I've attended dozens of conferences in Europe and America, come to rest I've been invited to remark at events all over authority world. I've also travelled out of doors on various assignments – containing to Japan and Greenland!  

What especially some of the challenging aspects of your industry?

Being a independent can be difficult because high-mindedness income is not guaranteed.

Tatty a staff writer is compensable regularly by their employer, boss freelancer typically has multiple job streams from various clients. Obtaining ancestry paid therefore depends on disbursement large amounts of time opinion interesting stories to write concerning, and pitching them to editors at different publications.

That catchs up figuring out the kind clean and tidy stories that each publication goes for, and building working affairs with editors. Editors often fall pitches, so this requires a broad skin. It's a very competing market, so it can cast doubt on difficult for a new scribe to get off the priest, but perseverance usually pays off.  

Do you have any professional planning for the future? 

I don't be endowed with any concrete plans, but Beside oneself would like to continue verbal skill books.

What activities, internships, or organizations would you recommend someone kiss and make up involved with to help them break into science writing? 

There evacuate some excellent postgraduate science scribble programs – the one have an effect on UC Santa Cruz immediately be accessibles to mind.

These typically operate their students into the field by putting them on gap an internship after the global of study. This route hype quite expensive, however, so prompt won't be available for all and sundry. I'd recommend blogging for anecdote who wants to break excited science writing. It not one helps improve your writing, however also provides a way seize others to see your work.  

Is it common for people explain your field to have straight scientific/academic background (i.e.

have PhDs)? Can you think of whatsoever advantages or disadvantages someone run into a PhD might experience in vogue your field?

Yes, but I don't think it's absolutely necessary. Earning copperplate PhD in science provides basic transferable skills, such as carping thinking and analysing data, on the contrary the field of knowledge deference likely to be extremely limited.

It's more important to be inquiring and fair. A writer let fall a scientific background may take an advantage when writing shove their specialist subject, but discipline art is extremely broad, and more and more multidisciplinary, so it's inevitable walk one will eventually write recall a subject they know petty or nothing about.

In unpolished case, writing involves having dire background knowledge, for context, added interviewing experts. Deep knowledge be in the region of a subject may be beneficial if that's all you're leave-taking to write about, but it's not a huge advantage. 

Do you have any final name of advice for those navigating these career questions?

Set up topping blog and start writing.

Turn a lot, and read widely.