If you’ve read my previous posts or you know me personally, you know I am a scientist with a PhD. How I ended up with a career in science is bittersweet though.
I’ve been interested in science since I was in middle school. I remember having one of those mini microscopes and prepared slides that I would observe. I also used to get pond water samples at the farm land next door to us and view all of the swimming organisms that were living in there (there were a LOT). It was fun for me to observe them… to this day I still use microscopes at work (albeit way more powerful). In high school, my best friend and I were super science nerds and we took AP Bio together. We did a lot of dissections and we even had our own mini research project looking at microorganisms that were growing around the high school. However, there was another side to me in high school. I was a total art chick. My fave fave fave classes were all the art classes I took. That was my time to be creative, artistic, and listen to music while I made unique pieces. Art class was my ‘self-care’ in high school.
No matter how bad a day I was having, art class was something I always looked forward to.
My goal was to go to art school after high school. I wanted to make a career out of something I loved doing. So, why am I currently a scientist? Well…. parents. Particularly, my mom. She put the kibosh on my art school plans and told me that if she was going to help me out financially with college, then I couldn’t go to art school. She said that I had no future in art and that I wouldn’t make any money doing it. (HA… joke’s on her… have you seen the current salaries for adjunct professors? Also, the reason I got my real estate license is because I couldn’t find a job in science after my 6 years at Brown University. But, I digress).
Looking back I probably would have done some things differently. It’s the thing you tell yourself, “If only i knew then what I knew now” kind of statement. But i didn’t know anything then, I was a 17 year old kid applying to colleges. So, I decided to go to school for biology. At the time I didn’t know what I wanted to do with (LOL, I still don’t!). But, eventually I was taking pre-med classes hoping to go to optometry school. During my senior year, I was able to have an internship at Hershey Med Center in the neuroscience department which turned me onto scientific research. So, I ended up not going to optometry school and rather went on to get my master’s in biology at a university near where I grew up. During that time I was able to do an internship with a neuropsychologist and that led me to look into PhD programs for neuropsychology (and I kind of wish I had gone through with that). But, long story short, I ended up in a research based neuroscience PhD program instead. Like I’ve said before, I do like being in science. There are parts of it that are super creative (like figuring out what type of experiment to do and trying to decipher what my results mean). I also have the knowledge of helping people by studying various diseases. But, it doesn’t give me the ‘feels’ that I got when I was figuratively knee-deep in my paintings and the world faded into the background.
I’ve tried some painting, jewelry making, and drawing on the side, but it just wasn’t the same. I wanted a formal art education. Plus, with all the time that graduate school took, there just wasn’t enough time and money to devote to being creative and purchasing all the supplies that I needed.
All this to say that I am sure this is one of the reasons that to this day I am still “searching” for my perfect career. I think I am also drawn to writing in that it is a creative outlet that I am trying to develop as a skill. So, for now, my plan is to continue to blog in the hopes of someday writing a book. I also plan on writing more blogs around my journey as a scientist and the struggles that I face.
I would love to hear if you have a similar story to mine and where you ended up! How has your career choice shaped your life or vice versa?
I have had more than one career path in my life, and each of them has been rewarding in its own way. There is no rule that says you have to stay in one career for life. In fact, we live longer healthier lives these days, so there is a strong likelihood that we may follow a number of paths. I don’t know what is possible for you, but I found that having a two-income household made it possible for us both to experiment with our work lives. (And, thank you for visiting and following Snowbird of Paradise. I look forward to reading more of your posts.)
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I like your take on career paths. Luckily, I have been able to try out a few things. I did enjoy practicing real estate and still hold a license. That is something I may go back to practicing full time in the future. I am still trying to find that artistic path that I have been looking for. I think writing is part of that though which is why I started blogging regularly 🙂 Thank you for your comments!
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I am currently doing an art foundation in Oxford and have always had two main interests science and art. I’ve always wanted to become a doctor because wouldn’t that be amazing !? And I would love to help people ! The thing is, I love science but my passion is art. It’s my thing and I want to continue it in the future instead of medicine now maybe, I just know that it’s the risky option and I am so nervous of not ending up in a good job !! What would you recommend ? Follow my heart or my interest? 🙂
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My suggestion would be to try to find a way to do both! If that’s not possible I would say follow your heart because if you love to do something I think you can always find a way to get paid for it.
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Thank you! I will try my hardest!!
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What an amazing post. You have a great history! As a teacher, I tell my high schoolers that if they pick a STEM career, it wouldn’t be a mistake. It was therefore interesting to hear you struggled finding a job. You eventually found a path. Good for you.
Similarly I want a creative life and have to keep it an avocation until I break thru. I’m 56 and still trying. Creative pursuits are what make us human, I believe.
I enjoyed your post.
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Thank you for your feedback! Yes, it’s actually harder than I expected to find careers in STEM with a PhD… Several of my friends have the same issue. The market is saturated with PhDs and not enough positions. Thanks for reading 😁
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