When I was a junior in college, I had a friend named Holly who worked in a neuroscience lab as a lab assistant. We were psych undergrads together, and when her lab needed another assistant she asked if I wanted to come join her. So I did, and i found myself immersed in lab meetings and experiments and data crunching.
And I loved it. I loved the drunken conversations at our weekly happy hour meetings, conversations about theories behind phobias and stories about lab mishaps that had us rolling with laughter. It was enough for me to be around the science, to absorb the info and be awed by the things our professor was exploring. I didn't want to actually design the studies or do the final analysis but I loved listening to all of them talk about their work.
The lab moved away my senior year, the professor lured to the Arizona desert by promises of tenure and new lab equipment. But when I was done with college and my misguided first attempt at grad school, I needed a job. And since San Diego is a hotbed of biotech (much like the Bay Area), I of course ended up working for a small contract research organization. But then they went out of business so I moved on to a small pharmaceutical R&D because being at the CRO made me remember how much I liked being around the science. I left the small company to go work at a big giant research facility and realized that I love science but I hate academia.
And so I left science behind and for a job at a big, giant defense contractor (because if there is one thing San Diego has more of than biotech, it's defense contractors). I was good at my job and it was interesting and new and I was happy.
But that was six years ago, and lately I've been bored because my job has gotten routine and stagnant and there's not really any room for growth for me. So when my friend mentioned that her company was looking for a new office manager/process manager/executive assistant and asked if I'd be interested, I told her sure, what the heck. And the more she told me about the job, the more I thought that hey, I would be really good at this job, and hey, it's a job that has a TON of growth potential. The best part?
My friend's company is a small pharmaceutical R&D that is doing some really awesome and innovative work.
Today I found out that the job is mine. I'm signing the offer letter tomorrow morning, and I've effectively quit my job (the official resignation is going in tomorrow morning but the important people already know).
So on the 25th, I'm walking away from defense contracting. And on the 28th, I'm going back to science.
And I couldn't be happier.
And I loved it. I loved the drunken conversations at our weekly happy hour meetings, conversations about theories behind phobias and stories about lab mishaps that had us rolling with laughter. It was enough for me to be around the science, to absorb the info and be awed by the things our professor was exploring. I didn't want to actually design the studies or do the final analysis but I loved listening to all of them talk about their work.
The lab moved away my senior year, the professor lured to the Arizona desert by promises of tenure and new lab equipment. But when I was done with college and my misguided first attempt at grad school, I needed a job. And since San Diego is a hotbed of biotech (much like the Bay Area), I of course ended up working for a small contract research organization. But then they went out of business so I moved on to a small pharmaceutical R&D because being at the CRO made me remember how much I liked being around the science. I left the small company to go work at a big giant research facility and realized that I love science but I hate academia.
And so I left science behind and for a job at a big, giant defense contractor (because if there is one thing San Diego has more of than biotech, it's defense contractors). I was good at my job and it was interesting and new and I was happy.
But that was six years ago, and lately I've been bored because my job has gotten routine and stagnant and there's not really any room for growth for me. So when my friend mentioned that her company was looking for a new office manager/process manager/executive assistant and asked if I'd be interested, I told her sure, what the heck. And the more she told me about the job, the more I thought that hey, I would be really good at this job, and hey, it's a job that has a TON of growth potential. The best part?
My friend's company is a small pharmaceutical R&D that is doing some really awesome and innovative work.
Today I found out that the job is mine. I'm signing the offer letter tomorrow morning, and I've effectively quit my job (the official resignation is going in tomorrow morning but the important people already know).
So on the 25th, I'm walking away from defense contracting. And on the 28th, I'm going back to science.
And I couldn't be happier.
3 Comments:
Hooray! Congrats, m'dear! I wish you the best of luck in the new job.
That's exciting news! Congratulations!
Awesome!!! Congratulations, darlin'.
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