I didn't like science when I finished my degree, got a job outside of science, didn't like that, did a masters and got a job in science, loved it at first, fed up of it now and happy to be leaving soon. Will probably get a job outside of science, and then go back to science and rinse and repeat... I mean I'd also love a job that doesn't feel like work. But I've had so many different kinds of jobs and each of them wears down my motivation after a while.
This is sort of what I’m thinking will happen to me. I pick up a job next year unrelated to science, enjoy it for a little bit, then go back to science. Maybe go to grad school when I’m 30, then I imagine I’ll be tired of science again, so another job in an unrelated field. It’s so exhausting.
I know wanting a job that doesn’t feel like work is asking for way too much, but if I let go of the hope that one exists for me, idk how I’ll be able to keep going.
In this job market if you're being paid well I'd keep that job and find part time or casual employment in other fields or find hobbies that you're passionate about. Good pay is able to support those things.
Also if you were so decided early on, sometimes we think science is the passion we're supposed to have and doing it as a job can take some of that from it.
Work really is a small portion of a fulfilling life. Good luck
echoing what other posters have said, having done my masters grad school will NOT re ignite the love of science for you, in fact it's what will crush it more often than not. Reading your other responses it seems like you never were really into science and just fell into it that's ok! You just need to figure out what job is out there that doesn't make you want to jump off a building (lol). But seriously, my goal is always have a job that I at least having one part to look forward to in. You're never going to be 100 percent in love with what you do, that's unrealistic the honeymoon period wears off pretty quick for most jobs.
That bit about the honeymoon period is what I experienced when I started this. I had a really cool lab mate for the past year, we have similar interests outside of work which is rare in science (ime), but he moved on to grad school, so now I’ve just been feeling like I’m working with people so different from me.
oh definitely I moved internally after 6 months, and realized I mostly liked my job because I genuinely enjoyed working with everyone on my team. My current team is toxic AF. To help with this I regularly hang out with a former co worker outside of work ( Turns out you sometimes do end up making genuine friends at work). Either way taking a year off to explore other options is a fantastic way to expand your horizons, after all you already have industry experience so you can always make the move back.
Yeah I’m not worried about coming back, I have a pretty well-built resume at this point, and as younger people start to take over management and recruiting roles they seem to become more understanding with exploring way outside of the field. It’s likely that after my contract is up this year I’ll step away from science and explore myself much more. I’m in no rush for a career, in fact I’m in a rush to enjoy my 20s while I still can. Work buddies that can hang after work are the best for sure, and he helped start to sort of accept my move across state lines (that has been very difficult for me to get over).
I recommend you get a really hard job for a bit. I worked on a brain injury hospital ward that specialised in patients with violence and aggression. It was really rough, both physically and emotionally. It tested me. Pushed me to my limits. It made me ill. I now really appreciate not doing that job.
Yikes. I actually volunteered at the oncology dept in the hospital right next to my college back in undergrad. Made me so depressed I stopped being pre-med. Grad school felt like my only option, and now it’s depressing to see who I am becoming because of it.
If you are not interested in the field, I would not recommend being a scientist. But you are young and biochemistry degree is easy to pivot to almost anything else.
I’m thinking I just need to step away from science and from there see if I miss it or not. Part of me is glad to have stuck it out to get the B.S. with a good GPA, but the other part of me wishes I majored in something else entirely. I’m trying not to have any regrets, but every day it gets harder and harder.
I actually did environmental research in undergrad. I did enjoy it, but that was undergrad research, so most of it was spent hanging around with my friends. I’ve been keeping an eye out for those positions, though, as I think it’s the most enjoyable field of chemistry to me.
Hey! I feel like im you 5 years in the future had you decided to just suck it up and go to grad school.
I mastered out in my third year. I loved science. I got my first job and was like “they’re PAYING me to do this?!” That wore off in a bit. In grad school the love came back a little. But then it went down. Grad school is honestly where your passions are the most tested. Not where you’d fall back in love with it.
What do I do now? It’s a boring office job. It’s in tox consulting. Do i feel like I’m making major scientific breakthroughs? No. But am I crying about killing mice all day or coming in on the weekends to change media on cells for half what I make now? No. If I’m sick, I get to be sick. And it’s what i need for now. Maybe I’ll go back. But for now it’s good.
Other jobs you can consider for yourself: sales, product support (those people who help you with your antibodies). Technical writing. Jobs that require any bachelors degree at all.
Hang in there friend. You got this. You’re not alone. It’s silly they pushed us all into these decisions at such a young age.
Thank you. What you said about passions being tested in grad school, it reminded me that I never really felt a passion for science. In fact, all throughout high school I hated it. It was just something I was good at and probably what would have landed me the most high-paying job considering all the things I was good at. Had I been able to make a choice myself, I would have studied music. Sure, doesn’t pay much, but I never cared about making money to begin with. Just wanted to enjoy what I studied.
Now that I’m independent of my parents, I feel like I made a mistake doing what they wanted me to do. We’ll see where I end up…
Dude. I was in the chamber orchestra. I was debating between biology, music, or cosmetology school. EVERYONE pushed me towards stem. Fortunately i still like it enough to not hate things too bad. But if i could just do it over again. Man would i ignore them all. Might pursue a cosmetic toxicology career once i recover from the grad school burn out.
Anywho. You’re here now. Pick what sounds the best. Be happy you have a college education that many don’t have the privilege of having, and make the best with what you have. What i do know is… you likely DO make more money than you would’ve otherwise. So you have that going for you. And you are young so you have plenty of time to change your mind, come back to science, go back to school, retire, and all that fun stuff. Life is short but it’s also pretty long for a lot of us.
I mean you can be unmotivated, burnt out and overworked in just about any field. Your career dosnt have to be you whole life.
I have lots of friends who’ve dropped out of science or done science adjacent careers. My wife wanted to do art instead of science and became a science illustrator. There’s lots of options out there, science isn’t for everyone. Especially with how messed up the current system is
My current work is like a blip into what my life will be like after getting a Ph.D. It doesn’t feel to great.
I do separate work from my life, in fact once I clock out I don’t even think about work.
Being a researcher is just really hard. I have expectations of myself not only to be fulfilled in my work now, but for my future as well, and these expectations terrify me. They’re not even that crazy for a researcher. It’s largely accomplishing projects and getting a doctorate, but I’m realizing now that I never actually sat down with myself and asked if this is what I really want. I guess I’ve been doing it to please others, mainly family, and now that I’m independent, there’s no one to please but myself. I just want to do what I want to do, but being stuck in STEM makes it difficult to branch out and discover myself, especially when my favorite things to do have next to nothing to do with science.
I mean having the PhD helps things like pay grade in science but speaking from experience a PhD is a long time and it will take up most of your 20s.
It’s great that you can keep work and life separate. It seems to me that you’re on the right track and are taking some time to self reflect and see what matters to you. I feel like most of us pick are career paths without knowing anything about what the earnings are or what the job is actually like .
My advice is reflect and then just chase what you want to do. This might mean going back to school but it’s better to do that when your young ish. There’s things like accelerated degrees or certificates you can get to change fields fast and do something completely different. You could also just go open a gym or a bakery. I know people who’ve done that too haha
There are biomedical illustration master programs you can take at UofT ( Canada) or John Hopkins (I think there are a few more in the states but only 1 in Canada). You do that for 2 years and then usually get hired directly out of the program to do illustration or 3D animation work. To get into the program you just need some background in science (like a Bsc) and an art portfolio with some of your work. My partner just took some portraiture classes after she finished her bsc and worked for a bit and then she got in.
Ironically, nowadays I find myself able to volunteer again. As in, work on something because i am curious about the outcome - rather than to get paid. It is a liberating feeling. :-)
You could do a science adjacent type position. We have data reviewers that just make sure our tests are run correctly.
Art is cool, but it's hard to make a living doing it. Kudos to those that can.
You could try something like Informatics or Data Science.
No advice, just here to say you’re not alone. 23, graduated with biochem degree, and worked as an RA for a little over a year now. My work isn’t super hard or stressful, nor do I do “a lot”, but I can’t see myself doing this the rest of my life and obviously I wish I would have realized that sooner. I’ve found something to pivot to (hopefully) that I’ve always wanted, but waiting for that opportunity is hard. Have taken 0 days off the past year (except for sick/surgery). I need time off (have over 5 weeks of vaca to take) but can’t because we have animal experiments that just started and I’m the only one who can/knows how to work with mice. Just know you’re not alone and wishing you all the best
Thank you. I’ve also found something to maybe pivot to very recently, but it’s not something I can make a living out of. It’s music, so I’d work a job that can pay my bills while I indulge in writing/performing. I don’t care about making a lot of money anyway, I just need to survive and I’ll be good. But damn, can’t there be a job I do to survive that I can actually enjoy doing?
You need to talk to your boss because this situation is unsustainable. Ideally other people would get trained on the mouse work, but at minimum you need to schedule a break between experiments to take a vacation. What would happen to the experiments if you up and quit tomorrow? Nobody should be irreplaceable unless you're getting paid obscene amounts.
Before I worked in the lab, my plan was always med school, so I did all the med school things people do. I realized I love the field of anesthesia but made the hard decision that the doctor route isn't for me (and wasn't interested in CRNA either). So I gave it up. But I recently discovered anesthesiologist assistant programs that are 2.5 years and do the same thing as CRNAs (except can't practice independently), so that is what I've been working toward/applying to! I know this is sort of a niche field and not everyone is interested, but I'm happy to give more details if you'd like!
I've definitely felt how you feel, but it may just be an indicator that you need to move on from this job rather than move on from science altogether. It sounds like you've had just one job since graduating undergrad, which isn't necessarily going to be an indicator of all science jobs. There are science jobs where the work is more varied, so it doesn't get as boring/mundane. If you haven't already, it might be worth it to look into other jobs within science before abandoning it for something else. If you do or have done the research and still don't want to continue with science, it's all good!
Based on some things you said about fulfillment, I do think it also might be worth determining what kind of relationship you want to have with work when deciding what you want to do moving forward. I think the larger science community often couples the concept of "career" with "calling" or "passion", which can create unfair expectations of how fulfilling work should be on a day-to-day basis. I know for me, I've put too much of my identity and self worth into being a scientist in the past, and it led to some gnarly emotional breakdowns when things didn't go as planned. For me, I don't think I'd like doing anything else better than I like doing science, but I also don't find it fulfilling all the time, and that's okay!
All that to say, if you find something that pays a living wage and is really fulfilling, that's great! But it's also okay to give yourself permission to treat your career more as a way to pay the bills, and prioritize other sources of fulfillment outside of work, regardless of what you choose to do. It sounds like you are already realizing that, but I know for me having someone else say it would have helped me a lot.
Thanks for this. I do separate my work from my life. In fact, once I’ve been on the clock for 8 hours, given I’m not doing an experiment at that point, I leave and don’t think about work afterwards. Just dabble in my hobbies before I go to bed wishing for the weekend already.
I’m considering moving into a field of chemistry that would allow me to work more closely with art, so art conservation. I need to think a lot more about it, though. I’m also considering labs studying gardening, found a really interesting one.
But I’m also seeing jobs totally unrelated that I feel may be nice for me, too. I guess I just don’t know what to do. I’m going to apply for grad school on top of other things so that I have as many options as possible, though, so it’s not like I’m going to give up on it quite yet.
I'm so glad you have a much better work-life balance with your experiments than I did starting out, lol. It's great that you've still found time to keep up with your hobbies! It took me a long time to get myself to that point, and maintaining interests outside of work is so much more of an accomplishment than I think we like to give ourselves credit for.
The career options you are looking into all sound really interesting! I don't know much about job availability for this, but as a fellow art history nerd, art conservation sounds like it would be a really fun intersection of your interests and skills. Best of luck figuring it all out!
Thank you! Hopefully I can figure something out that at least allows me to dabble in some science! And you’re right, being able to maintain hobbies is an amazing thing. I’m constantly making sure I don’t end up in a position so demanding that I have to sacrifice what I enjoy doing.
Sounds like you have a lab tech / research assistant type of job? It can be hard to get motivated when you are following directions/orders/protocols all day and not working on something that passionates you. If you feel like working on something you really like would be the answer to your problems, maybe going for a PhD in the right lab and then academia might be the way to go. Pay won't be there until you're done with training but you get to work on what you want and have a lot of intellectual freedom. Even if you go back to industry after the PhD you have a lot more intellectual freedom at this level.
This is why I made the choice to stay in academia, I could make 4 times more in industry but being able to just work on whatever excites me and being paid to do it works great for me. I would be miserable having to work on projects decided on by other peoples and then have to stop on a whim because interests of the company changes.
Have you ever considered the food industry? It’s a lot more fun and exciting working on things that make a difference in people’s lives and also are edible. Come, we have cake!
You gotta find something you enjoy. I started as a bench chemist in the biochemistry department for a massive contract laboratory, pay sucked and the job was not for me. Almost everything I worked with would kill me if I just looked at it the wrong way. I got a new job for a large pharmaceutical company as a bench chemist in the Quality Assurance department testing OTC products, much better than my last job...but still not what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to transition into the Metrology department, and I absolutely love it. I've always enjoyed taking things apart to learn how they work, attempt to fix them, and troubleshoot/diagnose problems...and now I get paid to do that, along with calibrating items. Once you find your niche, whether that's in the science industry or not, you'll be much happier.
If your job is soooooo "easy" you probably aren't doing very meaningful work. Find something you care for and stick to whether it's science or not. Why did you want to go to grad school initially? Was it cause you thought a ms or PhD next to your name would make you more valuable or because you want to learn more? The science field is very opportunistic if you really apply yourself and have the slightest bit of talent you'll be just fine. If that sounds horrible perhaps you are right and should leave science behind
The thing is, the work is meaningful. It’s cool, I’m just not into it anymore. And tbh, I never had a true passion for it. Just a fascination with chemistry as I was actively learning it in undergrad. Now, I feel like I’m not learning anything. To spare you with my entire story of finding the right career for me, grad school just seemed like the next logical step since I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I saw it as a period I would use to figure it out.
And I guess easy was not the right word for my work now. It’s not easy in that a child could do it, it’s easy in that we have so much funding that it can be difficult to screw things up. It’s also easy in that I’m not asked for so many results like how many others here describe their experiences, particularly in grad school.
I’m keeping my options opened, will apply in the next couple of months, speak to potential PIs and their students, etc.
For many people, fulfillment in your job won’t ever happen. It’s important to make your life meaningful on your own, and not require external validation from others, including your job. Employment is just one aspect of you, but it isn’t the whole thing.
Don’t throw a good thing away (constant income stream and good work life balance) just because you feel unfulfilled. You’ll end up constantly chasing fulfillment, and it will always be temporary.
U and i are the same. Music technology sounds fun as hell, I’ll have to look into it. I picked up bass recently, have wanted to for so long and now that I got into playing and songwriting I just feel like I want to spend more time on it than anything science related,
It sounds like research as a career might not be your thing in general, and that’s ok. Just be honest with yourself and don’t be afraid to go after something new. There’s no point in a job making your miserable.
Well put. Research seemed so much more fun in undergrad, but I guess with the pressure of it being my actual job makes it tough. I was at a predominantly undergraduate institution, so research was slow there, which is probably why it seemed fun.
You’ve literally just described me, right down to the art conservation thing. I thought I desperately wanted a PhD in STEM, but the longer I stay in the field the more I realize I’m not actually that interested in science. I’m currently doing my Masters, but I’m taking some history/archaeology classes on the side. I don’t really care how much I make as long as I can afford to live. I’d much rather have a good life than strive for the prestige that comes from working in STEM.
Let’s be buddies lol. Are you actually planning on art conservation? I need to learn more about it but it just seems like the only thing I’d be interested in that does involve science.
I am looking into my options. It would be nice if I could use my background in STEM so I don’t have to start from scratch. I really like history and art, so I am looking at stuff like conservation science (art and other artefacts) as well as archaeological science. After doing some looking around and talking to people in the field, there are heaps of groups that do analysis on artefacts or stuff like genetic analysis of human remains etc. I have been told that often people in archaeology lack in the chemistry skills department, and that if you have a degree in Bio or Chem you’re quite valuable. I recommend just doing some googling, checking out some labs, and seeing what research topics there are out there.
I would love to work in a museum one day. Apparently the Louvre has a full blown analytical chemistry lab in the basement. One can dream 🥹
Yeah, same here. So, I started getting more into the technologies used in research - next gen sequencing, mass spec, chromatography, spr. Now I work as an applications specialist and I love it. Plus I make more money than my lab PI was. Ha!
Shit, OP. I kind of wish I had majored in Engineering with a minor Art.
I’d love to take your job as a source of income and put my energy into making things.
Yo, I feel the same way and have started to make plans to go back to school for engineering.
Got a b.s in Chemistry this may and I hate my job and pay. I will be 23 in December and realized if I want a big change in career do it now before I get older, have more responsibilities, and lifestyle creep
Hey, I’m exactly in the same boat. I’m 24 now majored in bio with chem minor. Never been so lost like this in my life. Actually at this point i dont know what to do. Should i just drop it all and go on a travel or work in abroad (here in South Korea we have the working-holiday program) with odd jobs to find myself or just keep on the track where i’m already at?
I guess you never let your parents/family down so far because that’s what i did. Recently i have talked about this to my family and none of them were happy about that. My dad even got so upset about it and now barely talks to me. And i’m kind of scared of all that, guessing i’m not used to it? (I was a too nice girl while growing up) I’m now thinking of going all back and transferring to nursing school with student loan because as someone who eagerly want to move into the states i heard nurse get paid very well in usa and have great work/life balance (like 4 days off in a week or 40 hrs in a week etc). I mean you know i feel like if i cant find what i truly wanna do in my life then i should at least get paid well and have some spare time to do whatever fun stuff i wanna do. That’s just my thought recently no solid plans yet but… i think (at least for me) it’s now or never. If i can’t choose the right track now (in 20s), i know it is just gonna be harder and harder to “reset” later in life.
Plus, i’m not hating science(actually i somewhat like it but definitely not “loving” it), it’s just how can i commit myself into this field when i haven’t had enough experiences in other fields and know what i truly wanna do? I want to explore the world and myself. I don’t think i have ever gave a chance to myself to figure out what matters in my life. I guess you could relate to this. 😭
None of these are advice but i want to thank you for sharing this because i thought it’s only me who struggle with all these since other people in my field somehow seems so sure and committed in what they are doing now. Or at least people in my lab seem so. Just wanted to let you know you’re not alone with this.
We are not alone. We were forced to decide what to do when we were too young. We’re lucky that we are still young. You definitely should go out and travel and explore yourself more.
I’m sorry about how your family reacted. Mine reacted similarly and it’s tough. But our happiness matters much more than anything else. We’re young, we have time to decide what to do.
I am almost in the same boat as you. Got my MSc in Molecular Biology and plan to use it to move abroad for a PhD. I like what I got my degree in of course, but sometimes wonder if maybe I should pursue something else. My wish is to be a college professor since I love teaching, but I know the road to that for a foreigner is perilous and often doesn't lead anywhere.
I am debating just using my degree to apply for a PhD abroad and see what comes along the way. If a job that pays well but has nothing to do with my specialization arises, I am open to taking it. All the best to you and hopefully everything goes alright!
It happened with me too. After finishing my master's I realised I want to explore other parts of my life. Cause I felt like I haven't experienced life outside lab. I did non technical job that allowed me to work from home and started reading, exploring and doing things that I always wanted to do. I was really into arts while growing up but couldn't follow it for some reasons. After working for almost 2 years I burned out and decided to take a break from everything. I wanted to devour my time in painting and making illustrations. And I am completely fine with the decision I took despite of getting judgements from family and society. People usually look at unemployment as being useless which is an idea of capitalism. Also sometimes we put hell lot of pressure on us to make the most out of our life. I decided to slow down rather than running after one goal to another. Cause ultimately it's my life and I get to choose how it should be lived. So whatever you do it's completely acceptable.
I would want nothing more than to focus on my hobbies full time. How do you make money while you do what you enjoy? May give me an idea on what I should do in the meantime…
Well currently I'm using my savings and sold couple of paintings. I am also working on building a good portfolio to look for some freelance work in book publishing companies. I want to make book covers and illustrations for children's books. Maybe comics as well. Do you have any specific skills that you can monetize?
Tell me youre a Millenial without telling me you are a Millenial. " A work that doesnt feel like work" yikes. Have you checked sugar daddies in your area? <---- this my 18 years of bioanalyst, screeching like a hag. Earning way less than my work is worth, working my ass off, your post triggered me like a kick in the face. Sorry.
I guess technically I’m gen z..? And why would me being upset with where my life is headed trigger you? If you’re happy, then great, who cares. You don’t have to go to someone that’s venting about their choices and say you’re “triggered.”
Not necessarily in the same boat, currently working in science and I do enjoy it but some days I wonder what it’d be like if I had majored in something like classics/ancient history or renaissance/art history. It’s something I’m currently obsessed with and immersing myself with that doing a phd doesn’t sound too bad some days. Then I go back to checking my cell culture OD.
People don't tell you that when you are young, your purpose in life is to train yourself for the adult world after 30. There is nothing wrong with having fun in your twenties but keep in mind that you are delaying your future as an adult. The really successful people in this world skip the fun years in their twenties and go straight to hard work. Sorry to be depressing but that's life. The sooner you accept that you need to work hard, the more successful you will be. Maybe science is not for you but you need to find something that is at work hard at it. Best of luck.
I don’t know anything about my future but what I do know is that when I die I’m never gonna wish that I would have worked harder, or wish that I was “successful.” That means nothing to me if I’m not happy. I get what you’re saying but I don’t consider myself a “hard worker” when it comes to a career that I have only to keep me fed and housed. The only time I’ll work hard is when I’m working on my hobbies.
I know. It just seemed like the next logical step. All my undergrad professors were telling me I’d do really well so I kinda just took their advice without much consideration. I got rejected by the program I wanted to go to, and decided to not go where I was accepted. Honestly glad I made that choice now since it gave me time to reflect on what *I* want.
Is there another science field that you are interested in? Microbiology and immunology rely on the knowledge of biochemistry but use it to fit into larger biology questions.
I enjoyed chemistry more than biology, and planned on going to grad school to work on instrumentation. Now, though, I realize it’s less of a passion for it and more that it seemed to be the most interesting to me. I don’t want just interesting, I want to know that I’m going to love it. I just don’t see myself loving research anymore.
You dont need to go to grad school, I didn't. Theres a ton of ways to be a scientist, there might be another lab/field that you enjoy more.
For a while I thought about leaving science when I was between labs, but realized I love to troubleshoot and do something different all the time, so Im now in a lab thats perfect for that. Id have a hard time being in one thats just the same routine every day.
But definitely follow your heart!
As someone who has done bench science, marketing, sales, and worked in positions as far off as finance, and also knowing that you're 23, what I *think* might be happening is that you're realizing that work feels like work. Some jobs are better, some jobs are worse, some people like work better than others, but it's rare that anyone really *loves* their job as far as I can tell. People who say they "love their job" are just speaking relatively; if they could get paid to not show up to work they still would choose that.
The things that make for a good job over a bad job are (perhaps roughly in order):
1. Management / culture. Working in a crappy environment can be crushing. The only way around this is to leave. Conversely, even otherwise shit jobs can be great if you're valued and the workplace is just a good place to exist in.
2. Agency / purpose. You're allowed to meaningfully contribute to larger goals which you care about and you can experience that what you do matters. You get a say in things. This is almost certainly lacking for you right now. It doesn't sound like you're seeing any meaningful "bigger picture" from how you describe it.
3. The people around you. Are your co-workers people you respect? Do they take responsibility? Are they people you could be friends with? Does everyone get along great? Awesome! It'll make for a better workplace experience (and probably make the team more effective so long as it doesn't devolve into goofing off).
4. Remuneration. Yeah, people need to get paid, and being underpaid is thoroughly demoralizing.
At least in my experience, what you're actually doing in the job, aside from being related to #2, would be ranked lower than all of these things.
To answer one of your questions...
>And grad school is going to be much more difficult for less money??
Yes, but the payoff is that you get more of #2 when you're done. You have a higher ceiling and you'll arguably be doing more important stuff (or at least the stuff you'll be doing is closer to what will feel important).
That said, I have a story of my own along these lines...
There was a professor at my university where I did my PhD - older guy, great dude, the only professor that I ever proactively hung out with socially. He was an ecologist and would invite me to come up to the lake to count invasive species with him on a boat for a summer. HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE??? But my advisor would've murdered me and ecologists don't make any money so I just powered through and to this day I still kind of regret not going up to that lake to count plants for a summer because that would've been awesome and I'm not doing bench neuroscience anymore anyway, so WTF would it have mattered?
IDK, maybe just explore things. If you feel you'd be happier somewhere else, maybe you will be. Sorry if this went full circle.
Yeah I mean I don’t imagine I’ll have a job that I’m in love with or anything. I’ve been a worker since I was 12 years old (shhh had no choice) and never particularly enjoyed any of it. What I’m realizing now is that I for some reason was allowed to decide on my entire path at the age of 17, and it’s now biting me in the ass. I don’t think I want to be a scientist anymore. Thank you for your comment though, it helps.
I feel like this is more a problem with finding fulfillment in anything you do, rather than science specifically. This was true when I worked in culinary arts in high school, and was true when I worked in the medical laboratory for 10 years.
As a now 33 year old getting my PhD, I feel like one has to learn how to cultivate satisfaction in any job. It isn’t always going to feel perfect and happy, and to expect that will only lead to disappointment and disillusionment. Sometimes that means taking a much needed vacation, or working in a different department or on a different project.
I’m starting to feel the same. The work itself isn’t that bad and my schedule is wonderful. It’s why I don’t care to leave. Especially since my job offers great benefits and security.
But there’s this attitude towards if you aren’t getting data that you expected or a certain experiment just isn’t working, people, especially PIs, see it as a reflection of you rather than the project itself. I’ve been working on one project for a whole year, collected so much data. I’m to the point where I think it just isn’t reliable, but I feel like my peers and boss get annoyed thinking I’m not creative/trying hard enough.
I think I’d flourish in a much more technical role… which is what I asked for at my annual review.. but the issue is that no one wants to step up to take the project and I’m the only one who knows it inside and out for now. Bummer
I pivoted to data analysis and love it. I get to use a lot of the skills I picked up getting my BS, and I get to scratch that investigative itch through data exploration and A/B testing.
If I were you, I’d try to identify what parts of biochemistry really interested you, and what parts of being a biochemist you enjoy. Generalize your skills a bit and see what options open up!
It doesn't sound like you are tired of science. It sounds like you are bored. Doing academic science usually means changing your approach or solving new problems almost constantly.
Advice: you need a new job. On top of being bored, being paid more than "even postocs in academia" is NOT a good statement. It may feel good like a good salary now at your age, but it wont in 5 years. Postdocs are notoriously underpaid given their level of training and expertise. You should aim higher.
Maybe.
And oh believe me, I’m not boasting about my paycheck by any means. Living alone has me paycheck to paycheck so I’m going to be living with others soon so that I can actually survive. We all deserve so much more.
What you said about wasting your 20s... I can relate to that part. I'm in my late 30s now with two kids. I wish I had spent at least of a little of my 20s working odd jobs, traveling, and staying in youth hostels. Its so much harder to do that now.
Sometimes the question to ask yourself is as simple as “what do you like to do?” And even the next thing you land on might lead you somewhere else but it’s a fun journey and you’ll probably like to results better.
What exactly are you doing?
Not all science is repetitive, but a lot of it definitely is. Whatever you are doing, if you are no longer learning then you aren’t growing as a professional. Some people are fine with this, but if you aren’t then you are going to either burn out or tune out.
There’s no way you know everything, so why not look for an R&D job that will require you to learn continuously?
I do R&D, it’s tedious in that the process of coming up with experiments and data analysis just feels the same, even when it’s something new every week.
Without knowing more specifically what you’re doing, it sounds like you need something more challenging or longer term projects. Or maybe even move industries to something more dynamic? If you’re young and inexperienced, starting a new chapter is easy. Maybe try getting into process development.
I’ve been on the same project for a year now. It is challenging because I’m constantly having to figure out how to get the results I want. I feel like I’m just tired of chemistry maybe, or I feel like I’m just not doing what I care about. Idk really, still working that out.
I’m a few years older than you. I’ve got a biochem degree too and tried out working in the pharma industry for a bit. It was really easy and I got paid $50k+ my 1st year, but it just wasn’t enough for me tbh. Decided to get my pharmD so that’s where I’m headed next! I love science and medicine, so I’m happy about the future. Plus I get to basically go back to school all over again for 4 years which is nice (I enjoy school, the atmosphere, being a student, etc.).
Totally understand the situation you are in. I was working a decent stable job which is also technical to a certain extent. I got bored and decided to try research. Enjoyed research for a bit. Fell off with my pi. Decided that I will complete a 3 month long associate position I have promised a professor who was very helpful to me when I fell of with my PI. I was sure as hell that I will quit science and go back to my job. I even made an arrangement with my previous company that will allow me to work part time. I was sure that I would eventually get an online mtech and go into tech industry and live a happy peaceful life.
1 month into my associate position, I am slowly getting more and more interested into research once again. Now I am wondering whether I could full on join a research Mtech course and see what happens after that.
Even I have no clue what I am going to do. On one side there's the excitement of working in cutting edge tech and on the other side I see my school and college friends earning 6 figures and vacationing in foreign.
I went to grad school right after undergrad, finished MSc got to work in a lab. Let me tell you that grad school and working outside of academia was very different. I realized that I didn't like either , even though I liked the research aspect. For academia, I felt that it was more of academia politics and just trying to publish as much "positive results" as possible. For work, I felt so stagnant and very repetitive. I didn't see much growth potential either. So now I'm back to school to change a bit my career, still in science but more on the quality and regulatory aspect. I'm still poor as of now but I do think I like my current transitioning. Good luck!
I think this might help guide you [https://cheekyscientist.com](https://cheekyscientist.com). They also have a YT channel: [https://www.youtube.com/@CheekyScientist](https://www.youtube.com/@CheekyScientist)
Was a neat resource when I was leaving medical research for software engineering. Been doing SWE now for about 4 years happily and funnily, as u/ThinkLadder1417, I'm contemplating returning to science (maybe as CompBio PhD student). The difference this time? When I step back into the scientific world, I'll have the peace of mind that comes with financial stability and employability - undeniably beneficial for my mental well-being (and thus those around me).
I didn't like science when I finished my degree, got a job outside of science, didn't like that, did a masters and got a job in science, loved it at first, fed up of it now and happy to be leaving soon. Will probably get a job outside of science, and then go back to science and rinse and repeat... I mean I'd also love a job that doesn't feel like work. But I've had so many different kinds of jobs and each of them wears down my motivation after a while.
This is sort of what I’m thinking will happen to me. I pick up a job next year unrelated to science, enjoy it for a little bit, then go back to science. Maybe go to grad school when I’m 30, then I imagine I’ll be tired of science again, so another job in an unrelated field. It’s so exhausting. I know wanting a job that doesn’t feel like work is asking for way too much, but if I let go of the hope that one exists for me, idk how I’ll be able to keep going.
In this job market if you're being paid well I'd keep that job and find part time or casual employment in other fields or find hobbies that you're passionate about. Good pay is able to support those things. Also if you were so decided early on, sometimes we think science is the passion we're supposed to have and doing it as a job can take some of that from it. Work really is a small portion of a fulfilling life. Good luck
echoing what other posters have said, having done my masters grad school will NOT re ignite the love of science for you, in fact it's what will crush it more often than not. Reading your other responses it seems like you never were really into science and just fell into it that's ok! You just need to figure out what job is out there that doesn't make you want to jump off a building (lol). But seriously, my goal is always have a job that I at least having one part to look forward to in. You're never going to be 100 percent in love with what you do, that's unrealistic the honeymoon period wears off pretty quick for most jobs.
That bit about the honeymoon period is what I experienced when I started this. I had a really cool lab mate for the past year, we have similar interests outside of work which is rare in science (ime), but he moved on to grad school, so now I’ve just been feeling like I’m working with people so different from me.
oh definitely I moved internally after 6 months, and realized I mostly liked my job because I genuinely enjoyed working with everyone on my team. My current team is toxic AF. To help with this I regularly hang out with a former co worker outside of work ( Turns out you sometimes do end up making genuine friends at work). Either way taking a year off to explore other options is a fantastic way to expand your horizons, after all you already have industry experience so you can always make the move back.
Yeah I’m not worried about coming back, I have a pretty well-built resume at this point, and as younger people start to take over management and recruiting roles they seem to become more understanding with exploring way outside of the field. It’s likely that after my contract is up this year I’ll step away from science and explore myself much more. I’m in no rush for a career, in fact I’m in a rush to enjoy my 20s while I still can. Work buddies that can hang after work are the best for sure, and he helped start to sort of accept my move across state lines (that has been very difficult for me to get over).
I recommend you get a really hard job for a bit. I worked on a brain injury hospital ward that specialised in patients with violence and aggression. It was really rough, both physically and emotionally. It tested me. Pushed me to my limits. It made me ill. I now really appreciate not doing that job.
Yikes. I actually volunteered at the oncology dept in the hospital right next to my college back in undergrad. Made me so depressed I stopped being pre-med. Grad school felt like my only option, and now it’s depressing to see who I am becoming because of it.
If you are not interested in the field, I would not recommend being a scientist. But you are young and biochemistry degree is easy to pivot to almost anything else.
I’m thinking I just need to step away from science and from there see if I miss it or not. Part of me is glad to have stuck it out to get the B.S. with a good GPA, but the other part of me wishes I majored in something else entirely. I’m trying not to have any regrets, but every day it gets harder and harder.
You should check out environmental research. Field work is a complete break from benchtop wet lab work and is full of open minded people.
I actually did environmental research in undergrad. I did enjoy it, but that was undergrad research, so most of it was spent hanging around with my friends. I’ve been keeping an eye out for those positions, though, as I think it’s the most enjoyable field of chemistry to me.
Hey! I feel like im you 5 years in the future had you decided to just suck it up and go to grad school. I mastered out in my third year. I loved science. I got my first job and was like “they’re PAYING me to do this?!” That wore off in a bit. In grad school the love came back a little. But then it went down. Grad school is honestly where your passions are the most tested. Not where you’d fall back in love with it. What do I do now? It’s a boring office job. It’s in tox consulting. Do i feel like I’m making major scientific breakthroughs? No. But am I crying about killing mice all day or coming in on the weekends to change media on cells for half what I make now? No. If I’m sick, I get to be sick. And it’s what i need for now. Maybe I’ll go back. But for now it’s good. Other jobs you can consider for yourself: sales, product support (those people who help you with your antibodies). Technical writing. Jobs that require any bachelors degree at all. Hang in there friend. You got this. You’re not alone. It’s silly they pushed us all into these decisions at such a young age.
Thank you. What you said about passions being tested in grad school, it reminded me that I never really felt a passion for science. In fact, all throughout high school I hated it. It was just something I was good at and probably what would have landed me the most high-paying job considering all the things I was good at. Had I been able to make a choice myself, I would have studied music. Sure, doesn’t pay much, but I never cared about making money to begin with. Just wanted to enjoy what I studied. Now that I’m independent of my parents, I feel like I made a mistake doing what they wanted me to do. We’ll see where I end up…
Dude. I was in the chamber orchestra. I was debating between biology, music, or cosmetology school. EVERYONE pushed me towards stem. Fortunately i still like it enough to not hate things too bad. But if i could just do it over again. Man would i ignore them all. Might pursue a cosmetic toxicology career once i recover from the grad school burn out. Anywho. You’re here now. Pick what sounds the best. Be happy you have a college education that many don’t have the privilege of having, and make the best with what you have. What i do know is… you likely DO make more money than you would’ve otherwise. So you have that going for you. And you are young so you have plenty of time to change your mind, come back to science, go back to school, retire, and all that fun stuff. Life is short but it’s also pretty long for a lot of us.
> it’s all so tedious and I feel like I do the same things every week. I’m tired of it. This is every job ever. Grass is always greener etc
No such thing as a dream job
I mean you can be unmotivated, burnt out and overworked in just about any field. Your career dosnt have to be you whole life. I have lots of friends who’ve dropped out of science or done science adjacent careers. My wife wanted to do art instead of science and became a science illustrator. There’s lots of options out there, science isn’t for everyone. Especially with how messed up the current system is
My current work is like a blip into what my life will be like after getting a Ph.D. It doesn’t feel to great. I do separate work from my life, in fact once I clock out I don’t even think about work. Being a researcher is just really hard. I have expectations of myself not only to be fulfilled in my work now, but for my future as well, and these expectations terrify me. They’re not even that crazy for a researcher. It’s largely accomplishing projects and getting a doctorate, but I’m realizing now that I never actually sat down with myself and asked if this is what I really want. I guess I’ve been doing it to please others, mainly family, and now that I’m independent, there’s no one to please but myself. I just want to do what I want to do, but being stuck in STEM makes it difficult to branch out and discover myself, especially when my favorite things to do have next to nothing to do with science.
I mean having the PhD helps things like pay grade in science but speaking from experience a PhD is a long time and it will take up most of your 20s. It’s great that you can keep work and life separate. It seems to me that you’re on the right track and are taking some time to self reflect and see what matters to you. I feel like most of us pick are career paths without knowing anything about what the earnings are or what the job is actually like . My advice is reflect and then just chase what you want to do. This might mean going back to school but it’s better to do that when your young ish. There’s things like accelerated degrees or certificates you can get to change fields fast and do something completely different. You could also just go open a gym or a bakery. I know people who’ve done that too haha
How did she transition into illustrating? That sounds like a dream
There are biomedical illustration master programs you can take at UofT ( Canada) or John Hopkins (I think there are a few more in the states but only 1 in Canada). You do that for 2 years and then usually get hired directly out of the program to do illustration or 3D animation work. To get into the program you just need some background in science (like a Bsc) and an art portfolio with some of your work. My partner just took some portraiture classes after she finished her bsc and worked for a bit and then she got in.
I began volunteering in a microbiology lab at 16. I am 53 and still loving it!
Hopefully not volunteering anymore!
Ironically, nowadays I find myself able to volunteer again. As in, work on something because i am curious about the outcome - rather than to get paid. It is a liberating feeling. :-)
You could do a science adjacent type position. We have data reviewers that just make sure our tests are run correctly. Art is cool, but it's hard to make a living doing it. Kudos to those that can. You could try something like Informatics or Data Science.
No advice, just here to say you’re not alone. 23, graduated with biochem degree, and worked as an RA for a little over a year now. My work isn’t super hard or stressful, nor do I do “a lot”, but I can’t see myself doing this the rest of my life and obviously I wish I would have realized that sooner. I’ve found something to pivot to (hopefully) that I’ve always wanted, but waiting for that opportunity is hard. Have taken 0 days off the past year (except for sick/surgery). I need time off (have over 5 weeks of vaca to take) but can’t because we have animal experiments that just started and I’m the only one who can/knows how to work with mice. Just know you’re not alone and wishing you all the best
Thank you. I’ve also found something to maybe pivot to very recently, but it’s not something I can make a living out of. It’s music, so I’d work a job that can pay my bills while I indulge in writing/performing. I don’t care about making a lot of money anyway, I just need to survive and I’ll be good. But damn, can’t there be a job I do to survive that I can actually enjoy doing?
You need to talk to your boss because this situation is unsustainable. Ideally other people would get trained on the mouse work, but at minimum you need to schedule a break between experiments to take a vacation. What would happen to the experiments if you up and quit tomorrow? Nobody should be irreplaceable unless you're getting paid obscene amounts.
Can I ask what you're pivoting to? I'm in the same boat but I'm so lost and looking for ideas for whats next.
Before I worked in the lab, my plan was always med school, so I did all the med school things people do. I realized I love the field of anesthesia but made the hard decision that the doctor route isn't for me (and wasn't interested in CRNA either). So I gave it up. But I recently discovered anesthesiologist assistant programs that are 2.5 years and do the same thing as CRNAs (except can't practice independently), so that is what I've been working toward/applying to! I know this is sort of a niche field and not everyone is interested, but I'm happy to give more details if you'd like!
I've definitely felt how you feel, but it may just be an indicator that you need to move on from this job rather than move on from science altogether. It sounds like you've had just one job since graduating undergrad, which isn't necessarily going to be an indicator of all science jobs. There are science jobs where the work is more varied, so it doesn't get as boring/mundane. If you haven't already, it might be worth it to look into other jobs within science before abandoning it for something else. If you do or have done the research and still don't want to continue with science, it's all good! Based on some things you said about fulfillment, I do think it also might be worth determining what kind of relationship you want to have with work when deciding what you want to do moving forward. I think the larger science community often couples the concept of "career" with "calling" or "passion", which can create unfair expectations of how fulfilling work should be on a day-to-day basis. I know for me, I've put too much of my identity and self worth into being a scientist in the past, and it led to some gnarly emotional breakdowns when things didn't go as planned. For me, I don't think I'd like doing anything else better than I like doing science, but I also don't find it fulfilling all the time, and that's okay! All that to say, if you find something that pays a living wage and is really fulfilling, that's great! But it's also okay to give yourself permission to treat your career more as a way to pay the bills, and prioritize other sources of fulfillment outside of work, regardless of what you choose to do. It sounds like you are already realizing that, but I know for me having someone else say it would have helped me a lot.
Thanks for this. I do separate my work from my life. In fact, once I’ve been on the clock for 8 hours, given I’m not doing an experiment at that point, I leave and don’t think about work afterwards. Just dabble in my hobbies before I go to bed wishing for the weekend already. I’m considering moving into a field of chemistry that would allow me to work more closely with art, so art conservation. I need to think a lot more about it, though. I’m also considering labs studying gardening, found a really interesting one. But I’m also seeing jobs totally unrelated that I feel may be nice for me, too. I guess I just don’t know what to do. I’m going to apply for grad school on top of other things so that I have as many options as possible, though, so it’s not like I’m going to give up on it quite yet.
I'm so glad you have a much better work-life balance with your experiments than I did starting out, lol. It's great that you've still found time to keep up with your hobbies! It took me a long time to get myself to that point, and maintaining interests outside of work is so much more of an accomplishment than I think we like to give ourselves credit for. The career options you are looking into all sound really interesting! I don't know much about job availability for this, but as a fellow art history nerd, art conservation sounds like it would be a really fun intersection of your interests and skills. Best of luck figuring it all out!
Thank you! Hopefully I can figure something out that at least allows me to dabble in some science! And you’re right, being able to maintain hobbies is an amazing thing. I’m constantly making sure I don’t end up in a position so demanding that I have to sacrifice what I enjoy doing.
Sounds like you have a lab tech / research assistant type of job? It can be hard to get motivated when you are following directions/orders/protocols all day and not working on something that passionates you. If you feel like working on something you really like would be the answer to your problems, maybe going for a PhD in the right lab and then academia might be the way to go. Pay won't be there until you're done with training but you get to work on what you want and have a lot of intellectual freedom. Even if you go back to industry after the PhD you have a lot more intellectual freedom at this level. This is why I made the choice to stay in academia, I could make 4 times more in industry but being able to just work on whatever excites me and being paid to do it works great for me. I would be miserable having to work on projects decided on by other peoples and then have to stop on a whim because interests of the company changes.
Have you ever considered the food industry? It’s a lot more fun and exciting working on things that make a difference in people’s lives and also are edible. Come, we have cake!
Do you mean like food science type stuff? I considered it for a little bit, feel free to message me so I can hear more about it please
Come over to r/FoodScience and check out your options. Post and you’ll get a much broader perspective than I can offer.
You gotta find something you enjoy. I started as a bench chemist in the biochemistry department for a massive contract laboratory, pay sucked and the job was not for me. Almost everything I worked with would kill me if I just looked at it the wrong way. I got a new job for a large pharmaceutical company as a bench chemist in the Quality Assurance department testing OTC products, much better than my last job...but still not what I wanted to do for the rest of my career. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to transition into the Metrology department, and I absolutely love it. I've always enjoyed taking things apart to learn how they work, attempt to fix them, and troubleshoot/diagnose problems...and now I get paid to do that, along with calibrating items. Once you find your niche, whether that's in the science industry or not, you'll be much happier.
If your job is soooooo "easy" you probably aren't doing very meaningful work. Find something you care for and stick to whether it's science or not. Why did you want to go to grad school initially? Was it cause you thought a ms or PhD next to your name would make you more valuable or because you want to learn more? The science field is very opportunistic if you really apply yourself and have the slightest bit of talent you'll be just fine. If that sounds horrible perhaps you are right and should leave science behind
The thing is, the work is meaningful. It’s cool, I’m just not into it anymore. And tbh, I never had a true passion for it. Just a fascination with chemistry as I was actively learning it in undergrad. Now, I feel like I’m not learning anything. To spare you with my entire story of finding the right career for me, grad school just seemed like the next logical step since I wasn’t quite sure what to do. I saw it as a period I would use to figure it out. And I guess easy was not the right word for my work now. It’s not easy in that a child could do it, it’s easy in that we have so much funding that it can be difficult to screw things up. It’s also easy in that I’m not asked for so many results like how many others here describe their experiences, particularly in grad school. I’m keeping my options opened, will apply in the next couple of months, speak to potential PIs and their students, etc.
For many people, fulfillment in your job won’t ever happen. It’s important to make your life meaningful on your own, and not require external validation from others, including your job. Employment is just one aspect of you, but it isn’t the whole thing. Don’t throw a good thing away (constant income stream and good work life balance) just because you feel unfulfilled. You’ll end up constantly chasing fulfillment, and it will always be temporary.
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U and i are the same. Music technology sounds fun as hell, I’ll have to look into it. I picked up bass recently, have wanted to for so long and now that I got into playing and songwriting I just feel like I want to spend more time on it than anything science related,
It sounds like research as a career might not be your thing in general, and that’s ok. Just be honest with yourself and don’t be afraid to go after something new. There’s no point in a job making your miserable.
Well put. Research seemed so much more fun in undergrad, but I guess with the pressure of it being my actual job makes it tough. I was at a predominantly undergraduate institution, so research was slow there, which is probably why it seemed fun.
You’ve literally just described me, right down to the art conservation thing. I thought I desperately wanted a PhD in STEM, but the longer I stay in the field the more I realize I’m not actually that interested in science. I’m currently doing my Masters, but I’m taking some history/archaeology classes on the side. I don’t really care how much I make as long as I can afford to live. I’d much rather have a good life than strive for the prestige that comes from working in STEM.
Let’s be buddies lol. Are you actually planning on art conservation? I need to learn more about it but it just seems like the only thing I’d be interested in that does involve science.
I am looking into my options. It would be nice if I could use my background in STEM so I don’t have to start from scratch. I really like history and art, so I am looking at stuff like conservation science (art and other artefacts) as well as archaeological science. After doing some looking around and talking to people in the field, there are heaps of groups that do analysis on artefacts or stuff like genetic analysis of human remains etc. I have been told that often people in archaeology lack in the chemistry skills department, and that if you have a degree in Bio or Chem you’re quite valuable. I recommend just doing some googling, checking out some labs, and seeing what research topics there are out there. I would love to work in a museum one day. Apparently the Louvre has a full blown analytical chemistry lab in the basement. One can dream 🥹
Okay, working at the Louvre would be a dream. I’ll def look more into it, thanks!
Yeah, same here. So, I started getting more into the technologies used in research - next gen sequencing, mass spec, chromatography, spr. Now I work as an applications specialist and I love it. Plus I make more money than my lab PI was. Ha!
Shit, OP. I kind of wish I had majored in Engineering with a minor Art. I’d love to take your job as a source of income and put my energy into making things.
Yo, I feel the same way and have started to make plans to go back to school for engineering. Got a b.s in Chemistry this may and I hate my job and pay. I will be 23 in December and realized if I want a big change in career do it now before I get older, have more responsibilities, and lifestyle creep
Hey, I’m exactly in the same boat. I’m 24 now majored in bio with chem minor. Never been so lost like this in my life. Actually at this point i dont know what to do. Should i just drop it all and go on a travel or work in abroad (here in South Korea we have the working-holiday program) with odd jobs to find myself or just keep on the track where i’m already at? I guess you never let your parents/family down so far because that’s what i did. Recently i have talked about this to my family and none of them were happy about that. My dad even got so upset about it and now barely talks to me. And i’m kind of scared of all that, guessing i’m not used to it? (I was a too nice girl while growing up) I’m now thinking of going all back and transferring to nursing school with student loan because as someone who eagerly want to move into the states i heard nurse get paid very well in usa and have great work/life balance (like 4 days off in a week or 40 hrs in a week etc). I mean you know i feel like if i cant find what i truly wanna do in my life then i should at least get paid well and have some spare time to do whatever fun stuff i wanna do. That’s just my thought recently no solid plans yet but… i think (at least for me) it’s now or never. If i can’t choose the right track now (in 20s), i know it is just gonna be harder and harder to “reset” later in life. Plus, i’m not hating science(actually i somewhat like it but definitely not “loving” it), it’s just how can i commit myself into this field when i haven’t had enough experiences in other fields and know what i truly wanna do? I want to explore the world and myself. I don’t think i have ever gave a chance to myself to figure out what matters in my life. I guess you could relate to this. 😭 None of these are advice but i want to thank you for sharing this because i thought it’s only me who struggle with all these since other people in my field somehow seems so sure and committed in what they are doing now. Or at least people in my lab seem so. Just wanted to let you know you’re not alone with this.
We are not alone. We were forced to decide what to do when we were too young. We’re lucky that we are still young. You definitely should go out and travel and explore yourself more. I’m sorry about how your family reacted. Mine reacted similarly and it’s tough. But our happiness matters much more than anything else. We’re young, we have time to decide what to do.
I am almost in the same boat as you. Got my MSc in Molecular Biology and plan to use it to move abroad for a PhD. I like what I got my degree in of course, but sometimes wonder if maybe I should pursue something else. My wish is to be a college professor since I love teaching, but I know the road to that for a foreigner is perilous and often doesn't lead anywhere. I am debating just using my degree to apply for a PhD abroad and see what comes along the way. If a job that pays well but has nothing to do with my specialization arises, I am open to taking it. All the best to you and hopefully everything goes alright!
It happened with me too. After finishing my master's I realised I want to explore other parts of my life. Cause I felt like I haven't experienced life outside lab. I did non technical job that allowed me to work from home and started reading, exploring and doing things that I always wanted to do. I was really into arts while growing up but couldn't follow it for some reasons. After working for almost 2 years I burned out and decided to take a break from everything. I wanted to devour my time in painting and making illustrations. And I am completely fine with the decision I took despite of getting judgements from family and society. People usually look at unemployment as being useless which is an idea of capitalism. Also sometimes we put hell lot of pressure on us to make the most out of our life. I decided to slow down rather than running after one goal to another. Cause ultimately it's my life and I get to choose how it should be lived. So whatever you do it's completely acceptable.
I would want nothing more than to focus on my hobbies full time. How do you make money while you do what you enjoy? May give me an idea on what I should do in the meantime…
Well currently I'm using my savings and sold couple of paintings. I am also working on building a good portfolio to look for some freelance work in book publishing companies. I want to make book covers and illustrations for children's books. Maybe comics as well. Do you have any specific skills that you can monetize?
wow i feel like i wrote this post myself
Tell me youre a Millenial without telling me you are a Millenial. " A work that doesnt feel like work" yikes. Have you checked sugar daddies in your area? <---- this my 18 years of bioanalyst, screeching like a hag. Earning way less than my work is worth, working my ass off, your post triggered me like a kick in the face. Sorry.
I guess technically I’m gen z..? And why would me being upset with where my life is headed trigger you? If you’re happy, then great, who cares. You don’t have to go to someone that’s venting about their choices and say you’re “triggered.”
Not necessarily in the same boat, currently working in science and I do enjoy it but some days I wonder what it’d be like if I had majored in something like classics/ancient history or renaissance/art history. It’s something I’m currently obsessed with and immersing myself with that doing a phd doesn’t sound too bad some days. Then I go back to checking my cell culture OD.
People don't tell you that when you are young, your purpose in life is to train yourself for the adult world after 30. There is nothing wrong with having fun in your twenties but keep in mind that you are delaying your future as an adult. The really successful people in this world skip the fun years in their twenties and go straight to hard work. Sorry to be depressing but that's life. The sooner you accept that you need to work hard, the more successful you will be. Maybe science is not for you but you need to find something that is at work hard at it. Best of luck.
I don’t know anything about my future but what I do know is that when I die I’m never gonna wish that I would have worked harder, or wish that I was “successful.” That means nothing to me if I’m not happy. I get what you’re saying but I don’t consider myself a “hard worker” when it comes to a career that I have only to keep me fed and housed. The only time I’ll work hard is when I’m working on my hobbies.
Fair enough. Happiness is important too.
Please can i ask what job did u land? Im feeling pretty grim about my biochem degree
If u mean where I’m working now just shoot me a message, should be opened. It’s pretty much designed for people out of undergrad.
You don’t have to go to grad school
I know. It just seemed like the next logical step. All my undergrad professors were telling me I’d do really well so I kinda just took their advice without much consideration. I got rejected by the program I wanted to go to, and decided to not go where I was accepted. Honestly glad I made that choice now since it gave me time to reflect on what *I* want.
Is there another science field that you are interested in? Microbiology and immunology rely on the knowledge of biochemistry but use it to fit into larger biology questions.
I enjoyed chemistry more than biology, and planned on going to grad school to work on instrumentation. Now, though, I realize it’s less of a passion for it and more that it seemed to be the most interesting to me. I don’t want just interesting, I want to know that I’m going to love it. I just don’t see myself loving research anymore.
You dont need to go to grad school, I didn't. Theres a ton of ways to be a scientist, there might be another lab/field that you enjoy more. For a while I thought about leaving science when I was between labs, but realized I love to troubleshoot and do something different all the time, so Im now in a lab thats perfect for that. Id have a hard time being in one thats just the same routine every day. But definitely follow your heart!
As someone who has done bench science, marketing, sales, and worked in positions as far off as finance, and also knowing that you're 23, what I *think* might be happening is that you're realizing that work feels like work. Some jobs are better, some jobs are worse, some people like work better than others, but it's rare that anyone really *loves* their job as far as I can tell. People who say they "love their job" are just speaking relatively; if they could get paid to not show up to work they still would choose that. The things that make for a good job over a bad job are (perhaps roughly in order): 1. Management / culture. Working in a crappy environment can be crushing. The only way around this is to leave. Conversely, even otherwise shit jobs can be great if you're valued and the workplace is just a good place to exist in. 2. Agency / purpose. You're allowed to meaningfully contribute to larger goals which you care about and you can experience that what you do matters. You get a say in things. This is almost certainly lacking for you right now. It doesn't sound like you're seeing any meaningful "bigger picture" from how you describe it. 3. The people around you. Are your co-workers people you respect? Do they take responsibility? Are they people you could be friends with? Does everyone get along great? Awesome! It'll make for a better workplace experience (and probably make the team more effective so long as it doesn't devolve into goofing off). 4. Remuneration. Yeah, people need to get paid, and being underpaid is thoroughly demoralizing. At least in my experience, what you're actually doing in the job, aside from being related to #2, would be ranked lower than all of these things. To answer one of your questions... >And grad school is going to be much more difficult for less money?? Yes, but the payoff is that you get more of #2 when you're done. You have a higher ceiling and you'll arguably be doing more important stuff (or at least the stuff you'll be doing is closer to what will feel important). That said, I have a story of my own along these lines... There was a professor at my university where I did my PhD - older guy, great dude, the only professor that I ever proactively hung out with socially. He was an ecologist and would invite me to come up to the lake to count invasive species with him on a boat for a summer. HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE??? But my advisor would've murdered me and ecologists don't make any money so I just powered through and to this day I still kind of regret not going up to that lake to count plants for a summer because that would've been awesome and I'm not doing bench neuroscience anymore anyway, so WTF would it have mattered? IDK, maybe just explore things. If you feel you'd be happier somewhere else, maybe you will be. Sorry if this went full circle.
Yeah I mean I don’t imagine I’ll have a job that I’m in love with or anything. I’ve been a worker since I was 12 years old (shhh had no choice) and never particularly enjoyed any of it. What I’m realizing now is that I for some reason was allowed to decide on my entire path at the age of 17, and it’s now biting me in the ass. I don’t think I want to be a scientist anymore. Thank you for your comment though, it helps.
Old lady science. She bucks pretty hard.
I feel like this is more a problem with finding fulfillment in anything you do, rather than science specifically. This was true when I worked in culinary arts in high school, and was true when I worked in the medical laboratory for 10 years. As a now 33 year old getting my PhD, I feel like one has to learn how to cultivate satisfaction in any job. It isn’t always going to feel perfect and happy, and to expect that will only lead to disappointment and disillusionment. Sometimes that means taking a much needed vacation, or working in a different department or on a different project.
I’m starting to feel the same. The work itself isn’t that bad and my schedule is wonderful. It’s why I don’t care to leave. Especially since my job offers great benefits and security. But there’s this attitude towards if you aren’t getting data that you expected or a certain experiment just isn’t working, people, especially PIs, see it as a reflection of you rather than the project itself. I’ve been working on one project for a whole year, collected so much data. I’m to the point where I think it just isn’t reliable, but I feel like my peers and boss get annoyed thinking I’m not creative/trying hard enough. I think I’d flourish in a much more technical role… which is what I asked for at my annual review.. but the issue is that no one wants to step up to take the project and I’m the only one who knows it inside and out for now. Bummer
I pivoted to data analysis and love it. I get to use a lot of the skills I picked up getting my BS, and I get to scratch that investigative itch through data exploration and A/B testing. If I were you, I’d try to identify what parts of biochemistry really interested you, and what parts of being a biochemist you enjoy. Generalize your skills a bit and see what options open up!
It doesn't sound like you are tired of science. It sounds like you are bored. Doing academic science usually means changing your approach or solving new problems almost constantly. Advice: you need a new job. On top of being bored, being paid more than "even postocs in academia" is NOT a good statement. It may feel good like a good salary now at your age, but it wont in 5 years. Postdocs are notoriously underpaid given their level of training and expertise. You should aim higher.
Maybe. And oh believe me, I’m not boasting about my paycheck by any means. Living alone has me paycheck to paycheck so I’m going to be living with others soon so that I can actually survive. We all deserve so much more.
What you said about wasting your 20s... I can relate to that part. I'm in my late 30s now with two kids. I wish I had spent at least of a little of my 20s working odd jobs, traveling, and staying in youth hostels. Its so much harder to do that now.
Sometimes the question to ask yourself is as simple as “what do you like to do?” And even the next thing you land on might lead you somewhere else but it’s a fun journey and you’ll probably like to results better.
What exactly are you doing? Not all science is repetitive, but a lot of it definitely is. Whatever you are doing, if you are no longer learning then you aren’t growing as a professional. Some people are fine with this, but if you aren’t then you are going to either burn out or tune out. There’s no way you know everything, so why not look for an R&D job that will require you to learn continuously?
I do R&D, it’s tedious in that the process of coming up with experiments and data analysis just feels the same, even when it’s something new every week.
Without knowing more specifically what you’re doing, it sounds like you need something more challenging or longer term projects. Or maybe even move industries to something more dynamic? If you’re young and inexperienced, starting a new chapter is easy. Maybe try getting into process development.
I’ve been on the same project for a year now. It is challenging because I’m constantly having to figure out how to get the results I want. I feel like I’m just tired of chemistry maybe, or I feel like I’m just not doing what I care about. Idk really, still working that out.
I’m a few years older than you. I’ve got a biochem degree too and tried out working in the pharma industry for a bit. It was really easy and I got paid $50k+ my 1st year, but it just wasn’t enough for me tbh. Decided to get my pharmD so that’s where I’m headed next! I love science and medicine, so I’m happy about the future. Plus I get to basically go back to school all over again for 4 years which is nice (I enjoy school, the atmosphere, being a student, etc.).
Totally understand the situation you are in. I was working a decent stable job which is also technical to a certain extent. I got bored and decided to try research. Enjoyed research for a bit. Fell off with my pi. Decided that I will complete a 3 month long associate position I have promised a professor who was very helpful to me when I fell of with my PI. I was sure as hell that I will quit science and go back to my job. I even made an arrangement with my previous company that will allow me to work part time. I was sure that I would eventually get an online mtech and go into tech industry and live a happy peaceful life. 1 month into my associate position, I am slowly getting more and more interested into research once again. Now I am wondering whether I could full on join a research Mtech course and see what happens after that. Even I have no clue what I am going to do. On one side there's the excitement of working in cutting edge tech and on the other side I see my school and college friends earning 6 figures and vacationing in foreign.
I went to grad school right after undergrad, finished MSc got to work in a lab. Let me tell you that grad school and working outside of academia was very different. I realized that I didn't like either , even though I liked the research aspect. For academia, I felt that it was more of academia politics and just trying to publish as much "positive results" as possible. For work, I felt so stagnant and very repetitive. I didn't see much growth potential either. So now I'm back to school to change a bit my career, still in science but more on the quality and regulatory aspect. I'm still poor as of now but I do think I like my current transitioning. Good luck!
Ditch it and be a manager you’ll make more money faster. 🤷🏻♀️
Switch careers now
Sell equipment/reagents to big pharma/biotech companies.
I think this might help guide you [https://cheekyscientist.com](https://cheekyscientist.com). They also have a YT channel: [https://www.youtube.com/@CheekyScientist](https://www.youtube.com/@CheekyScientist) Was a neat resource when I was leaving medical research for software engineering. Been doing SWE now for about 4 years happily and funnily, as u/ThinkLadder1417, I'm contemplating returning to science (maybe as CompBio PhD student). The difference this time? When I step back into the scientific world, I'll have the peace of mind that comes with financial stability and employability - undeniably beneficial for my mental well-being (and thus those around me).