Don't call it a comeback
I now have internet at home again, so I can read freinds' entries and post my own without being a slacker at work.
I didn't realize how long it has been since my last post. A lot has changed since then. I quit graduate school after an unexpected turn for the worse with my narcissistic, bipolar advisor. I was able to complete one of my side projects, which involved counting neurons in the murine optic nerve with automated software, in a different lab and write up my work in a thesis. The thesis work got me out of my old lab. I worked in the office of a collaborator. The great thing about that was that I had about two months of working at a relaxing pace, spending a few hours a day doing data analysis and writing, while looking for a job. I defended my thesis to my committee and received a master's degree for the effort.
My decision to leave was rather easy. There wasn't much emotion involved, no crying, just relief. I had enough and felt I deserved better. Plus I decided that a career as a doctoral-level biomedical scientist wasn't suited for me, especially given the dismal biomedical job market that will not improve any time soon. It is actually much much easier to get a job with a MS than with a PHD. But, much to the chagrin of my boyfriend, I chose not to pursue a technician position at a local biotech company, opting instead to look for something in marketing, public relations, or something like that.
I ended up working as a temp for a local printing and promotional products company, helping them find leads in that field by doing research online and by phone. It was less than full-time and the work was rather mundane. My supervisor and co-workers were very nice, down-to-earth people. There was a lot of free catered food and promotional products swag. I was home by 4 every day. It was great.
But after three months, I'm moving on to greener pastures, as in a full time job with better pay and full benefits. Next week I will begin my new life as a policy researcher for a mortgage processing company. My company does all of the financial and field services for all of the banks out there that currently own a lot of foreclosed houses. Those houses have to be maintained until their eventual purchase. It's a mess right now. My job will be to research ordinances and laws on the local and national level, building a database of this information and reporting it in an industry newsletter. I'm excited about starting this new chapter in my life.
What else have I been up to with all this glorious free time (these past few months have indeed been glorious!): volunteering for the election, learning how to sew (made two dresses for my neice and a couple of things for myself), working out, reading A LOT of books from the library (green technology and cognitive neuroscience are two of my current interests), cooking... today I went to Whole Foods for fresh, organic ingredients and made a dinner of baked Thai chicken, gingered sugar peas, and a pear custard. with a delicious organic wine that doesn't make me tired like most wines do (perhaps because it lacks sulfides? now that I have internet at home again I can investigate this...
I didn't realize how long it has been since my last post. A lot has changed since then. I quit graduate school after an unexpected turn for the worse with my narcissistic, bipolar advisor. I was able to complete one of my side projects, which involved counting neurons in the murine optic nerve with automated software, in a different lab and write up my work in a thesis. The thesis work got me out of my old lab. I worked in the office of a collaborator. The great thing about that was that I had about two months of working at a relaxing pace, spending a few hours a day doing data analysis and writing, while looking for a job. I defended my thesis to my committee and received a master's degree for the effort.
My decision to leave was rather easy. There wasn't much emotion involved, no crying, just relief. I had enough and felt I deserved better. Plus I decided that a career as a doctoral-level biomedical scientist wasn't suited for me, especially given the dismal biomedical job market that will not improve any time soon. It is actually much much easier to get a job with a MS than with a PHD. But, much to the chagrin of my boyfriend, I chose not to pursue a technician position at a local biotech company, opting instead to look for something in marketing, public relations, or something like that.
I ended up working as a temp for a local printing and promotional products company, helping them find leads in that field by doing research online and by phone. It was less than full-time and the work was rather mundane. My supervisor and co-workers were very nice, down-to-earth people. There was a lot of free catered food and promotional products swag. I was home by 4 every day. It was great.
But after three months, I'm moving on to greener pastures, as in a full time job with better pay and full benefits. Next week I will begin my new life as a policy researcher for a mortgage processing company. My company does all of the financial and field services for all of the banks out there that currently own a lot of foreclosed houses. Those houses have to be maintained until their eventual purchase. It's a mess right now. My job will be to research ordinances and laws on the local and national level, building a database of this information and reporting it in an industry newsletter. I'm excited about starting this new chapter in my life.
What else have I been up to with all this glorious free time (these past few months have indeed been glorious!): volunteering for the election, learning how to sew (made two dresses for my neice and a couple of things for myself), working out, reading A LOT of books from the library (green technology and cognitive neuroscience are two of my current interests), cooking... today I went to Whole Foods for fresh, organic ingredients and made a dinner of baked Thai chicken, gingered sugar peas, and a pear custard. with a delicious organic wine that doesn't make me tired like most wines do (perhaps because it lacks sulfides? now that I have internet at home again I can investigate this...