Today, while talking to my colleague, I questioned whether my M.S. degree in biomedical engineering is good for something (and what exactly is that something??). I entered grad. school with naivete, believing all the cool stuff I read about bioengineering somehow pointed to a promising job outlook. That illusion pretty much faded during my recent job search, I realized that it's hard for a bioengineer to find jobs in the private sector. Biotech companies out there generally prefer people from traditional science fields: biology, biochemistry, pharmaceutics, etc. Academia, on the other hand, is like the safe net, you don't even need a cover letter to get interviewed by professors who just got grant funding and need to spend the money fast, and also creativity has more emphasis. I was disappointed to find myself competing for the same jobs as biochemist and molecular biologist. Anywhere I look off-campus, I couldn't find companies hiring bioengineers, except this small company that manufactures catheters (not my cup of tea). As for out-of-state opportunity, Seattle seems like a good choice, but I heard it's hard hit during the economic melt down, and currently has a high unemployment rate. I sent a job inquiry email to a professor at a cancer research center in Seattle, only to get this reply "please contact me again on Monday". Uh? So why didn't he just respond to my email on Monday? Weird.... Anyways, got an interview with a local nutraceutical company, and an offer from this professor who does breast cancer research, so Im trying to weight out my options, whether to pursue research in molecular biology OR stick with more engineering stuff. If I stay on bioE track, I would probably be working in academia for a loooong time. If I emphasize on molecular biology, the work can be mundane and even boring, and I will be competing with molecular biologists for opportunities in the private sector.
I think I think too much... my brain is overwhelmed with thoughts. Just the other night, I had a dream where I was trapped in a fancy hotel while being chased by a white tiger and nearly escaped.
3 comments:
science is boring. become an actress! hahaha.
haha. i'd like to see lans take her own advice! great to see the new update. i know what you mean about the thinking too much part, sometimes its a broken record playing that tune over and over again...we do have a lot to be thankful for, but knowing what you want is definitely the tricky part...hope to see new entries soon!
Jenny,
You do think you think too much! I remember you telling me about that dream a while back.
Yes, Lansia should take her own advice. haha
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