Finished as a student for now! Currently navigating the world of adulting and being a full-fledged scientist (with the curiosity of both child and student)!
It’s been quite an adventure. I recently finished defending my master's thesis this past week on Friday (and passed), and am now focusing on my new lab position full time as a clinical research technician, learning about SARS COV-2 and learning about microscopy, which is a completely different form of research than what I have done in the past. And I really enjoy it. I feel like a detective, looking at the slides and trying to identify if something is the target that we’re looking for or if it’s just… well… in simpler terms, let’s call it… fluff! I miss my old grad lab though. I took so much knowledge from there and met so many kind, hard-working and awesome students and professors there, but now I’m expanding my knowledge with real-world experience. My co-worker starting joking with me today since this is my first real-world job.
“Ruth! Guess what! We have to take a test here in the lab!”
(Me) “Eh? Test? What test? When? What do I need to study? Do I need to make sure I get a good score?” 😮 (Keep in mind… I still haven’t quite left my student mindset…)
“Uh… You can’t study for it. But if you fail you get fired.” His eyes grinned. 😁 (We’re wearing face masks in the lab).
(Me)“… … … um… so then… is the test… a test on performing assays?”
“No. You’re just processing patient samples and making sure you don’t skip any reagents! And getting results to the patient.”
(Me)“Oh… So my test is my job… Okay! Well… I guess my job is to make sure I get the results to the patient and make sure that the results are as accurate as possible!” I grinned, “so no mistakes from me!”
My coworker just started laughing after he heard that, and couldn’t stop laughing. I finally realized he was messing with me.
“Sooo mean!” I said as I also laughed, setting a pipette down.
“I’m gonna keep doing this. It’s too funny that you’re still in a student mindset since you’ve been a student for so long.”
I shook my head, grinning. 😆
But then again… I feel like you’re a student for the rest of your life. In my perspective, even though you may or may not be in an academic setting, every bit of experience that you encounter (positive or negative) turns into an experience and it’s up to yourself to learn to navigate the situation, but also asking for help along the way when you need it but don’t rely on people. I feel that I’m constantly learning about things, regardless if it’s related to neuroscience/science or not. I know that I’ve learned a tiny bit about the responsibilities of an adult. But for this next year, I will definitely accumulate a lot of experience, not only as a scientist, but also in this crazy world of adults, learning to pay taxes, learning about the ins and outs of what responsibilities I need to uphold as a clinical lab technician, and just an everyday citizen. Since I’m no longer an academic student, I can no longer turn to my professors with a tiny student mindset in my own little world of focusing on academics only, since now they look at me as an equal. It feels weird. I’m not a student, but an adult, but I still have people mistake me for a 23-year old, which they aren’t too far off… just by… two years (Asian just tend to look young…)… Although… I feel old… because it seems I have one too many strands of grey hair… ☹️
My parents though… they still look at me like a child… And that’s something I hope can change… they still keep tabs on me at times and are still over-protective… but I guess that’s just how parents are. 😯
I’m looking forward to this new journey of being an adult (although… in some cases… I’m not quite so sure about…but I’ll take my time in solving some internal feelings), but I will forever be a student since I will always be learning something new about science and just about the world.
