I have a bachelor's degree in food science and a master's in protein biochemistry. I spent 25 years doing laboratory research as a lab manager/research scientist, investigating such things as determining what makes nerves grow, causative factors in Alzheimer's disease, genetic factors in HDL/LDL cholesterol, reducing the toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents, and using genetic sequences to identify different types of microbes and viruses. LOTS of molecular biology and biochemistry!
Pros: Loved the work, loved science, loved discovery
Cons: Long hours (nights/weekends), paid mostly through grants and other "soft" money, which is actually why I left the field.
I lost my science job almost 6 years ago, when the grant funding dried up. After being unemployed for almost 9 months, I landed a position as an educational technician in the special education department in a local K-8 school. I have no teaching credentials, but they needed someone who could "do the math," and a friend who is a speech-language pathologist in the school recommended me. I've been there ever since, originally co-teaching in the 8th grade pre-algebra classes, currently working in the K-5 resource room. I work with kids one-on-one (or sometimes 2 or 3 on 1 when we are swamped), teaching math primarily. I also back-up the language program, so do a fair amount of reading, spelling, and writing. Although we do not formally support science and social studies, we tend to use the classroom texts from these classes in some of our english program; after all, reading about landing on the moon and writing a paper or doing a poster presentation is still reading and writing, right? I love what I do now, and am a very good teacher. I also really enjoy working with the kids, most of whom have some (mostly minor) form of attention disorder, autism, or emotional disturbance as their qualification for special education.
Pros: Flexible hours
:yes:
, like my coworkers, LOVE working individually with kids, learned that I love math and am good at it (such a different message from that of my high school teachers), LOVE having the summer off.
Cons: Didn't start doing this job soon enough while DD was in school so we'd have the same vacations; also the pay stinks (if current "demands" go into effect, I'll earn less per hour than the part-timers at McDonalds), and we are paid hourly. No pay for school vacations, holidays, snow days. It's harder to run a home and budget when your income isn't stable from month to month
and of course no pay in the summer
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I worked for a little known company known as Columbia House as a CSR. As it was apparent that ship was sinking I decided to go back to school and got my nursing BSN.
when he asked to marry me I told him yes but he better come to the table with something more or my old man would shut that right down.
for a moment
