In May of 2021 I graduated with a BSc in biochemistry from the University of Victoria (UVic). Instead of going to work as a lab-technician or biochemistry graduate student, I decided to pursue a second degree in computer science at the University of British Columbia. As more and more research tasks are being handled by software and automated, I made the decision to try and set myself apart from other aspiring scientists by pursuing computer science. The combined computer science and biochemistry credentials would allow me to pursue bioinformatics further. Bioinformatics is the creation and use of software to analyze biological data. This is a field that has interested me since I volunteered for a small bioinformatics project under one of my professors in the fourth year of my biochemistry degree. I hope to eventually transition into a graduate program related to bioinformatics. Specifically, I would like to work in a research group that explores the biochemical basis for mental illnesses. Mental illness is fascinating, very complex, and is an issue that has always been close to my heart.
In my most recent employment I helped to develop a medical device by testing it in a laboratory. It analyzed urine! Professionally, I have worked in retail in an electronics department, in a closet shop, and in a laboratory. By far the most enjoyable to me was the laboratory work. I learned how to work sterilely in a biological safety cabinet as well as prepare certain human cell types for analysis. Additionally, I helped develop some of the workflows for analyzing the data we collected. I liked how I was a part of the decision-making process and how I was finally able to use the scientific problem-solving skills that I worked so long in university to develop. I hope that my next job, whatever it is, lets me do the same.