From Chaos into Biotech Jobs?
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| Title: | From Chaos into Biotech Jobs? | |
| Author: | Vanesa Dabul | |
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One of the fundamental laws of the universe, simply put, states that entropy or disorder never decreases. It’s the second law of thermodynamics to be exact. The world is made up of disorder and, since its disorder or entropy is always increasing, it is constantly changing. And my career has been doing just that since day one.
Today, I find myself sitting at my desk wondering, was this where I thought I would be 10 years ago? My answer is “No way!” …but do I like where I am…. YES!!! I started my career in the science research and development world as a complete coincidence. I wanted to be a doctor so I started shadowing an ophthalmologist who happened to be devoted to strictly complex cases of ocular surface reconstruction. Instead of the clinical work, I found myself loving the research and teaching aspects. Before I knew it, I found myself participating in the world’s first amniotic membrane seeded with stem cells ocular surface reconstruction surgery at the Bascom Palmer eye institute. I was 17 years old. I even got to be in the picture.  On this day, I realized I needed to evolve, I had to change where I wanted to go. No more medical school. Research would allow me to learn additional skills that I could use down the line. I could apply these new skills to whatever my next venture would be and make it greater. So, I enrolled in the Biomedical Engineering school at the University of Miami and concentrated on research with prospects of becoming, like my mentor, a research scientist and teacher in academia. Soon enough, Johnson & Johnson came knocking on my door. The company was growing and needed a new army of scientists and engineers. Again, I was faced with change. I have always been very much into analytical thinking, so when the time came to decide to move away from academia, I thought about entropy. If the universe works this way, and I am part of the universe, well, then, I must work this way. Along with many new engineers and scientists, I started my voyage into the corporate world that year. I chose to leave the academic world, and enter the corporate world, knowing that I could always go back into academia one day. I wanted to learn more so that when, or if, I did go back into academia, I would be able to give more back. Through this process, I learned about heuristic learning and teaching and became a great fan. It’s the process of learning through doing, trial and error. Pretty basic scientific methods. It has been the number one influence on my career thus far. So, I broke down the decision to an analytical process and determined that industry was the right path for me at that moment. I don’t think it was a difficult decision as much as a very involving and thought through decision. I had much support from my family, friends, and mentors at school. Another important support system was the company that I was entering. I made sure to express my passion for academia so, when I mentioned I wanted to go back to school, they offered me a full scholarship on top of my salary! They also gave me flex hours so I could attend my graduate program while working full time. I learned that if you don’t ask for what you want, you won’t get it. The worst that can happen, if you do ask, is to be in the same spot. Most of the time, companies will give you what you want, if not meet you half way (which I would have gladly taken as well.) When I started with the corporate world, I did not have to completely give up my love for academia. I was also given research projects where I had to collaborate with the university. The idea is to make your career your own. There is no cookie cutter system. You ask for what you want and you may get what you want and even more. I appreciate and respect the entropy within my career as it has set the path for endless possibilities within my future. |
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Vanesa Dabul is a biomedical engineer and medical scientist whose first research publication was for her discovery work in stem cell and tissue engineering research. She has traveled internationally working with physicians and medical device manufacturers to conceptualize and lead product development initiatives. Vanesa has contributed to the development and design of multiple patented medical devices. She holds a Master of Science in mechanical engineering and a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from the University of Miami. |
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Copyright, 2010, Vanesa Dabul Published with permission |
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