Pursuing my first degree was a dizzying experience. I began in art school, but I soon realized that that was a dead end and that I wasn’t as passionate about art as I though I was. Looking for something completely different (and more challenging), I switched my major to Biomedical Engineering. While it sounded cool, the idea of being a Biomedical Engineer was nebulous at best. What would I even be doing? I decided that I needed something with a concrete career path, so after three major changes and 40k in student loan debt, I finally settled on Medical Laboratory Sciences
This career was in demand, so finding a job was almost guaranteed, it involved biomedical technology, which was still very interesting to me, and it was in the healthcare field, so I could feel good about helping people. At first, the job was very satisfying; after having been in food service until turning 30, the pay was significantly better and the benefits allowed me to enjoy vacation and start saving for retirement. The work was interesting at first, but I soon realized that most of the complex decision making processes that I had learned in school, were now being handled by advanced instrumentation and automation. I loved working with the instruments and software — amazing technology that is really needed when you consider the shortage of healthcare workers and the growing elderly populations. Ultimately, however, I became dissatisfied, as my daily work was essentially that of a machine operator. I went to school to become a scientist, but I felt like a glorified button pusher. I decided I wanted something more, so I look at going back to school.
Seemingly directionless again, I decided an MBA would be a good choice no matter what I did. What’s more, work was going to pay for it this time so no more student loans! I was only two semesters into the program, when I realized that this alone was fast tracking me into laboratory management which was not where I wanted to end up. I started talking to my father in law, who was a software developer, and talking some free online courses in programming (FreeCodeCamp, The Odin Project, etc.). I found programming enjoyable and challenging, and, after a few months of solo work, I decided that I also wanted to pursue another degree in Computer Science and I decided that the OSU Post Baccalaureate program was the best choice for me.
After my first year in the OSU program, I was still working as a Med Tech, but I felt I was ready to start branching out. My goal became focused on finding a career that encompassed my five years on healthcare medical technology, my business skills (as I am still continuing with the MBA), and my new found computer science experience. I quickly found a job a Laboratory Information Systems Analyst. This position has me creating the software rules systems that the laboratory used to evaluate and release results. I was essentially writing automated result evaluation processes, the very thing that my my previous position seem so boring to me. My basic coding classes and discrete structures was enough to help me excel at writing result evaluation rules, which were essentially nested if/then statements with and/or logical operators. What’s more, the small startup lab that I was working for treated me like a hero, since I was creating automated processes that freed up countless man hours of repetitive tasks.
While I enjoyed being the hero of this small lab, I always knew it was only a stepping stone, and I was ready for something more. With the breadth of educational and professional experience I had accumulated, and with the help of a good recommendation, I was offered a position as a Software Systems Engineer at Abbott Laboratories. This would land me 30% pay increase, plus bonuses, better benefits, and even a pension plan. What’s more, the work I am now doing involves responsibility for automation and informatics solutions across multiple companies using multiple software from various vendors to customers around the world. I need to rely on my knowledge of software development, computer networks, operating systems, as well as my previous experience operating the technology and my improved business acumen.
After five months, I have really settled into the role, have taken on more and more responsibility, and have found a company I can respect and grow with. I couldn’t be more excited to know that all of my hard work and efforts are really starting to pay off and I can’t wait to see where this takes me.
