Another career change
It’s always seemed absurd to me that at age 16, when you are very much at the start of your life, you are expected to pick your degree of study and subsequently have formed an idea of your future career. With very little life experience you've made a decision that will dictate the rest of your life (I know your career doesn't dictate who you are, but you'll be involved with it a lot and this isn't one of those preachy posts about being your own boss.) The lesser known fact is that most careers remain open to you regardless the degree you choose. I've had friends study classics and work as investment bankers, theologists become lawyers and even myself, a scientist turned banker going back to university to study medicine and there's no guarantee my career will be as a doctor.
I'll focus on myself here and tell you a little about how I've come to where I am. With a passion for the sciences I studied biochemistry, but quickly I realised the lab life was not for me. It so happened I was also studying modules in business studies and economics and could see a career where I could use my science knowledge along with the minimal commercial skills I had. So I interned at a consulting company in the Middle East and was convinced this was the career for me. I did another internship the following year and had second thoughts.
During my final year of my undergrad I started my dissertation and probably had some of the most inspiring supervisors. I was obsessed with the intricacies of the immune system and how a simple fungal pathogen that is particularly common "Candida," also known as thrush could have such a devastating impact on individuals who are immunocompromised (where your immune system is impaired and not functioning the way it should). The positive experience from this made me reconsider a career in science and convinced me to apply for a Masters. I studied Drug Discovery and Development as my masters.
I was back in the labs researching the fungal pathogen Candida again, but this time I was designing a diagnostic tool to detect different strains of Candida faster, with the hope that this would save the many lives that are unnecessarily lost as a result of this pathogen. Alongside this I was learning the whole process of discovering treatments and the process of getting them to market. However, a pandemic hit and with the end of my degree in sight, I was left with the uncomfortable fact that I needed a job and couldn't see myself in a lab in the long term. A socially distanced comment that I might be good at banking was all I needed to wake up the next morning and begin applying.
I had landed a job in a bank in London. Suddenly, I was completely out of my depth trying to learn the countless regulations that are imposed on the banking industry. The first few months was very much me reacting to requests that were being sent to me from my managers. I grew into this role gradually and began to be more knowledgeable about the financial industry. This experience was priceless, as not only did I play my part in the day to day tasks and running of the bank, but found myself supporting the first digital islamic bank to be launched. Despite the experience I had gained and my progress in banking, it was not the career for me. Consulting felt more right and I gained offers from Top 3 consulting firms. Above all, I have always had an attraction to science and the development of treatments, but have always been left frustrated that I was not able to implement these treatments and see first hand the improvement the treatments have for my own patients.
I applied to medicine and was offered a place. It may have taken a while to come to the decision of studying medicine, but only now do I feel that it is the right time. The main point is that had I stuck with the degree I chose at 16 I would still be in a lab, missing out on all the opportunities I had because I kept myself constrained to a decision I made at such a young age. Your career plays a big part in your life and so it shouldn’t be something that ties you down and makes you feel stuck. Despite being in medicine now, I will always be open to experiences and do what feels right for me.
