But… I don’t want to be a plumber…

Do you ever wonder, “How did I to where I am today? I was supposed to be a ringmaster at the local circus, what the hell am I doing in accounting?”

When I was about 4 years old, I remember wanting to be an astronaut just because it sounded cool. By 7, I wanted to be an architect because I liked drawing and well…architecture. By 12, I realized that architecture was primarily done by computer, and I transitioned into computer graphics and design. By 16, all my time on the computer had led me into computer engineering. By 17, I got thoroughly confused and wanted to be a fireman, policeman, high-school teacher, chemical engineer, computer programmer, structural engineer, Air Force pilot, and oh…the President of the United States. You can imagine how that went applying for colleges.

At 18, I had interest in physics and biology, which led me to bioengineering. At 22, I realized the world wasn’t quite ready for bioengineers, and transitioned into business and quality engineering in the life sciences (thank you Genentech and KGI). And here’s where I diverge completely. My inner policeman/President pushed me from quality into global regulatory affairs, but my inner engineer pushed me into process engineering. By 23, My engineering side won out (thank you Amgen), and I expanded to become interested in operations (thank you Gilead). Operations led me to operational consulting. And here I am. Whew.

My stupid high-school career placement survey said I would excel at being a plumber. Unfortunately, I don’t enjoy plumbing at all.

~ by bioscigrad on April 25, 2008.