What Do You Do When You Need a Change?

On Monday this week, Dr. Ingels and I went out on a quick sampling trip at the lab. The weather wasn't great and the waves were rather choppy, which led to an abrupt end to our sampling work. Since I don't have new data from the lab--still working on samples though, I promise--this week I wanted to write about what to do when you need a change from your normal routine...or really, what I did when I realized I needed a change.

To start, I need to provide you with some background information. I knew for a long time that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up; I can probably pinpoint my first year of high school as the time when I convinced myself that teaching was the career for me. I had amazing teachers growing up who made lasting impacts on me, and I realized that I wanted to be able to give back to my community and to share my worldview with students through the lens of biology. I went to undergrad for biology and education, and very shortly after graduation I accepted my first teaching job offer. However, my first teaching job was chemistry and physical sciences, not biology. I think that at the time I had convinced myself that finding a teaching job, even if it wasn't the content I wanted to teach, was better than nothing. I worked at that school for three years before moving on to another teaching position. This time I was teaching a 1:2:1 content schedule of biology, chemistry, and physics respectively while also finishing up my masters program. I really enjoyed the experience and working with a diverse teaching cohort, but again I was not able to focus on biology because I was teaching two other content areas that made up 3/4 of my teaching schedule.

In my second year I learned that our teaching positions would be made permanent positions at the school and my science colleagues and I would have to re-compete for our positions. It was around the same time that I realized I had been settling for jobs rather than pursuing a career and I thought that I needed a change. Some of my colleagues suggested that I consider going back to school to earn a PhD, because they saw that I was committed to teaching biology but that teaching biology at the collegiate level requires more schooling than I had. I realized that I had also partially given up on a former dream of mine, which was to study the ocean. I was lucky to have one marine science class in my undergraduate program that let me experience the life of a marine scientist before (then) committing myself to a career of teaching. Fast forward to now where I am working in my second year of my PhD studying how ocean pollution is affecting biochemistry, and I could not be happier that I made the changes that I did along the way.

My experience is likely different from others because I was fortunate enough to have the resources to be able to follow my dreams and change my mind multiple times. I knew that I had support back home from family and I had colleagues who had knowledge about the process of going to school for a PhD who I could talk with. But what if you don't have the resources or the support? I think there are still a few options to consider. First, if your passion is very different from what you are currently doing, consider taking online classes or finding out if there are volunteer opportunities in the area you are considering. Both of these options allow you to experience the field that you are interested in before making a full commitment to the change. Second, talk to individuals who are in the career that you are considering and also talk to people who have made a similar change in their life. A lot of the uncertainty that you feel may be related to having a lot of questions but few answers. Finally, consider what your future will look like if you do or do not make the switch; be realistic with your imagined future but think about the benefits and drawbacks to the decision. Talking about your choice with friends or with close family can be helpful because they may be able to offer a more objective viewpoint as they don't have a vested interest in the decision.

All changes should start gradually so that you have time to adjust to your new settings. When gradual change is not possible, try to have supporters with you who can help you on your new path. And now that I sound like a meditation or self-help audiobook, I'll leave you with a note about my research: I have gotten a confirmed sampling day for my next research trip in Panama City and I cannot wait to bring you along to see if I notice any visual changes in the sediment from October to January. Stay tuned!