Hello Reader!

A few months back, my daughter turned to me and said, “Mama, I want to be a scientist like you when I grow up.”

I told her, “Ok baby. You can be a scientist if you want,” But on the inside, I was screaming.

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I don’t want my kids to be scientists.

Here's why.

How it started

When I started my journey into science, it was at a point in time when the Singapore government was trying to get people into biotechnology. They were pumping in funds to create new research institutes and bringing in big international companies to set up shop here.

I never really thought about what options were there for me when I graduate because I always thought that I was going to go into research and academia. The goal was to get a university degree (I was doing a technical diploma then) after I graduate and then go into a research lab at the university.

I didn’t really know what was out there. What little internship experience that I had didn’t really do much to let me know what was out there. Heck, even the lecturers didn't even tell you about it.

However, after a decade and a half in various research labs in academia and burning out while doing my graduate studies, I realised a number of things.

1. I didn’t really want to be someone’s lab slave for the pittance I got.
2. I didn’t want to do a PhD.
3. I didn't want to spent the entirety of my career begging for funding for my projects.
4. I didn’t want to be in academia anymore because if I wasn’t going to get a PhD, there was no point.

Staying in academia requires a certain amount of passion that I sadly lack.

I was not going to give up the time that I could spend with my kids while they are still small, just to get another piece of paper.

You see, I'm not against my kids going into STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math), but I am against them staying in academia as a career.

The amount of time that you spend on obtaining those papers versus the amount of pay you get in return just doesn’t balance out. Passion can only get you so far.

(This is just a personal opinion. If you don’t agree, let’s have a conversation about it over coffee and see where the discussion takes us.)

And that is why, when my daughter said that she wanted to be a scientist, my knee jerk reaction was to say no.

Now what?

So what else is out there? Is there life out of academia?

I didn't know.

So I started looking around at what is available for me since I have a science degree.

So here’s what I found.

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1. Government sector

In Singapore, we have a number of different government agencies that require those with a background in science, for their labs. For example, food safety, ecology-related issues, forensics. They are who I consider to be the backbone of science-based government work.

They need people with science backgrounds in the administration too. They need people to write the grants, to evaluate if certain things meet the scientific criteria of projects. And patenting is a big thing too.

2. Teaching

There are tertiary institutions looking to hire for their own internal research labs or to do both the research and teaching. Especially in the polytechnics and the private institutions. It's not really that easy to get a job there since lecturers rarely leave.

Or there's contract teaching, where you teach with the primary or secondary level schools to get some experience. Then you go into the teaching college (National Institute of Education, NIE) where you get the qualifications to teach in the government schools.

3. Private sector

This is where the bulk of the jobs are. Everything from sales, to R&D, and even manufacturing.

This is also where a lot of the interesting things, in my opinion, happen. Here is where you see the research is taken into the product phase, manufactured and sold. You see workflows that you never thought were possible.

This is where I am right now. I’m taking my years of experience with certain technology platforms and applying it into another context. I moved from working with human samples, to working with plants. And I’m learning a lot more now.

4. Influencer or consultant

This is the most interesting application of that skill and knowledge. Over the past few years, I’ve been following a few of these science influencers that I just have to share with you. Their work inspires me to do what I do with my newsletter.

​Lab muffin​

Michelle is a science educator with a chemistry PhD, who breaks down the beauty-related things into easy to understand posts. She gives a great breakdown of the different active ingredients and debunks myths about beauty products. She also gives great recommendations on products.
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​Raven The Science Maven​

Dr Raven Baxter is really the science maven. She’s a molecular biologist, science communicator, rapper and she even has her own line of science theme clothes and sparkly protective gear. I love her rap songs because it really helps bring the science concepts in an interesting way.

​Food Science Babe​

Erin is a food scientist with a chemical engineering background. She does a lot of work to address the different myths and disinformation about food labels. While her stuff is mostly US-centric I find it absolutely when she addresses things about nutrition for children and families. I follow her on IG and have absolutely no regrets.

​The Leveraged PhD​

Mel Bruce shows you how you can turn your PhD into a business. She does consulting and coaching and I think that is absolutely fabulous because I don’t think, at least in the circles that I interact with, that it is something that may have occurred for them to go into.

I’m sure that there are more out there. If you’ve found a science influencer that’s really interesting, I would love to hear about it from you. I’m always looking for interesting ways to learn things.

​King Gutter Baby​

Laurel Bristow aka kinggutterbaby in IG is one of the most informative social media accounts I've encountered so far, especially during this pandemic. She teaches you how to spot bad science and debunking the disinformation that is floating around right now.

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Ultimately, I want my kids to find a path that they will love doing and be passionate about. I won't push them to a path just because it's where the money is. Hating what you do is the fastest way to burnout.

If they do want to make a career in academia, I will still support them. I just want them to be happy.

Are you happy with your career? Did you get pushed into doing what you're doing now because of reasons?

Do you need help to navigate through your career choices?

Just reply to this email and let's have a conversation about it. I read every single one of the replies.

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Until the next edition, ~ Lina

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