I had an epiphany today. Well not exactly, but it hit me as to why I'm taking the path I'm taking in life.
In the past people have asked me why I want to go back to University to do a Pharmacy degree and my reply has been something along the lines of "Drugs are interesting and do you know how much pharmacists can earn?!". In a shallow way that was a fairly accurate reason for my career choice. Hey, it's going to cost me over 12 grand, but I'll make it back fairly quickly, I reasoned.
Well, back to the present epiphanied Lola. I was in work today and for a change I ended up spring cleaning the lab in preparation for the audit we have coming up. From the last post most people could guess that I resent work, and those people would be absolutely right, but today I wasn't at all peeved at being demoted to a cleaner. In fact I was quite pleased to go and get on with it, scrubbing the surfaces, cleaning dust from corners and equipment etc. No, I haven't discovered my calling as a cleaner, in fact my parents could tell you I'm usually as lazy as sin when it comes to housekeeping. The reason why I liked this task was the complete randomness of it.
Picture this, you work at a pharmaceutical company, you do test after test in a lab, with only a brief reprise for a write up before you have to go and do another test. The tests are, in themselves different but it's all lab work. Pipettes and volumetric flasks dance before your eyes on a day to day basis (not literally) and it becomes mundane. So when the chance to do something different comes along, like spring cleaning a lab for example it's a novelty, and escape from the routine. It provides variety to a job, and that I now know, is what I crave.
I must admit it's very unusual for a capricorn to crave variety rather than set down routines, but now that I understand that is what I need, everything else about my choice of career has clicked into place. Pharmacy, despite popular belief is such a varied career. On a typical day in the life of a hospital pharmacist one can meet different patients, consult with other healthcare professionals and deal with problems on an individual basis. Of course there is the aspect of making up the prescriptions, which cannot have too much variety for the patients sake, but the other parts more than make up for it. And if I become bored of the hospital, well there is always community pharmacy. If I want to reduce my workload, hello to locum work. If I fancy something radically different there's always academia, or working in a pharmaceutical company (although NOT as an analyst!). And if I tire of them, I can go back into practise again. It is such a flexible career, and that is a big part of the reason I am drawn to it. This is the career I want and I think I'm going to work hard to get it.
If you read this far you deserve a prize, go buy yourself a cookie.
Bonus points for anyone who knows where the quote in my post title is from.
4 comments:
Sherlock Holmes! That's the quote.
But, going back to the topic, I think you're capable of doing anything you put your mind to, whether for the monetary value or for the variety.
Being a dispensing chemist in the community is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Its not that interesting, and you have to be consistently excellent at maths. If you muck up, somebody could get very sick, and you have the responsiblity of hundreds if not thousands of prescripctions. I could never do it, I worked as an assistant to a chemist once, I have so much respect for a job I didn't really think about before.
Aye it certainly is Sherlock Holmes, one of my major literary heroes.
Carmelo, aye I do realise the responsibility of the role, and I think I could handle it. I am usually a perfectionist when it comes to things that affect people so it works out well for me. However I have to disagree with you saying that the job isnt that interesting. You get to interact with the general public, which to be honest can be infuriating, but not often dull. Also with pharmacists getting more power in terms of prescribing, and the idea of pushing more patients towards pharmacists rather than GPs to free up time, I imagine it's a job that will evolve and definitely become more interesting than it is now. Finally, who says drugs aren't interesting? Or maybe thats just my geeky pharmacology graduate self speaking up, lol.
I decided that any job i was working in needed variety, which has led me in to the wonderful world of Audio / Visual and events, somewhere different every day, always different jobs, however i think it must be written into a contract somewhere that you have to give up any form of social life. Because working a 60-80hr week doesnt leave time for much else.
Wouldnt give it up tho!!
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