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Hello! My name is David and I am a current high school student. I'm conducting an interview with any professional in Genetic Counseling field for a Foundations in Health Science Class project about careers! I have created a total of 13 questions. Comment on this post, answering all 13 questions to be apart of my assignment.
1. What profession did you choose?
Why?
2. How many years of college did you
need to go through?
3. What jobs did you work before you
landed your present professional
job?
4. How can I decide if I should earn a
Ph.D. in this field?
5. Were you in a college program?
6. Did you have to pivot and go back to
school at a later date?
7. Did you shadow another
professional in the field?
8. Did you join any school clubs
related to your current profession?
9. Was there a particular subject you
struggled with during your school
years?
10. What skill sets did you learn or
gain while pursuing your career?
Please answer directly and numbered
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2 answers
Updated
Laura’s Answer
1. I’m a chemist
2. I was always good at math and science. My mom was very interested in astronomy and gave me a love for science. I first chose Physics and realized I was much better at chemistry because it interested me more.
3. I completed college at 31, I worked as a manger at Kinko’s (now FedEx Office) for 11 years. Before that mainly delivered pizzas.
4. Talk to professors in the field that have PhD’s! Try to talk to other people in the field to know if it’s necessary to have that high of a degree to have a fulfilling career. That’s a lot of time and money you might not have to spend.
5. I got my GED and started college a semester early… it took a long time, but I finally graduated. I had several majors before deciding on Chemistry. A program, nope.
6. So, with Kinko’s, I did take a 5 year sabbatical before completing my studies. But it was worth it to complete my degree!
7. No, I went to school and then upon graduation got a job.
8. I was a member is the American Chemical Society
9. I took a few upper division electives that I failed. I went to my advisor and she was amazing. She set up an independent study and let me do research with her grad students so I could graduate on time.
10. Everything I learned in college was just preliminary. I learned most everything on the job. I use very little of what I learned in college. I think chemistry is like that because they focus on the wrong thing. As an analytical chemist you primarily use instruments and report data. That’s not what they taught me in college. We had one instrumental class but it focused on antiquated instruments or instruments that are not widely used in business. The biggest thing about a degree is showing you can start something and finish it. I think the one class that was most helpful was technical writing and it wasn’t a requirement.
I hope this helps!
2. I was always good at math and science. My mom was very interested in astronomy and gave me a love for science. I first chose Physics and realized I was much better at chemistry because it interested me more.
3. I completed college at 31, I worked as a manger at Kinko’s (now FedEx Office) for 11 years. Before that mainly delivered pizzas.
4. Talk to professors in the field that have PhD’s! Try to talk to other people in the field to know if it’s necessary to have that high of a degree to have a fulfilling career. That’s a lot of time and money you might not have to spend.
5. I got my GED and started college a semester early… it took a long time, but I finally graduated. I had several majors before deciding on Chemistry. A program, nope.
6. So, with Kinko’s, I did take a 5 year sabbatical before completing my studies. But it was worth it to complete my degree!
7. No, I went to school and then upon graduation got a job.
8. I was a member is the American Chemical Society
9. I took a few upper division electives that I failed. I went to my advisor and she was amazing. She set up an independent study and let me do research with her grad students so I could graduate on time.
10. Everything I learned in college was just preliminary. I learned most everything on the job. I use very little of what I learned in college. I think chemistry is like that because they focus on the wrong thing. As an analytical chemist you primarily use instruments and report data. That’s not what they taught me in college. We had one instrumental class but it focused on antiquated instruments or instruments that are not widely used in business. The biggest thing about a degree is showing you can start something and finish it. I think the one class that was most helpful was technical writing and it wasn’t a requirement.
I hope this helps!
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
David
Updated
Chelsey’s Answer
1. Genetic counseling- it is the perfect combination of education, interacting with the public, and my love of science/DNA/the cell
2. 4 years of undergraduate and 2 years of graduate school
3. Caddy in high school, bookstore employee in college, Public Program Specialist at a forest preserve (teaching prek programs, leading nature hikes, creating educational pamphlets) after college, genetic counseling assistant before grad school
4. A PhD is not needed to be a genetic counselor
5. Not sure what this meant but yes I went to college and majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology
6. Not pivot, because it was my original plan, but yes I went back to school after 6 years of working
7. Yes, this will be necessary before you even apply to school
8. No
9. Organic chemistry
10. Empathy, how to work with people from diverse backgrounds, how to explain complex ideas in understandable pieces, the ethics behind genetic testing (who should be tested and when), understanding genetic disease (natural history, inheritance, treatments or monitoring), how to connect patients to resources, taking a family history (collecting a pedigree)
For more information visit the National Society of Genetic Counselors' website: https://www.nsgc.org/About/Becoming-a-Genetic-Counselor
2. 4 years of undergraduate and 2 years of graduate school
3. Caddy in high school, bookstore employee in college, Public Program Specialist at a forest preserve (teaching prek programs, leading nature hikes, creating educational pamphlets) after college, genetic counseling assistant before grad school
4. A PhD is not needed to be a genetic counselor
5. Not sure what this meant but yes I went to college and majored in Molecular and Cellular Biology
6. Not pivot, because it was my original plan, but yes I went back to school after 6 years of working
7. Yes, this will be necessary before you even apply to school
8. No
9. Organic chemistry
10. Empathy, how to work with people from diverse backgrounds, how to explain complex ideas in understandable pieces, the ethics behind genetic testing (who should be tested and when), understanding genetic disease (natural history, inheritance, treatments or monitoring), how to connect patients to resources, taking a family history (collecting a pedigree)
Chelsey recommends the following next steps:
Thank you for the advice, Chelsey.
Edward