What To Do When Your Career Takes An Unexpected Turn
While I was doing my undergraduate, I became absolutely obsessed with parasites and their crafty accomplices (looking at you, pesky mosquitos, ticks, and tsetse flies!). I was so intrigued that I made up my mind to pursue a Master of Science in Molecular Biology of Parasites and Disease Vectors at the prestigious Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Oh, it was a gem of a school - one of the oldest scientific institutes on the planet! Plus, it had a cherry on top: it was just a quick 30-minute train ride away from my dear Mum's house, so I happily stayed with her during my studies and saved myself a small fortune.
During my time there, my fascination for mosquitos grew by leaps and bounds. Seriously, those little bloodsuckers were something else! I thought, "This is it! This is my calling in life!" As part of the course, I had to embark on a research project for half of the time, and I decided to seize the opportunity to take my newfound passion abroad.
Before I knew it, I found myself on a project in Burkina Faso, investigating the blood meal profiling and insecticide resistance of the local mosquito population, just before they began a new bed net trial. At the tender age of 22, there I was, in a foreign country where I couldn't speak the primary language. I wasn't alone, though, as a fellow PhD student joined me on this exciting journey. We hit the road and ventured further into the country to get our research rolling.
A image from my Burkina Faso days!
The people we met were absolutely wonderful and showed me such warm hospitality. But, alas, the same couldn't be said for those darn mosquitoes. Turns out, I had developed an allergy to their bites over the years. Sure, I'd dealt with some itchiness during past summers, but being on the mosquito-hunting frontlines made me realize just how much of a pain (literally!) they were. The bites swelled and blistered like nobody's business, leaving me with leg scars for years to come. Ouch!
As I spent a month in Burkina Faso, I couldn't help but reconsider my research focus. Maybe, just maybe, I shouldn't base my entire scientific career on my battles with mosquitoes.
What questions did I need to ask when I was looking for a career change?
So, I took some time for self-reflection and pondered a bunch of questions, like:
What kind of job truly interested me?
Answer: Researching cool science! Duh!
What exactly fascinated me about mosquitoes?
Answer: Their mad skills as disease vectors. Impressive yet terrifying!
Were there other disease vectors out there that were just as captivating?
Answer: Heck, yes! There were so many options to explore!
And after a year (during which I managed to snag a job in between), I finally found my calling - a funded PhD opportunity centered on Bemisia tabaci, a plant-feeding insect that's hilariously nicknamed the "mosquito of the plants." Thankfully, though, this little critter doesn't feast on us humans.
So there you have it - my journey from a mosquito enthusiast to a curious researcher exploring the fantastic world of disease vectors. It was quite an adventure, and it led me on some fascinating adventures!