Career Goals

Overview

Right now, I am striving to receive a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology and become a Forensic Toxicologist. If that does not work out, then I want a Ph.D. in something and work with Forensics.

I have never told anyone this before, but my career choices were mainly influenced by my family. Not that I did not want that, but their words have actually guided me to my career path based on their "expectations." It is not that they planned my future, but I put pressure on myself to choose what I want to do. Thankfully, I actually like what I was pressured into and have developed a passion for it along the way, so there is no harm done. I never really made these decisions on my own, nor did any passion or drive to obtain these goal really develop until I reached high school.

Major Influences on My Decision Towards My Career

Photograph by: https://researchhub.org/what-a-phd-is-and-what-it-is-not/

Influence #1

The first family member to influence my decision was actually from my Aunt. When I was young, she told my family of how smart I was, and that I am going to have initials after my name (of course, my family members like to make me out to be more than what I am, but that is their way of encouragement). Note, this is not her pressuring me, this was her way of encouragement. So naturally, to make her proud, I strive to obtain a Ph.D. in the future.

Photograph by: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/79400/15-fascinating-facts-about-forensic-files

Influence #2

The second family member to influence my decision was from my Nana. I was watching T.V. one day at her house, and I happened to come across a show called Forensic Files. The show intrigued me, but not enough to pursue it as a career. Then my Nana said something on the lines of how I was going to be a Forensic Scientist. She always takes our passions and basically blows them out of proportion, but she does this with love.

At that point, I did not have any career plans, as I was only eleven or twelve, so having something to strive for was quite nice. However, as time went on, my passion for Forensic Science grew, and my motivation to receiving a Ph.D. increased as well. I am just glad no one said that I was going for a medical degree, as I think I would probably have a heart attack striving to achieve that.

As I continued through college, I am constantly reminded that I am on the right career path. I am receiving beyond passing grades in my Forensics Courses and I am actually gaining achievements and going through experiences that I never thought was possible for me. When I was in high school, I was never recognized for my hard work, so naturally, when I arrived at IUPUI, I thought the same thing. I would work hard, do not get me wrong, but I did not think that any one would take notice. That is, until I found out that I was top of my FIS class and received $250. I was indeed, shocked. Then more methods of recognition occurred, such as making Deans and Scholars lists, joining the FIS club and eventually becoming an officer, and joining the ALD society. I never have had so much experience until now, and it all started because of my aunt stating that I was going to have initials behind my name.

I am hoping to try out my first graduate course next year and maybe pursue another internship like this one. I am also hoping to write some more scientific papers with other professors, just to gain the experience. Who knows, maybe I will be investigating my very first real crime scene?

Photograph by: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IUPUI_Jaguars

Present Day: What Do I Need To Do Now?

https://unsplash.com/s/photos/laboratory

For this semester, I need to start thinking about my plans to advance forward to graduate school. I want to learn more about what I have to do to get in, the requirements needed to be accepted in a timely manner, what exams must I take, etc. To do so, I need to reach out to my academic advisor, as well as anyone who has attended or is in graduate school at IUPUI so I can learn more about the application process. I plan to approach my career goal by doing a step-by-step process, and the next step is to prepare to get into graduate school so I can obtain a Master's in Forensic Science and a Ph.D. in Toxicology and Pharmacology. If anyone has any advice for me, I would be happy to hear it!

I still need to work on my communication skills. I can now present in front of a classroom without holding an inhaler, but now I still need to be confident enough to engage in conversation with my colleagues. It seems like with some of the graduate courses, there is a ton of interaction between peers and professors, so I know it is crucial to build confidence to just even get in. In addition, I think that some more research experience would be helpful for me. I want to continue working in the lab with Dr. Obukhov and completing the research project that he has been working on for a couple of years.

How Have My Goals Changed?

For the most part, my goals for this internship are still the same. I still want to strengthen my communication skills and my cooperation skills. I have not had much practice with the cooperation aspects, but I have been improving some communication skills. As for research, I want to be able to understand more of what it is like to perform research analyses. I know that research is a huge part of obtaining a Ph.D., so the more I understand, the more prepared I will be when obtaining the degree. For cooperation, I do want to learn to collaborate with my peers. I know that I will need to collaborate with Dr. Obukhov when writing up the poster for the showcase, but I also want to work with the new research student in our lab as well.

My Career Path

While doing this internship has opened the door to many new possibilities and achievements, my main goals for my career path have remained the same. I still want to graduate with a degree in forensic science and I still want to work in a lab working on toxicology. This time, I enter into the work force with more confidence and experience than prior to starting this LHSI program. I have now developed connections and gained new achievements as well as new desires along the way. For instance, my new achievement is working on the paper, and a new desire as a result is to understand more about research and actually write a research paper with my own data.

I am still very confident with the decisions that I am making. I know this because my choices that I make now keep connecting back to how I am supposed to become a forensic scientist. Whether or not I will be working with toxins is a different story, but I do know that I want to deal with forensic science and make a difference in the future. When I first applied to LHSI, I did not think that there would be too many connections between the work I am doing and forensic science. However, Dr. Obukhov manages to tie in forensic concepts with the work that I am currently doing right now. Working here is helping me progress further as I attempt to try new experiences before I settle down into a career.


Photograph by: https://wallpaperaccess.com/toxic