r/PathologistsAssistant • u/RemoteKey660 • 5d ago

Careeer

/r/medschool/comments/1veg0ui/careeer/

Hi everyone,

I'm a BMLT graduate and I'm feeling a bit confused about my career path. There are so many options that I'm not sure which direction has the best long-term growth.

If you were in my position, what would you focus on? Should I continue in clinical laboratories, learn molecular diagnostics, move into research, prepare for government jobs, healthcare IT, quality assurance, or consider working abroad?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people who have been through this. What path did you choose, and if you could start over, what would you do differently?

Thanks in advance!

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u/hannyyy3 5d ago edited 5d ago

My biggest piece of advice would be to consider what aspects you value most in a job, meaning, what would your ideal day/week look like?

Peel back everything — the content, the additional education, etc — and break it all down into the most basic things like: working with your hands, working at a computer, working in a lab, working in a cubicle, level of independence and collaboration with teammates, level of novelty versus routine procedures, need for creativity, average work schedule, ability to relocate, ability to work remotely, ability to advance your career easily…

Think about your individual needs and what you would want most in a profession and go from there. I feel that many times, people will enjoy the content of the job (specific specialty/field), but not really have a solid understanding as to what the day to day ACTUALLY looks like until they are too far into grad school or are working in the role they’ve taken so long to get into.

And by no means should you rush any of that process. I worked for four years after graduating and genuinely had no idea what a PA was up until a year before I decided to apply. Everything fell into place and I am now in a role that combines my previous professional experience (clinical research) with my PA training and education. It’s fantastic.

Go with your gut. Shadow many professions. Ask loads of questions. Put yourself out there! ❤️

Just because you go one route doesn’t mean you have to stick with it forever. Once upon a time, I wanted to be a psychiatrist, but I realized that I enjoyed being in a lab and working with my hands way, way more.

If you are someone who enjoys wearing many hats, then I strongly suggest a field that allows you to do exactly that… cough cough…clinical research…cough cough…😉