I’m going to get a job away from my field (microbiology) and just earn some money. I don’t care if I’m a cleaner, I don’t care if I work in retail, I just want to work and I want to work on me. I can /always/ go back to it, and that’s what I want to stress. Even if you walk away and you realise you’ve made a mistake, you can dive straight back in. 

That doesn’t have to be the field you’re in, I’m thinking of maybe working with animals and going back to uni for veterinary nursing or something very similar, and you know, I’m at peace with it. I am sorry my mum didn’t get to see me do what she wanted me to do, but I wasn’t happy, at all. It was genuinely killing me, and realising that and walking away from it has been the best thing I’ve done. Sit down and truly think about it. 

What are the pros, what are the cons, what else is it you’d like to do? Just sit down, write it all out and make a plan, see if it’s something that definitely calls to you and then go from there. And don’t forget, you can always come back to it if you do make the wrong decision, that’s the important part

thank you so much for sharing your story! It helps so much to see and know that I’m not the only one in this situation and I’m not a failure for feeling this way. My mom passed away when I was second year uni, and I finished my programme because I loved it and I fought for it. She always wanted me to do what made me happy––and even encouraged me to get out of comfort zone. I know your mom would have been proud of you regardless, because she’d see you chose to do what makes you happy now x

science is such a tough field, because what you love studying doesn’t always (rarely, actually) translate into what you do. there’s no job description for “BSc with pharmacology focus to come and work on medications”. It’s this weird pathway of research and certificates and experience to get one entry level job that you don’t even want lol.

I’m proud of you for doing what you love!! hopefully I can have that courage soon!!