Should I do what I love or love what I do?

It was seven years ago, when I was first exposed to scientific research as an Honours student in a laboratory led by Ian Dawes. I was amazed by his intelligence and his research – very sophisticated, yet interesting. Without knowing what lab life would be like, I decided that I wanted to work with him and to learn from him. While my first research year was sometimes difficult and stressful, with countless sleepless nights, I learnt a lot and was also lucky enough to get to enjoy a few little Eureka moments. That’s when I started to understand what lab life is like.

As a graduate with a Biology degree, I was at a career crossroads. Pursuing a doctoral degree was a very straightforward and tempting option. But I also understood that, if Honours was a sprint – short and intensive – then with a PhD, you’d be training for a marathon – greater discipline and endurance were required; along with a 3 year commitment (or longer). I knew I wasn’t ready for that. I needed to enter the workforce and to explore other options. I loved doing experiments, I loved science, but pursuing a PhD was not the only option, and at that point, I couldn’t convince myself that that’s where my passion ultimately lies simply because I hadn’t tried other things. I always believe that it is never too late to change your career path because it feels so much better and fulfilling to be doing something you truly enjoy doing. I see sparks in the eyes of a friend talking about his singing career, a YouTuber when he was telling me all the interesting ideas he had for his new videos, a corporate lawyer explaining the multi-million dollar transactions she was involved in, and of course, many scientists presenting their life-changing research at conferences. These people… they are charismatic and they shine from the inside.

I needed to find out what I was passionate about. Someone once told me, you should do what you love because that is what you will do well in. To explore alternatives, I decided to join a start-up biotechnology company as a research officer and at the same time, also picked up a part time tutoring job. I was fortunate enough to be entrusted with a range of important tasks at the company – grant applications and reporting, marketing and collaboration, and I was given the opportunity to work with world class researchers from UCSF. I started to get a clearer idea of what I was passionate about: I love teaching and I love doing research.

I decided that I wanted to be an academic in science – a career that will allow me to educate future generations and to contribute to a larger body of scientific knowledge; both of which will help to shape the society of tomorrow. I started a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics. Some might say I had just wasted two years of my life and that I could have started my PhD candidature two years earlier. But I wouldn’t have appreciated this career decision as much as I do now if I had done that. If you have been following our blog posts on WLLL*, you would know by now that we, as scientists, explore the unknown and that this task is daunting yet exciting. I still remember vividly the day I received an email forwarded from my supervisor in the middle of the night, when I was half asleep, notifying me that my first paper had been accepted for publication by a prestigious journal. And also the day I presented at one of our lab meetings explaining why we should terminate a project that I had been working on for more than 2 years.

Whenever I was on the verge of giving up, I asked myself a question – if I were given another chance to rewind and restart, would I have chosen a different career path? The answer had always been NO. While I would like to believe that my research contributes significantly to society, it is not just about benefiting society, as I have grown and learned to become a better person (and researcher) in the process. Now here I am… a second year postdoctoral research scientist and ready to move on and to take up new challenges in another part of the world and from a research field that is very new to me.

I had always wondered… Should one do what they love or love what they do. After all these years, I realised that they are the same thing, one can do what they love and therefore love what they do, or try to love what they do and are thus, doing what they love. And I believe that passion is something that develops as the result of contributing to something meaningful. If one can find and truly understand the meaning and the impact of their work, they will start to love their job.

The past five years with Crossleys have been one of the greatest times in my life. I have learnt so much from a team of very dedicated scientists and a very wise and devoted supervisor, Merlin. I wouldn’t have become who I am today, without any of you, the Crossleys, the Dawes, my beloved friends and family. I also would like to dedicate this post to my dad – Dad, you probably never realised and I will never have the chance to tell you that in every single decision that I have made and will be making, I aim to be someone that you will be proud of, just like how proud I am to be your daughter.

*What Lab Life is Like

Catheryn Wooi Fang Lim (@CatherynLim88) is a research associate. This story was published on June 30, 2017, on the Crossley Lab Blog (available here), and has been republished here with permission.