Back and Forth

Here we go again...................................

So not even a week after I extolled the virtues of my new research gig, than I learn from HR that the position was filled and NOT by me. Well DAMN!!!!  Actually DOUBLE DAMN, and I'm sure my regular readers have joined me in a collective "HUH????". And unfortunately, the PI didn't have the professional decency to tell me he decided to go with another candidate. TRIPLE DAMN!!!!! But as I've learned MANY times in the last 4 months, until you see a contract, the job is like a fart, it disappears in the wind within seconds, LOL!!!

But.......................... in the spirit of contacting PI's EVERY week until a gig comes through, I attended a recruitment event last week at a computer science (CS) department with my daughter who is seriously considering following in the foot steps of her Computer Engineer father. But when I heard the words, genomics and bioinformatics, my attention was immediately changed for what would be great for her to what would be great for us. However this isn't the first time I've floated the idea of CS in my mind, I just summarily rejected it with a strong HELLZ NAW!!! (Of course, Dr. E's #1 and #2 on that list contradict themselves, sigh) But in the absence of a gig (again) and a woman PI in CS that is interested in me (and my goals) and whom I'm meeting with next Friday, I'll need to retool my thinking because: 1) EVERYONE I know doing what I'm interested in has a degree in CS including Dr. E, the Internist at the county hospital and my mentor from the FDA with the PhD in Bioinformatics, 2) A HUGE part of my inability to get "respect" from folks in Bioinformatics is my weak background in CS, and 3) As one of my new CS colleagues put it, the difference between Bioinformaticians and CS people who do Bioinformatics is that one makes great money and the other is poor.

So while this is far from me "playing to my strengths", I can't "play" to $hit without a gig in my "strengths". Meanwhile, the clock for me getting a head start on my MD/PhD plans gets delayed while I'm ardently searching for a research group I can "stick" too. Right now, it's ALL about where I can get support for what is already not a realistic goal to many people for me. But then, becoming a Scientist wasn't supposed to be "for me" either according to the many naysayers I'm come across in my academic endeavours. So now it comes down to support and how I can tailor my interests into an area I'm going to be supported in because in the end, support trumps EVERYTHING!!!!

Enough about that, "It's Friday and I'm ready to swing".........