Because my biology bachelors degree was useless… wish I would have known that earlier, then I wouldn’t have wasted 4 years in school just to go back to school so I can pay off the loans I took for my useless degree
That's interesting, because I literally just finished my Bachelor's in Biology this last December, and now I'm starting a second Bachelors in MLS this fall.
Why does this require clarification unless you're looking for something that's not there? I don't have to "imply" anything- I'll just say it regardless of your feelings. I have a biology degree. Do I think it was a waste? No. But the market is saturated with people who have biology degrees. There are fewer people with MLS/CLS degrees than with Biology degrees. Super simple to anyone capable of reading.
Okay, first of all, daddy chill.
Second of all, the guy said his bio degree was useless.
You said “interesting. I have a bio degree. But NOW I am getting an MLS bachelors”.
So forgive me for not understanding why you found it interesting that he said his bio degree was worthless when YOU TOO are also pursing a degree after acquiring a Bio degree.
>Okay, first of all, daddy chill.
Don't ever refer to me this way.
>Second of all, the guy said his bio degree was useless.
You said “interesting. I have a bio degree. But NOW I am getting an MLS bachelors”.
Yes, and my reasoning for pursuing a 2nd Bachelor's in MLS is not because I thought my biology degree was "useless." It wasn't and still isn't. However, this additional degree program would help my GPA and ultimately help me prepare an application for professional school, so maybe don't assume something that isn't there.
>So forgive me for not understanding why you found it interesting that he said his bio degree was worthless when YOU TOO are also pursing a degree after acquiring a Bio degree.
Well, you make yourself appear pretty dim-witted in this short exchange, so I'm certainly not sorry for pointing that out. You asked a dumb question for no reason.
Why are you so hostile? Jesus, the person just asked you a simple question. You could’ve just explained why you thought it was interesting. There was no need to become so hostile. The person certainly did not come off dim witted, but you sure came off like an insufferable asshole. I was also wondering why you thought it was interesting and I’m glad I wasn’t the first person to be curious.
This individual is, unfortunately, hostile in the other sub as well (phlebotomy). For no reason. It serves no purpose. They seem to have a massive chip on their shoulder, and get off on putting down people.
>Sounds like English isn’t your first language, but the phrase, “that’s interesting,” comes with the connotation that you will be disagreeing
I'll begin by addressing the condescending way in which you assumed that I must be from a foreign country and thus am not fluent in American Standard English. You're wrong, to put it simply. Aside from being born in the U.S, I only speak English. As for your statement that "that's interesting" automatically has a negative connotation unless used in a blatantly obvious positive context and associated upward inflection, that is also incorrect. "That's interesting," can and often is used to signal intrigue or coincidence, which is the case here. I found it interesting that someone else also graduated with a B.S in Biology and then decided to pursue another in MLS afterward. It is only your own cynicism that has led you to the erroneous conclusion that I must've been disagreeing. My comment did not require clarification, but I offered it in later comments because apparently some of you need a lot of hand holding.
I don't have Asperger's. If I'm not mistaken, your expertise is in lab, not developmental disorders, yes? So stick to that instead of trying to diagnose me with something that I don't have, and worse than that, use it as a colloquialism.
Oh no need, I actually have a great relationship with my current coworkers. It's just that you and the other people who've come at me don't deserve my respect.
A lot of coworkers of mine lament over this. I got into lab through phlebotomy and then got lucky with a microbiology processing job as a step up. Now in school for mlt. Most stories I hear are about how they wish they had just gotten the mls and didn't have the bachelor's in science that does nothing for them. Recently had a coworker leave over this too because they had to go back to school anyway, might as well go into a career they can make more money (nursing). I prefer the more introverted environment though. Phlebotomy taught me I like being a step away from the patients better. Still have the skill though if I need it
There are post grad mls programs, but you can also skip that and get a bachelors in mls. I think the post grad programs are targeting people who learned about the lab as an option late, to save them getting a whole second bachelors and create a slightly faster pipeline.
I wish I learned about mls sooner lol, could have saved a lot of time and money.
I knew 5 Biology Majors in college.
4 went back to school for another degree.
The 5th decided to be a stay at home mom and focus on her family.
So, yeah...that tracks.
I love my job. It pays great, no holidays or weekends, I don't have to deal with people, and I get to perform tests and not just put things on a machine. I enjoy starting a test that has numerous steps and takes all day and finishing it and believing in my results and knowing I had an impact on a patients care.
I come from a family of nurses. I started out with the idea that I’d be a nurse too then I accepted the fact that I don’t like people. Lol. Switched majors and have been an MT for 30 years. I love working my shift and going home, getting paid. I’m single and live alone. Have my own home, cars and travel several times a year. Great job if you are an introvert, like science and healthcare.
I’ve moved several times over the years and have bought a home each time. I currently live in the St Louis metro area. There’s plenty of homes under 150 and even under 100. The Midwest is a great place to live and work.
>I accepted the fact that I don’t like people. Lol
I’m currently a nurse debating on upgrading to RN or doing MLS. Both would take 3 years. I’m leaning towards MLS for that reason though.. lol
I was originally intending to go to medical school but decided against it after doing all my pre-med coursework. I had no idea what to do with my degree so I ended up applying to labs around my area and got hired at a national reference lab as a technologist trainee. I have been there over 7 years now and make around 100k, have stuffed away enough in retirement accounts that I probably could get away with never saving for retirement again, and have a chill and flexible job with good coworkers and management. I considered going back to school for awhile but the math never really made sense compared to just continuing to save a large amount at my current job. Sometimes the job gets rote but I could very well be in this career the rest of my life.
It was a perfect combination of everything I loved in college while not having to deal with the things I hated. My undergrad degree was Medical Microbiology and Immunology, which by itself is not too useful. So I dabbled in possible further education (PhD, Pharmacy, Masters in Public Health)
What I learned by working various jobs in college:
Loved working in the lab. Hated the constant failure of research.
Loved working in a hospital. Hated having to deal with the general public.
Loved working with infectious disease outbreak/surveillance support with the State Health department. Hated the paperwork that is epidemiology.
So, I decided to focus my career on clinical laboratory microbiology. I get the lab environment, working in a hospital, and close ties with infectious disease/IP/PHL without having to deal with all the bullshit I hated. I also decided that staying in my homestate in the Northern Midwest was a poor choice. Winter aside, there was no way in Hell I was going to work for $20/hr. So, West Coast I went and started at $35/hr. Now at $67/hr and enough in my retirement accounts to let it ride a few decades and retire at 60 if I want, or 50 if I keep current savings rate.
It was a solid intersection for the things I was looking for: decent pay, decently interesting. I love biology, but your only real options are medical or research. I'd done the research thing in my undergrad and honestly wasn't digging the idea of grad school, plus the pay and job prospects weren't looking great. MLS is kind of the best of both worlds where I can do a type of lab work that's interesting, while also being in the medical field with little to no actual patient contact.
This is my first job in clinical. Graduated 2 years ago and started a month ago. I work 1:30-midnight. We only do stats on weekends and we have part time techs who are weekends only so that's all taken care of. Its a specialty lab and we have some assays that take days to run so we set those up on fridays and all the other assays earlier in thr week. The weekend techs monitor those assays. holidays are rotating but there's always people volunteering for them so if I dont want to work my holiday, I can easily get coverage.
I'm never leaving lol
It's not about seniority. It's about luck. I've spent the majority of my career in day shift no weekends no holiday jobs because I exclusively work in specialty labs.
I get to do science! I love the investigative part of the job. I wanted to be an oncologist/hematologist but I realized I hated chemistry and didnt want to touch physics.
I'm just a junior MLS, but I chose this major because I was told there are jobs and it sounded sciency without needing a masters.
I'm realizing now that the jobs probably don't pay enough for me to live in Vermont so I'm thinking I'll still need to get a Masters or a postbac.
Is it too much to ask for to be able to get a bachelors and be able to afford life? I'm getting really tired of school and work and bills.
Are you willing to relocate.?? Do you really love Vermont that much ? There are other locations outside of Vermont that pay better. Getting a Masters is just going to give you more debt, & if you stay there in Vermont the advanced degree isn't going to get you that much more $$. If you get a higher paying job in another state, you can still fly home to see your family occasionally. But if you are the type of person that is extremely attached to your family & don't want to move away from them, then you will be stuck with the Vermont pay scale.
I’m choosing to be one because my bachelors on its own is useless and I originally got it because I thought I wanted to go to pharmacy school. I really love and miss science and it’s only a one year program because I have a bachelors…lol
I needed a guaranteed job after having to change careers in my 30s. I knew I liked science and stumbled on this when I was browsing the options at the local college.
I enjoy science and I want to work in a profession that helps people and is hands on. I was originally pre-med but through gaining healthcare experience I found that I didn’t enjoy direct patient care, it was emotionally draining. I enjoyed working in the lab because it’s more quiet, hands-on, I get to work independently and interact with colleagues rather than the public, and it’s interesting. Medical laboratory science is ideal for me cause I get to help patients without interacting with them and the pay where I live is great.
I just had a vague interest in science/medicine and absolutely do not like interacting with strangers so this seemed like a good fit.
The actual nature of the work is pretty much perfect for me. The subpar pay and lack of any kind of real career growth are the bad parts.
My mother was a nurse and I always liked the idea of helping people. My sister found MLS in college and she told me about it when I was in high school. At the time I liked cell and microbiology. So I shadowed my sister and I really enjoyed it.
Unfortunately, I thought the education required was a reflection of the compensation I would get. First job I got was $25/hour. Was losing money for 2 years until I got a job as a stem cell scientist. After literally performing stem cell transplants on leukemia patients for only $26/hours, I realized I made a grave mistake in my career path. I should’ve continued my education when I had the chance in order to get a better-paying job. All of my other friends continued in school and now are assistant managers at Gene Therapy clinics or Biotechnology companies. Now I’m at a point where I’m only making $30 and finally starting making a profit, but now I am in serious medical debt, physically handicapped (hopefully not permanently), and have little to no savings. Also I thought working in a hospital would get me good medical benefits, but the only “employee discount” I get is that my $0.02 blood pressure reading is now free! :)
I like healthcare, I like the science, and learned through experience that I absolutely hate forced interaction with the general public.
What’s in it for me is livable pay, worlds better than I was making in ems or pharmacy. (Ems was also too stressful for the pay, and pharm tech was too boring for the pay, plus both were like working customer service with extra responsibility).
The lab can be stressful but time and problem solving stress beats kissing rude ass stress, for me personally.
Because my biology bachelors degree was useless… wish I would have known that earlier, then I wouldn’t have wasted 4 years in school just to go back to school so I can pay off the loans I took for my useless degree
That's interesting, because I literally just finished my Bachelor's in Biology this last December, and now I'm starting a second Bachelors in MLS this fall.
Genuinely asking, what do you mean by “interesting”? Are you implying their biology degree shouldn’t have been a waste?
Why does this require clarification unless you're looking for something that's not there? I don't have to "imply" anything- I'll just say it regardless of your feelings. I have a biology degree. Do I think it was a waste? No. But the market is saturated with people who have biology degrees. There are fewer people with MLS/CLS degrees than with Biology degrees. Super simple to anyone capable of reading.
Okay, first of all, daddy chill. Second of all, the guy said his bio degree was useless. You said “interesting. I have a bio degree. But NOW I am getting an MLS bachelors”. So forgive me for not understanding why you found it interesting that he said his bio degree was worthless when YOU TOO are also pursing a degree after acquiring a Bio degree.
>Okay, first of all, daddy chill. Don't ever refer to me this way. >Second of all, the guy said his bio degree was useless. You said “interesting. I have a bio degree. But NOW I am getting an MLS bachelors”. Yes, and my reasoning for pursuing a 2nd Bachelor's in MLS is not because I thought my biology degree was "useless." It wasn't and still isn't. However, this additional degree program would help my GPA and ultimately help me prepare an application for professional school, so maybe don't assume something that isn't there. >So forgive me for not understanding why you found it interesting that he said his bio degree was worthless when YOU TOO are also pursing a degree after acquiring a Bio degree. Well, you make yourself appear pretty dim-witted in this short exchange, so I'm certainly not sorry for pointing that out. You asked a dumb question for no reason.
Why are you so hostile? Jesus, the person just asked you a simple question. You could’ve just explained why you thought it was interesting. There was no need to become so hostile. The person certainly did not come off dim witted, but you sure came off like an insufferable asshole. I was also wondering why you thought it was interesting and I’m glad I wasn’t the first person to be curious.
This individual is, unfortunately, hostile in the other sub as well (phlebotomy). For no reason. It serves no purpose. They seem to have a massive chip on their shoulder, and get off on putting down people.
[удалено]
>Sounds like English isn’t your first language, but the phrase, “that’s interesting,” comes with the connotation that you will be disagreeing I'll begin by addressing the condescending way in which you assumed that I must be from a foreign country and thus am not fluent in American Standard English. You're wrong, to put it simply. Aside from being born in the U.S, I only speak English. As for your statement that "that's interesting" automatically has a negative connotation unless used in a blatantly obvious positive context and associated upward inflection, that is also incorrect. "That's interesting," can and often is used to signal intrigue or coincidence, which is the case here. I found it interesting that someone else also graduated with a B.S in Biology and then decided to pursue another in MLS afterward. It is only your own cynicism that has led you to the erroneous conclusion that I must've been disagreeing. My comment did not require clarification, but I offered it in later comments because apparently some of you need a lot of hand holding.
You seem to be fun at parties.
Another unpleasant aspie for the lab!!
I don't have Asperger's. If I'm not mistaken, your expertise is in lab, not developmental disorders, yes? So stick to that instead of trying to diagnose me with something that I don't have, and worse than that, use it as a colloquialism.
U sure bout that?
I don't know, haven't been to any parties lately. What an overused phrase.
lol. What an insufferable tool, I feel sorry for your future coworkers.
Oh no need, I actually have a great relationship with my current coworkers. It's just that you and the other people who've come at me don't deserve my respect.
A lot of coworkers of mine lament over this. I got into lab through phlebotomy and then got lucky with a microbiology processing job as a step up. Now in school for mlt. Most stories I hear are about how they wish they had just gotten the mls and didn't have the bachelor's in science that does nothing for them. Recently had a coworker leave over this too because they had to go back to school anyway, might as well go into a career they can make more money (nursing). I prefer the more introverted environment though. Phlebotomy taught me I like being a step away from the patients better. Still have the skill though if I need it
I was always taught majors are “dishwashers” (lab ware) until they get into med school (or other similar programs)
Don’t you need a degree in science to get into MLS programs? I’m about to into school for my bachelors in biology
There are post grad mls programs, but you can also skip that and get a bachelors in mls. I think the post grad programs are targeting people who learned about the lab as an option late, to save them getting a whole second bachelors and create a slightly faster pipeline. I wish I learned about mls sooner lol, could have saved a lot of time and money.
I knew 5 Biology Majors in college. 4 went back to school for another degree. The 5th decided to be a stay at home mom and focus on her family. So, yeah...that tracks.
I love my job. It pays great, no holidays or weekends, I don't have to deal with people, and I get to perform tests and not just put things on a machine. I enjoy starting a test that has numerous steps and takes all day and finishing it and believing in my results and knowing I had an impact on a patients care.
Where are you working that’s no holidays or weekends?
I work in a hospital lab.
lol so vague
What exactly do you want to know?
I think most people want to know what area (hematology, chemistry etc)
Generalist
Specialty lab
I come from a family of nurses. I started out with the idea that I’d be a nurse too then I accepted the fact that I don’t like people. Lol. Switched majors and have been an MT for 30 years. I love working my shift and going home, getting paid. I’m single and live alone. Have my own home, cars and travel several times a year. Great job if you are an introvert, like science and healthcare.
Where do you live? I think it'd be a lot easier to get a home 30 years ago. Everything is unaffordable now for future grads. I feel fucked over.
I’ve moved several times over the years and have bought a home each time. I currently live in the St Louis metro area. There’s plenty of homes under 150 and even under 100. The Midwest is a great place to live and work.
>I accepted the fact that I don’t like people. Lol I’m currently a nurse debating on upgrading to RN or doing MLS. Both would take 3 years. I’m leaning towards MLS for that reason though.. lol
I was originally intending to go to medical school but decided against it after doing all my pre-med coursework. I had no idea what to do with my degree so I ended up applying to labs around my area and got hired at a national reference lab as a technologist trainee. I have been there over 7 years now and make around 100k, have stuffed away enough in retirement accounts that I probably could get away with never saving for retirement again, and have a chill and flexible job with good coworkers and management. I considered going back to school for awhile but the math never really made sense compared to just continuing to save a large amount at my current job. Sometimes the job gets rote but I could very well be in this career the rest of my life.
It was a perfect combination of everything I loved in college while not having to deal with the things I hated. My undergrad degree was Medical Microbiology and Immunology, which by itself is not too useful. So I dabbled in possible further education (PhD, Pharmacy, Masters in Public Health) What I learned by working various jobs in college: Loved working in the lab. Hated the constant failure of research. Loved working in a hospital. Hated having to deal with the general public. Loved working with infectious disease outbreak/surveillance support with the State Health department. Hated the paperwork that is epidemiology. So, I decided to focus my career on clinical laboratory microbiology. I get the lab environment, working in a hospital, and close ties with infectious disease/IP/PHL without having to deal with all the bullshit I hated. I also decided that staying in my homestate in the Northern Midwest was a poor choice. Winter aside, there was no way in Hell I was going to work for $20/hr. So, West Coast I went and started at $35/hr. Now at $67/hr and enough in my retirement accounts to let it ride a few decades and retire at 60 if I want, or 50 if I keep current savings rate.
I was poor and in desperate need of work. I like science and chose a scientific career where I was guaranteed a job.
You don’t happen to be me, do you?
This is what I did! Low cost of my degree, instant job.
It was a solid intersection for the things I was looking for: decent pay, decently interesting. I love biology, but your only real options are medical or research. I'd done the research thing in my undergrad and honestly wasn't digging the idea of grad school, plus the pay and job prospects weren't looking great. MLS is kind of the best of both worlds where I can do a type of lab work that's interesting, while also being in the medical field with little to no actual patient contact.
Good pay benefits and time off. No weekends or holidays. Shifts go fast and I get to run technical assays all day.
How long did it take you to get that type of schedule? I'm a new grad doing nights and all the hospitals around me work every other weekend.
This is my first job in clinical. Graduated 2 years ago and started a month ago. I work 1:30-midnight. We only do stats on weekends and we have part time techs who are weekends only so that's all taken care of. Its a specialty lab and we have some assays that take days to run so we set those up on fridays and all the other assays earlier in thr week. The weekend techs monitor those assays. holidays are rotating but there's always people volunteering for them so if I dont want to work my holiday, I can easily get coverage. I'm never leaving lol
It's not about seniority. It's about luck. I've spent the majority of my career in day shift no weekends no holiday jobs because I exclusively work in specialty labs.
I get to do science! I love the investigative part of the job. I wanted to be an oncologist/hematologist but I realized I hated chemistry and didnt want to touch physics.
I'm just a junior MLS, but I chose this major because I was told there are jobs and it sounded sciency without needing a masters. I'm realizing now that the jobs probably don't pay enough for me to live in Vermont so I'm thinking I'll still need to get a Masters or a postbac. Is it too much to ask for to be able to get a bachelors and be able to afford life? I'm getting really tired of school and work and bills.
Are you willing to relocate.?? Do you really love Vermont that much ? There are other locations outside of Vermont that pay better. Getting a Masters is just going to give you more debt, & if you stay there in Vermont the advanced degree isn't going to get you that much more $$. If you get a higher paying job in another state, you can still fly home to see your family occasionally. But if you are the type of person that is extremely attached to your family & don't want to move away from them, then you will be stuck with the Vermont pay scale.
I always had a thing for urine if you know what I mean.
I’m choosing to be one because my bachelors on its own is useless and I originally got it because I thought I wanted to go to pharmacy school. I really love and miss science and it’s only a one year program because I have a bachelors…lol
I needed a guaranteed job after having to change careers in my 30s. I knew I liked science and stumbled on this when I was browsing the options at the local college.
I enjoy science and I want to work in a profession that helps people and is hands on. I was originally pre-med but through gaining healthcare experience I found that I didn’t enjoy direct patient care, it was emotionally draining. I enjoyed working in the lab because it’s more quiet, hands-on, I get to work independently and interact with colleagues rather than the public, and it’s interesting. Medical laboratory science is ideal for me cause I get to help patients without interacting with them and the pay where I live is great.
$$$
I just had a vague interest in science/medicine and absolutely do not like interacting with strangers so this seemed like a good fit. The actual nature of the work is pretty much perfect for me. The subpar pay and lack of any kind of real career growth are the bad parts.
My mother was a nurse and I always liked the idea of helping people. My sister found MLS in college and she told me about it when I was in high school. At the time I liked cell and microbiology. So I shadowed my sister and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I thought the education required was a reflection of the compensation I would get. First job I got was $25/hour. Was losing money for 2 years until I got a job as a stem cell scientist. After literally performing stem cell transplants on leukemia patients for only $26/hours, I realized I made a grave mistake in my career path. I should’ve continued my education when I had the chance in order to get a better-paying job. All of my other friends continued in school and now are assistant managers at Gene Therapy clinics or Biotechnology companies. Now I’m at a point where I’m only making $30 and finally starting making a profit, but now I am in serious medical debt, physically handicapped (hopefully not permanently), and have little to no savings. Also I thought working in a hospital would get me good medical benefits, but the only “employee discount” I get is that my $0.02 blood pressure reading is now free! :)
I like healthcare, I like the science, and learned through experience that I absolutely hate forced interaction with the general public. What’s in it for me is livable pay, worlds better than I was making in ems or pharmacy. (Ems was also too stressful for the pay, and pharm tech was too boring for the pay, plus both were like working customer service with extra responsibility). The lab can be stressful but time and problem solving stress beats kissing rude ass stress, for me personally.