(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This post is one of those interviews, giving the responses of Dr. Patricia Crotwell of the Sanford Cytogenetics Laboratory.)
1) What is your non-academic job?
I am the director of a clinical cytogenetics laboratory. In the lab, we culture prenatal (amniocytes, chorionic villi) and postnatal (blood, solid tissue, bone marrow) specimens for chromosome studies. The lab is not a research-focused lab. Instead, we used established practices to ensure reliable, accurate results for the patients and the providers who order the tests. Patients range from adults with cancer to children with congenital heart defects to women who are pregnant who want or need information about the baby they carry, among many others. We do not typically see patients in the lab, instead, we see and work with the specimen that was collected from the patient.
2) What is your science background?
I have a BS and MS in Marine Biology (now a hobby), a PhD in Biology, and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Cytogenetics. To be a lab director in Cytogenetics or Molecular Genetics, either a PhD or an MD (or both) degree is required. To work *in* a lab like this, technologists typically need a BS, often in Biology or a similar field. Training and experience are always preferred, but in a small state like South Dakota, we often have to train our technologists from scratch.
3) What led you to this job?
I came to this position in a round-about way. I studied marine biology as an undergrad and MS student. My PhD was in biology, where I worked on the development of the skeleton. The fish skeleton, that is. But there is a huge amount of overlap with the human skeleton, since the gene networks that drive development are highly conserved across the animal kingdom. Many of the genes I worked on in zebrafish are involved in well-described human skeletal dysplasias, so that is an area of interest to me still. I was asked by the former director of this lab if I'd be interested in taking over the lab when she retired. I enjoy the work, and the people I work with are wonderful. Overall, it was a lot of work to get here, with some timely luck thrown in.
4) What's your work environment like?
The lab is a few interconnected rooms, which are devoted to tissue culture (sterile technique required), slide preparation and microscopy, and computer analysis. A good technologist can move from doing bench work to the microscope to the computer, and back, with pauses to answer the phone as necessary. We get all sorts of phone calls, and see all sorts of things at the 'scope. Not everyone is suited for lab work, but in my lab, we all feel fortunate that we work well together and enjoy what we do.
5) What do you do in a typical day?
I write up and sign out cases, attend meetings, read cases at the microscope, ensure that the lab remains compliant with state and federal regulations, discuss abnormal results with pathologists, geneticists, genetic counselors, etc., and cover the lab when the technologists are out for lunch, among other things. I do not do very much bench work these days, but the technologists do, from setting up specimens to harvesting them, preparing the slides, etc. A typical day also involved preparing and validating solutions, and even autoclaving biohazards (all human specimens are considered to be biohazards) so that they can be disposed of safely.
6) How does your science background help you in your job?
A strong foundation in science impacts every part of my day. From writing a clear and understandable description of an abnormal result, to preparing a 10% solution for use in tissue culture, I use what I learned in classes ranging from chemistry 101 to biochemical genetics daily. Also of great use are the research skills I picked up over the years! Google is helpful, but knowing how to use other information databases is important as well.
7) If a current college student wanted to get a job like yours, how should they go about it?
First decide if you'd like to run a lab, which requires a PhD or an MD, or if you'd like to work in one. Touring a lab is a way to see a lab and its people in action, to get an idea if it is something that appeals to you. Lab work often requires close attention to detail, and precise methods. If that seems constraining or boring, lab work might not be for you . . . There are training programs for cytogenetic technologists. Try http://www.mayo.edu/mshs/cytogen-career.html or http://www.mshealthcareers.com/careers/cytogenetictechnologist.htm for additional information.
8) What's the most important thing you learned from science?
Question everything. It is the people who ask questions such as "But how do you know that?" or "How does that work?" or "Why is that so?" that have made differences large and small in our understanding of the world around us. Critical thinking skills are important to your success in science, regardless of your field. I also learned 'don't give up!', which was and is very important when I encounter obstacles.
9) What advice would you give to young science students trying to plan their careers?
Be flexible! I of course respect people who decide on their course in life early, and stick to it to the end of a long and productive career. However, as much as I love marine biology, it was not a career that actually suited me. I would never have dreamed when I was an undergraduate student that working in a lab would be so satisfying, fascinating, and productive.
10) (Totally Optional Question) What's the pay like?
Cytogenetic technologists (BS, some MS, and occasional BA) make ~30K to 50K, with an average of ~42K. Lab Directors (PhD and MD) make ~80K to 160K+, with an average of ~120K, and with MDs making more than PhDs in general.
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I should mention that having a helpful and dedicated PhD advisor made a big difference for me as well. She is how I first found out about the lab!
Posted by: Patricia Crotwell | July 22, 2009 3:02 PM