The prospect of changing careers can be both exhilarating and daunting but for most it’s a positive experience. If you’ve already targeted the new career you want to pursue, don’t become dissuaded by the challenges the career-change process presents.
For Harvey Suski, the decision to change careers was obvious. Harvey worked as a Senior Technologist in the Chemistry Department at the Westman Lab in Brandon, Manitoba. In addition to fulfilling his supervisory and bench duties, he was responsible for training students from Red River College in their chemistry clinical rotation. This is one of the areas where Harvey discovered his passion for teaching and in 2012 he made the transition from the bench to the classroom.
Harvey now works as an Instructor of Medical Laboratory Sciences at Red River College in Winnipeg, Manitoba. “I have always taken a keen interest in educating students and I saw teaching as an exciting opportunity to pass my knowledge and experience of working in the lab onto others who are entering into the field.”
After working in the lab for over 20 years, Harvey knew his decision to switch careers was going to have its challenges. One of which, was moving his family to Winnipeg to begin his journey as an educator. Within his first few weeks, he quickly came to realize how time consuming the job would be.
Some weeks were much busier than others; preparing lectures and labs, marking papers, participating in committee work, all while keeping up with his other obligations. “One of the most challenging parts was learning the theoretical knowledge well enough to teach it to others,” says Harvey, “being able to organize courses and teaching materials so they can be taught in a clear, concise and easy to understand manner was extremely important.”
As challenging as it was during the transition, it most definitely had its rewards. “Having the opportunity to meet students at this part of their lives as they embark in a new career has to be one of the most rewarding parts of teaching,” Harvey adds, “getting to work in an exciting college environment is really refreshing.” But the students weren’t the only fulfilling aspects of the job. Harvey sits on several committees which allows him to interact with a large number of people within medical laboratory science. He also has the opportunity to take advantage of educational opportunities such as the Certificate of Adult Education, which he is currently working toward obtaining.
Lab work and teaching were more similar than expected. Harvey was able to see similarities in both careers. His role in the lab training clinical students and being responsible for instructing students in the classroom and labs was something he could easily relate to. He also found similarities in the body of knowledge, performing many of the same manual methods and worked with similar automation. He was able to bring a lot of his knowledge and experiences with him when he left the lab. Harvey also noticed the differences in each career. He was now faced with education responsibilities as opposed to lab responsibilities. He was no longer responsible for the development of SOPs, monitoring internal lab QC or proficiency testing, nor was he performing testing on patient samples with actual results. Harvey states, “I have to say, one of the things I miss is the clinical connection with access to the latest information and technology.”
Does he miss working in the lab? Will he ever go back? “Never say never, because you never know what the future holds,” says Harvey, “but with over 25 years of clinical experience, I would probably like to end my career teaching students since it’s something I’ve come to truly enjoy.”
With years of experience both inside and outside the lab, Harvey offers his advice to those who are looking to move outside the lab. “Be prepared to put in significant time and effort, especially in the first few years when there is much to do and learn.”
The medical laboratory profession offers many unique career opportunities in and outside of the lab. A transition to a new career can be successful if you take advantage of your current skills, use your past experiences as a reference and leverage your professional networks.
Have you transitioned from a career inside the lab to outside? What advice do you offer? What helped make it a smooth transition? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.