About Me

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I am currently a graduate student in the "Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics" PhD program at UC-Riverside.

One of my primary goals in returning to graduate school is to be able to improve my yearly reviews for a job where a Master's Degree is the minimum requirement but a PhD is also OK. For example, I believe that a fair workload can be defined for a job where I am a Bioinformatics Specialist with a salary of $60,000-$70,000 per year. My guess is that I may not be learning from past experiences if I tried to work in a core facility again, so I hope it is possible to work within an individual lab (if the PI is a good match).

Overall, I have found UCR to be an excellent fit for accomplishing most of my professional goals set for graduate school. However, I believe there is important room for improvement in more clearly and precisely setting expectations for myself, if it is possible to achieve my primary goal of being able to have a research job without compromising anything important.

I believe that some interpersonal skills that I am improving can also help in non-research settings, and I believe it is important to not underestimate the value of jobs that do not require a PhD or Master's Degree. For example, I believe that the goals defined on my UCR Handshake Profile can have both long-term and short-term benefits:

Long-Term Non-Research Employment Benefits

• I hope that diversifying options (in non-profit settings) may help with avoiding a job that is not truly a good fit for me.
• For example, if I have a non-research job for ~5 years after graduation but I can then find a job in a lab that is a good match, then I consider that a success with a primary goal in returning to graduate school.

Short-Term Non-Research Employment Benefits

• As long as I have support in Spring quarter, I can keep Health Insurance Benefits (GSHIP) during the Summer quarter.
• In Summer 2025 and Summer 2026, I declined my GSR without a TAship (and I supported myself using my savings). However, in future quarters, I need employment income.