My Dream Job: Am I Choosing the Right Path for My Future?

There are some questions that always bother or are asked to 12th grade students; what would they like to be? What kind of thing would they love to do for the rest of their life? I am now a 12th grader, so the questions also bother me everyday.

Those are simple questions; well, many people say questions are always simple, what's hard are the answers. Many people of my age wonder in every single day of their study in the grade; what subject do they like the most? In what field are they good at? Schools also perform psychotests for their students to help them choose the right path for their future. To make sure that whatever the choice, the students choose it by knowing the consequences, by already thinking of everything that could possibly happen in the future. I believe that by knowing our interest and talent, we could consider things better.

A bioengineering lab in Sabancı University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Source: http://bio.sabanciuniv.edu/en/research/labs/signal-transduction-and-biotechnology

How about me? Well, sometimes I hope I could be those students who don't know what major they will choose so that I could accept the consideration of the others regarding my future. I already know what subject I like the most, Biology. I believe that by loving a subject as much as I love Biology, I will be able to improve myself at it everyday. Oh, I even know what branch I love the most in the subject; it's bioengineering. Biosynthetic. I love to work with DNAs and stuffs, it's just so challenging to me. I love the fact that by learning about it, I could change the world so drastically. Do you know that now there's a technology that could engineer a man's DNA that curing inherited diseases is not impossible anymore? These kind of news, of things... they seem so amazing to me. I'd like to be one of those people who invented those kind of things in the future. Yes, I'd like to be a scientist. I'd like to be an engineer in biosynthetic. That is really my dream job.

I'm so grateful that I am given the opportunity to explore my knowledge in Biology since I was in elementary. I read books; quite many books about Biology, but I didn't realize that I love the subject so much until I got to represent my school (and later, my province), in National Science Olympiad (Olimpiade Sains Nasional or often abbreviated as OSN). I had competed in Biology Olympiad for four years; 2015 was my last year, and now I often feel that I miss it so much. Not just the atmosphere of the Olympiad, but also the times I got to study Biology. I'm starting to feel like, yeah, Adriana, that's your path.

The CRISPR Genome Editing method uses this plasmid.
Plasmid is a small circular DNA in bacteria that is often
used as a media in bioengineering. These kind of things
interest me a lot. So small, but changing the world so big.

Source: http://www.scbt.com/datasheet-418922-control-crispr-cas9-plasmid.html

From the experience, I know that I'm not really good in Animals' Anatomy and Physiology, the subject that from what I know is all being the doctor about. Maybe not "not good", but I'm just not really into it. When I study about it, I don't feel the excitement as much as I do when I study Molecular Biology, a branch that is related to bioengineering and biosynthetic. People think differently, though, they think by loving Biology, I would make a good doctor. The truth is, maybe I would be a good one, but I'm still asking myself until now, would I do the job happily? One had said, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." What would I feel if I chose to be a doctor? Maybe I would succeed, but would I think at the same time, what would happen if I chose biosynthetic instead of studying in medical school?

When I ask for people's advice, most of them suggest me to be an engineer in biomedicine. That's a lot different from my dream job; what students learn in that branch are mostly Physics and Mathematics. I searched the curriculum myself, and really, it is different.

Someone once said to me when he's advicing me about my future, "For me, being a doctor is what I am destined for. The reason why I was born." He's also a 12th grader, and I'm always envious of people like him for the fact that what they would like to be is supported by people. I could be anything, but if I would like to be a bioengineer, I have to admit that it will be easier for me if I moved to other country. I have never thought about not living here, in my home country, Indonesia. I love this country as much as I love Biology, and I always think that there is no country as convenient as Indonesia no matter how its condition is. I also would like to make Indonesia better in the future, so leaving it is perhaps my last choice.

I don't give up that easy, though. What I'm choosing as my job in the future is perhaps the win-win solution; I'd like to be a scientist doctor. Being a specialist in internal medicine seems quite interesting for me, but at the moment I'm interested in being a neurologist and to learn about Brain and Cognitive Science. People say that I'm wasting my time studying in medical school if I choose the path, but at least I will be able to do two things I really would like to do: to do what I love, and at the same time, do what my home country needs.

Bismillaahirrahmaanirrahiim. I hope I will be able to feel sure about my choice as soon as possible. What's more important, I also hope it is really the right path for my future. Aamiin.