hi everyone. this might be a long one, but please bear with me.
i (26f) got my degree in forensic science in december 2021. by the time i was deep in my major i knew i didn’t want to be a forensic scientist, but i had a natural science degree from a big school which i figured would be good enough for the lab jobs i thought i wanted. i go on to start my first job in january 2022 as a chemist in my hometown. i absolutely hated it. i’m there for almost 2 years when i get laid off in november of 2023.
while i was unemployed, i discovered that i couldn’t get my application through anywhere bc i didn’t have that standard 2 years lab experience (literally 1 month short). bc i have bills that needed paying, i start applying to anything that even has a remote qualification. luckily i get a job offer to be a quality assurance and regulatory specialist at a small food manufacturing company. i’m completely unqualified but the boss says hey ill teach you! we’ll get you qualified and certified!
i’ve been here for a full year now. i’ve discovered i strongly dislike the industry. i like my boss and i like my salary. i don’t love the work or really most of the other people. i feel like im stuck and i don’t know what to do next. i like having a desk job and doing QA like tasks. i think what i want to do is QA but for chemists instead (so more like data review). all those jobs require 2 years lab experience. the question here is what do i do? i feel like ive flipped around so much—forensic science, chemist, regulatory specialist—that now my background is so random and not cohesive that it looks bad to recruiters or potential employers. any advice here? thanks!