[The JD]

I'm a microbiologist. It started as a part time position 21 years ago... back then, I wanted to be a rock star (quit laughing, I'm serious), and was looking for a part time position that would supplement the (lack of) income from my every-weekend touring and gigging schedule. But then the band broke up, and my supplementary part time position became a permanent full-time position. I'm pretty sure my mom was turning cart-wheels in her front yard that day.

I did go back to get a masters in my field, but nothing beats on-the-job experience. I've recently noticed I'm the go-to person in the lab- when others are having problems identifying or isolating an organism, I'm the the one called in to help. It seems I've picked up a hell of a lot of obscure-yet-practical knowledge while I was eking out my own way in a field I didn't mean to enter.