One of the first things we heard in Salzburg was that we should try to think “out of the box”.
I took this motto to heart and stepped “out of my box” by making an internship at Roche. Trained as an organic chemist and in the middle of my PhD, I stopped working and wanted to experience something completely new. My old “box” was the University lab, making synthesis, studying organic chemistry, training students. The new experience was an internship in the Pharma Research Scientific Communication in Basel. No longer chemistry and lab work, all this replaced with communication, newsletters, information gathering, on top of meeting new people and discovering a new city.
My old “box” meant security, being surrounded by people I know, doing work I was familiar with, with the hope that one day it will all lead to a secure job. This was the “normal” path which was foreseen, the rational one. Following this path means limiting myself, not seeing what’s happening outside of this path. After following this path for several years I asked myself, why not take (maybe) the last opportunity to just look what may be lying beyond? Making an internship means you can always come back to your old way, but during this period, it allows you to look around, to see what is out there and maybe discover something new, perhaps even find some answers.
I was lucky to find an internship position with the help of Niggi Iberg here at Roche in Basel. Under the very friendly supervision of Sabine Päuser I learned how a newsletter is made, how to write an article, where one obtains information. I read many papers and learnt things on topics I never even heard of! I also had the opportunity to attend some interesting talks and lectures within Roche. Besides the “scientific work” I had the chance to meet a lot of people with different backgrounds. Those people showed me that there are many possibilities and options for future careers. I also could get an idea what it’s like to work in a large company such as Roche as well as simply being allowed to live in this beautiful town and to come in contact with the Swiss culture and people.
After this experience, my advice to all of you:
If you ever have the opportunity to step out of your “box”…..take it!
Carolin Ammer
Roche Continents Participant, 2008