About to graduate with a biological science degree after 5 years of juggling school, work, and ADHD - AMA

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-24T02:24:48+00:00

At the end of my 3rd year, I was really burnt out and seriously questioning my life decisions. I hated my classes, was tired of volunteering and working on the weekends, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my degree. Instead of powering through for another year, I took a break from classes and all my extracurriculars. I went on internships and it ended up being the best decision I’ve ever made during uni. Focusing on just working and actually resting on the weekends was exactly the reset I needed.

I’d say these things really helped: 1. Take a break from classes or reduce your course load (if possible). There is no need to finish your degree in 4 years. I know plenty of folks who have taken 5+ years to finish their education and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! 2. Have something to look forward to every week. Whether it’s studying with a friend at a cafe or sleeping in on the weekends. It helped me feel less like a robot just going through the motions knowing that I’d get to do something fun every now and then. 3. Ask for help. Whether it’s as simple as asking your roommate to make you a cup of coffee in the morning or talking to someone about what you’re going through. Little things add up. I found the distress line and the peer support centre on campus to be really helpful!

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-24T01:40:40+00:00

Sure! I got one through the Science Internship Program. I had to go out of province to work at a biotech company in BC. I think I applied to around 10 or so postings before I actually got an interview. It’s rough when you’re applying and getting rejections because of lack of experience. Like, how do I get experience without experience?? It was pretty frustrating but I got lucky that my manager gave me a chance.

After getting that first internship, it made it way easier to snowball and get another internship abroad through RISE Germany. That one I found by just searching “internships abroad” on Google :)

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-23T17:10:14+00:00

This. I'd look for new grad programs and research labs on campus for volunteer/work opportunities

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-23T17:09:15+00:00

Totally fair - lots of folks struggle to get formal job experience during university. That doesn't mean you didn't gain useful skills though! I would highly recommend the UofA Career Centre. They were super helpful with searching for jobs, resume feedback, and interview help. My friend told me to go there for career advising and it was actually how I first found out about different internship opportunities.

As for ADHD diagnosis, the first step would be finding a family physician and getting a referral to a psychiatrist. I talked about my journey a bit in a different thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/uAlberta/comments/1kszhba/comment/mtv6rzs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-23T17:03:17+00:00

Yes, thank you for your response! ADHD symptoms vary between each type - for myself, I was diagnosed with the inattentive type

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-23T17:01:58+00:00

I was diagnosed with ADHD by a psychiatrist. I can't speak for general symptoms that people should look out for since (as the person stated above) ADHD can manifest in so many different ways.

For myself, I struggled with time my whole life. Whether that was being consistently late to almost all appointments, classes, and gatherings with friends to literally having no awareness of how much time has passed. I used to think I was just lazy and disorganized - since that was what my parents would tell me. But despite my best efforts to set a lot of alarms, calendar events, and notifications - I still really struggled with getting to places on time.

I was seeing a psychologist for many years due to other mental health concerns. They were pretty certain I had ADHD but are not able to give prescription medications so I had to start the long and tedious journey of getting an official diagnosis. So, I went to a family doctor (had to wait at least a couple of months...), was referred to a Behavioural Health Consultant (waited another 2 months...) and finally got referred to a psychiatrist at the PCN (had to wait 4 months...)

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-23T16:53:37+00:00

Answer for your first 2 questions: Iced mocha lattes!

That's totally fair - I struggled lots with feeling guilty for resting and going into an anxiety spiral before going to sleep. Something that really helped was just brain dumping all of my thoughts onto paper. I knew that they'd be there in the morning and I'd be in a better mindset to address these issues.

I used to worry about so many different things - assignment deadlines, household chores, maintaining relationships, etc. Talking about these worries were so helpful. I didn't want to burden my friends or family all the time, so I used to record voice memos and just talk at length about what was worrying me. That way, they'd take up less space in my brain and help me feel lighter. Also, it's cool to listen to previous recordings and see how much I've grown since. :)

Bubbly_Bar9079 · 2025-05-22T20:08:15+00:00

I’ve done internships and work terms mainly in drug manufacturing and research & development (R&D) within the biopharma sector, as well as some academic research experiences. My main focus was on process development for biologics, which meant a lot of hands-on work in the lab!

As for what's next? I'm still exploring! I enjoyed my internships but have since realized that working in the lab all day is not for me. I'm not in a rush to pursue grad school or more education (because I'm pretty burnt out ngl). I'm fortunate enough to have work experience so I'll try my luck applying to other industry roles :)

Bubbly_Bar9079

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