Restarting from Zero
Per the title, I've kind of put myself into a rut with my career. I wasn't the best with my undergrad courses (3.1/4.0, T10 public, USA) and I don't have a good relationship with my undergrad PI (worked with them for ~2 years). Since graduating in 2024, I've been constantly applying to jobs (organic chemistry related) and landing interviews, but it's been an absolute dumpster fire. While I do well on the technical portions of the interview and think I do well with the soft skills portion, I always come short when it comes to references. I have some professors who can attest to my knowledge (specifically professors whose grad courses I did exceptionally well in), but it's the research POV that I seem to be lacking in my recommendations.
It's been hard to know where to go from here. Part of me wishes that I had taken UG more seriously, but I also know that the mental health issues I had during UG made it infinitely more difficult to be as successful as I know I could have been. Since graduating, I've taken it upon myself to focus on taking care of my mental health and recently got diagnosed with a severe case of ADHD.
One option I've been considering is going back to school, specifically for an MS in Chemistry, mostly because I know for certain that I cannot get into a PhD program with my circumstances and how programs have been slashing spots. One of the many local universities in my area offers a thesis-based program that I'm interested in. My thought process here is that I can start from the ground up – by developing a good rapport with professors and my PI, and to show that I'm capable of succeeding in further studies in organic chemistry. This option may not be the cheapest, but it's something that I know can set me back on the path to where I want to be in my career. I'd argue that the investment in this would be worth it.
All things considered, I'm interested in hearing other people's perspectives – whether it's advice or hearing about similar situations. TIA!