Katie,

With your lab experience and BA degree I would strongly recommend you become
HTL certified. The majority of your potential competitors for advertised
histology positions will be certified and you need to level the playing
field. 

An advanced degree will certainly put you at an advantage, open new doors
and reflect your commitment to expand and intensify your knowledge base.
Therefore, it makes you a more attractive candidate. It is never too late to
return to the classroom, but the sooner "someday" comes the better!  Many
universities have programs in place that aid employees seeking to further
their education, both financially and with regard to scheduling your time.
In fact, they would be foolish not to support such an employee. Personally,
I took advantage of such a program to obtain a doctorate degree some 13 yrs.
after completing my undergraduate education and becoming HTL certified. 
Furthermore, the demand is growing for those with combined histology and
molecular biology backgrounds. Many have experience in one or the other, but
few have both. Fields such as Pharmacology,  Genetics, Infectious Disease,
Immunology, and of course Pathology need people with the necessary skills to
perform tissue based assays correlating both nucleic acid and protein
expression data (read ISH,IHC). I would urge you to persue a Master's in
molecular biology and obtain your HTL ASCP certification. Bring your
histology skills into your Master's project. In the long run you will
benefit by the ever-expanding opportunities for which you will be qualified
as well as the accompanying financial rewards.

Many molecular biologists are clueless about basic histology, and are
impressed when someone can take their experiments out of the microfuge tube,
or gel, and into the cells and tissues where the real biology is.
Conversely, some histologists may be somewhat naive about many aspects of
molecular biology and would benefit, in today's job market, by diversifying
their skills .

Good luck,
Brett


Brett M. Connolly, HTL, Ph.D.
Merck Research Laboratories
Dept. of Human Genetics
WP26A-3000
P.O. Box 4
Sumneytown Pike & Broad St.
West Point, PA 19486
ph.215-652-2501
FAX. 215-652-2075
email:brett_connolly@merck.com


> ----------
> From: 	Katie B
> Sent: 	Friday, April 9, 1999 8:06 AM
> To: 	Histonet Server
> Subject: 	Degrees and credentials
> 
> A couple of questions:
> 
> 1) If other histonetters have a Master's degree what
> field did they go into?  (I'm trying to decide if I
> want to go back to school "someday".)
> 
> 2) If I have 6 years lab experience (with the main
> focus on histology and molecular bio) and a BA, but no
> histo credentials, would I be eligible for a job
> opening that is advertised as requiring a HT or HTL?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> 
> ===
> Catherine "Katie" Bresee Bennett
> Laboratory for Experimental Pathology
> Department of Veterinary Pathology
> Michigan State University
> 
> *new* e-mail: bresee98@yahoo.com
> 
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