Hello!

I'm 30 yrs old and have been in tech for the last 10 years, starting in IT and moving into software engineering. When I went back to school at 26 to get my BS in Comp Sci, I got bit by the research bug. I participated in undergraduate research which extended into my senior project. In short, I helped develop a systems biology package used to stochastically simulate biochemical systems. Then I ended up actually using it to help an epidemiologist study the pathogenesis of airborne anthrax infections. I wrote my senior thesis on this from a CS perspective, and my PI was looking into journals we could potentially submit to, but the timing didn't work out for me. Last I heard that project was dead in the water after I graduated, but I digress.

Ever since then, all I've wanted to do is more science. Right after graduation, I ended up landing a well-paying software engineer job at a tech company. Fast-forward to a few months ago, and I was laid off due to covid. The money wasn't worth the stress and now I'm struggling to find meaning in pursuing anything else except for a science-related career. So basically I'm at a cross-roads, toying with the idea of moving into data science/analysis (ideally within a biotech company) with the longer-term goal of getting an MS in Bioinformatics online (JHU seems like a nice program).

Here's sorta the kicker for me. I really want to be able to work remotely. I have a disability that makes being in office settings daily for the long-term difficult. This wasn't too big of an issue for me prior to the pandemic, but it has proven more difficult now that everyone else is interested in working remotely too. I do live in the Research Triangle region of NC (Duke, Chapel Hill & NC State plus tons of biotech companies), so going into the office a few times per month could work too. Anyway, I'd hate to start getting my hopes up and making long-term career plans if this just isn't going to be a feasible option, so I was hoping to hear from folks in the field.