Agnesa Avenesian
Allergan
Irvine, CA USA
"I got three years of ‘no's’ before I got a yes. Don’t give up and don’t let people discourage you. If doors close, it is for a reason. Others will open."
Career Roadmap
Agnesa's work combines: Science, Business, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Biology
University of California, Irvine
Graduate Degree
Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of California, Irvine
Here's the path I recommend for someone who wants to be a Medical Science Liaison-Facial Aesthetics:
Bachelor's Degree: Biology
Graduate Degree: Pharmacology and Toxicology
Learn more about different paths to this career
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I grew up loving science and always assumed I would go into a field in medicine.
2.
Attended the University of California, Irvine (UCI) where I majored in biology on a pre-med track.
3.
While in college, I had the opportunity to get involved in research projects focused on longevity and human lifespans and fell in love with all of the aspects of research.
4.
After graduating with my bachelor’s degree in biology, I decided not to go to medical school and instead continued on at UCI where I eventually earned my doctorate in pharmacology and toxicology.
5.
I initially struggled to find work right after receiving my doctorate because I didn’t have a lot of work experience.
6.
Gained experience by working as a medical scientist in the industry for a while at companies such as Ambry Genetics and Bio-Rad Laboratories.
7.
After about three years of working as a scientist, I was able to transfer into my dream role as a medical science liaison for Allergen.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
I've worked so hard for this degree and no one is responding to me. I'm never going to find work.
How I responded:
It can be really demoralizing going through that typical job hunt process after graduating from college. You know you are qualified, but you can't even get an interview. I reached out to mentors for advice and learned that it wasn't because of me, it was just how I was approaching the whole situation. I tried a different approach and it worked! I had to focus on getting internal referrals and persevering.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Finding work out of college is really hard. I went through a bad period where I was super demoralized and crushed by the whole experience. My mentors helped me reframe my approach.
When I became a mother, I dealt with this sharp identity shift and had to learn how to satisfy both being a mom and being a scientist. I reached out to people going through the same things in order to learn how to navigate it all.