Podcast: Talking Technicians Olga at Tenaya Therapeutics

Talking Technicians has posted yet another informative and compelling interview.  In Season 3, Episode 7, host Peter Kazarinoff interviewed Olga who works as a Research Assistant at Tenaya Therapeutics.  Olga earned her AA at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) and remembers her hardest class as one in which she had to present information about her internship with both clarity and accuracy. But she also said it was great experience at the college, and it really helped her find a place in a career that fits her passion--to help people. 

She is currently enrolled part-time in Arizona State University's online Biochemistry program with one more year to go in order to get her Bachelor's degree and hopefully be able to move to a Research Associate position at Tenaya. Olga really likes her job, she says that it has flexible hours and there is something "new every day". She believes that people in her type of position could make between $50K and $72K depending on experience and technical skills. Olga has already worked in academic research (mostly tissue culture), and in manufacturing (plasmid manufacturing) so she brings a breadth of knowledge to her current position.

Olga credits her chemistry teacher at CCSF in particular for motivating her to enroll in ASU, and wants current students, or people who are thinking about transitioning to biotech to realize that the resources are out their to make the move. She encourages everyone to consider biotech, even if "they don't see a lot of themselves in the industry" because by joining the biotech community, new members can help make it more welcoming and comfortable for the next person thinking about making the move!

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