In hindsight, some career moves look logical. But when you pursue those moves, things often feel uncertain, messy, and far from comfortable.
My second job in pharma was on the production floor of a plant making tablets, creams, and injectables. It was intense, precise work—but I loved how hands-on it was. The smell of solvents, the rhythm of the machines, the constant awareness that quality mattered.
At the same time, I was diving deep into pharmaceutical sciences and chemistry—eventually becoming an assistant professor at a Brazilian university. That should have been enough, nonetheless I needed more.
I wanted to build solid knowledge about pharmacology and pharmacokinetics, delving in not only skills about manufacturing and quality of medicines. I was interested in learning how innovative medicines could be developed to fulfill unmet patient needs. So, I decided to engage in something that felt like a huge risk: I enrolled in medical school.
It wasn’t easy. My life turned upside down, I had to juggle with working, teaching, studying medicine. Eventually I completed my clinical training and specialization. I got married during that time, too. It was a season full of ambition, exhaustion, and constant questioning.
That leap opened the door to my third role in the industry—this time as a physician. I began working in clinical trials, focusing on CNS and hypertension. Not long after, I found myself helping resolve difficult regulatory challenges in Brazil, at a time when the framework was still evolving. There was no roadmap. We were helping create it.
Looking back, I didn’t have a perfect plan. But I had a sense of purpose. And that made the discomfort worth it.
Here’s what I’ve learned along the way:
- Growth doesn’t happen inside the comfort zone.
- You don’t need certainty to move forward—just clarity on why you’re moving.
- You don’t need all the answers to open a new chapter—just the courage to ask better questions.
- We don’t need a green light to grow—real progress begins when we allow ourselves to stumble, learn, and keep moving forward.
In my next post, I’ll share how these experiences prepared me to step into global roles—navigating regulatory complexity across countries and cultures.
If you’ve ever taken on too much—and somehow grown through it—I’d love to hear how you did it.
