Later, I received a merit-based government scholarship and the Erasmus Mundus scholarship (European Union) to finish my master's in animal breeding and genetics in Holland and Norway. It was here, for the first time, that I got hooked on bioinformatics, which was only in its nascent stage (the year 2010). From there, I continued my journey to a Ph.D. and became an amateur bioinformatician. I am "a molecular biologist who knows some bioinformatics." That's how I introduce myself. One needs to achieve so much to become a professional bioinformatician. Bioinformatics is a continuous learning experience. You cannot relax anytime through your journey, making this job fun.
DKM: As a child, I was drawn to biological systems. I remember hunting crickets and other bugs to feed my pets to watch them interact. I also often went to a lake near my home to try catching fish using homemade traps instead of a fishing rod; it was not to hurt the fish but to catch them to see how they looked and behaved. I also enjoyed technology and computers and would spend a lot of time playing computer games, exploring ways of creating a website, and learning how to download music (before audio and video streaming).
During my teenage years, I worked at a newsstand, at the finance office of a gas station, and had an internship at a court to figure out that I did not want an office job. Although my interest in computers would have put me in a good starting position at those jobs, I wanted to try some field work in biology.
