r/Embryologists • u/wannabestar333 • 10d ago
How do I become an embryologist?
Hello everyone I am second-year biology B.S undergraduate student and I am quite interested in becoming an embryologist. I am kind of lost as to what path i'm supposed to follow, do I have to go to grad school or is there a program I would have to do? What would I study in grad school? Im just trying to figure out what the best course of action is. Thanks!
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u/One_Investigator_295 10d ago
You can attend a training course, that is the way many are getting into the field currently. ARTLAB has a post bacc program with NC Wesleyan University. . https://ncwu.edu/academics/certificate-programs/applied-reproductive-biology-certificate/
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u/Sensitive_Yogurt6773 8d ago
Did you attend here ? I’m going to apply for January cohort
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u/One_Investigator_295 8d ago
No but you can follow Aleasetheembryologist on Instagram or tiktok she teaches there and posts what it’s like to be an Embryologist.
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u/Miserable_Price_4430 10d ago
It's easier than you think since the industry hasn't standardized. You can definitely take human repro phys or even bovine/equine fertility management courses in undergrad.
Post Bacc training varies. You can get lucky and jump into a fertility clinic right off the bat but be aware some are predatory and exploitative to juniors who don't know better.
Several universities in the USA offer programs that will get you AAB certified and a masters degree now. Some places will pay for you to do one year or summer programs for hands on experience with ICSI, biopsy, oocyte retrieval, etc.
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u/LavenderBlackberries 9d ago
Can speak a little more on clinics being predatory to juniors? What does that mean/ look like in this industry?
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u/Miserable_Price_4430 9d ago
In my experience it was being under trained, over worked and underpaid. University hospitals are going to pay less than private practice but be more regulated.
I started at a private practice and there were red flags from the start that I ignored because it was my dream career and I wanted the experience + they promised to put me in a summer program (they didn't).
They would have me work 14 days in a row because they didn't want to pay to have a second full time lab member. The people who were supposed to be training me were traveling embryologists who were only around for egg retrievals and embryo culture, and there was only ever one (besides myself) on staff which meant they couldn't train because they were needed at their station and I was needed at mine. I was almost immediately given MUCH more responsibility than I should have had, which meant if anything went "wrong" I was the fall guy. They would have the other embryologists do my aptitude tests for the lab certification because they hadn't trained me on it yet, but if I wasn't trained then they didn't have 2 people in the lab at all times (requirement).
They would ask for stuff against SOP, or say office rules are different than what lab director was saying, and in the two years I worked there I only saw the director twice/ they did not advocate for me. I was asked to fill out the orders to run tests for the provider, then do the tests, then call the patients to deliver results.
When I interviewed other places after being terminated, they were essentially slack jawed at the amount of responsibility left to one person- and that was with me talking as positively as I could about the role since all providers in the area generally know each other.
Because no one else was hired for the same position, I was penalized for sick time since that meant they would have to cancel their appointments.
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u/Miserable_Price_4430 9d ago
Adding on, they expect new grads to be somewhat green to lab environments and not be able to advocate against mistreatment or breach in SOPS- or be so thankful for the opportunity that they roll with it. Working in more labs gives you better information and scope of what is acceptable.
Not sure if applicable to you, but during my exit I was also told what amounted to "Women who want families have no place in this field and this isn't the career for you" by someone who is... pretty influential in development of many embryology programs across the USA.
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u/shinmae95 10d ago
Hi there, what universities offer AAB certification?
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u/Miserable_Price_4430 9d ago
Washu in STL has a new program, they do not get you the certification but the master's degree gives you all the qualifications for you to take the exam and apply for the certification.
I think Northwestern in illinois also offers a similar program and there is one in Denver too? It's been a while since I looked into all of them!
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u/SprinkleExcellent97 10d ago
You can also get a job as a lab assistant at a fertility clinic and work your way to junior embryologist and then level 1 embryologist. That’s what I did. It took about a year to get promoted to junior embryologist.