Regret your science degree? Startup founder says you’re not as stuck as you think

Many young professionals, including those with today’s sought-after science degrees, regret their choice of subject at university. 

They feel trapped by the belief that they must follow a predetermined career path — science degrees lead to science jobs in research or industry. To them, it seems as if there’s no room to break free from this limitation.

Only 15% of us feel engaged in our day-to-day work, according to Gallup’s most recent report. This means that 85% of us are not fully satisfied with our current roles and careers, highlighting a widespread disconnect between what we do and what truly excites us.

But what if graduates of science degrees experimented with job roles? Joy Q. Wang seemed to understand that her decision to study science at university did not rigidly bind her to a life spent in lab coats.

Her future can be more fluid — and include exploring roles in digital marketing, tech, and entrepreneurship. She even won a hackathon, co-founded startups, took part in “The Apprentice: ONE Championship”, and now has her own e-commerce business.

Her journey shows that 85% of dissatisfied workers need not stay uninspired by their job forever.

Joy studied Anatomy and Cell Biology but found her passion in marketing, tech, and fashion. Source: Joy Q. Wang

From China to Canada

After Joy was born in Suzhou, China, her parents moved to Nagano, Japan, to pursue their master’s and PhD degrees, leaving her with her grandparents for most of her early years.

Though she visited them every summer, her relationship with her parents wasn’t as close as she would have liked. Her parents saw this, and later, when they immigrated to Canada, they did so as a whole family, aiming to bridge the gap between them.

The move to Canada brought with it a world of unfamiliarity. Everything from the land to the people and the culture was new to Joy. She didn’t speak much English at first, but within a year, she was fluent. “I quickly caught on after a year and became fluent because of music and that I played a lot during the summers with my neighbours’ kids,” she says. 

While the slower pace of life in Canada was a relief for Joy, it brought new challenges for her parents. Despite their academic credentials, they were forced to start their careers from scratch, a difficult adjustment that added strain to an already complicated transition.

While her parents were working, Joy had to care for her younger brother, who was 10 years younger than her. This forced her to mature much faster than her peers, and she shouldered burdens that most teenagers may never experience.

With her parents pursuing advanced degrees, Joy spent seven years in her grandparents’ care. Source: Joy Q. Wang

A not-so-straight path to graduating with a science degree in Canada

Growing up in a household where education was highly valued, Joy’s parents had clear expectations for her future. They wanted her to become a doctor, lawyer, or dentist, professions they considered prestigious.

But Joy didn’t share their views. She recognised that while these careers were respected, they came with sacrifices that her parents perhaps didn’t fully understand. “To them, having a bachelor’s degree was probably the bare minimum,” she says. 

For Joy, a university degree wasn’t the end-all; it was just a stepping stone. While she agreed that higher education can help people get started, she didn’t believe it was necessary for everyone. 

“I agree that you do need one to get your feet off the ground, but it’s not necessary if you know what you want to do in life,” she says. “For me, I didn’t, so I found that going to university was such a great way to broaden your view of the world and explore all the different career paths and what you can do in life instead of the typical jobs you hear of.”

After high school, Joy enrolled in McGill University’s Bachelor of Science in Anatomy and Cell Biology programme. Her decision was influenced partly by her parents’ wishes for her to pursue a medical career and partly because of her success in high school biology and chemistry. Though she had the option to attend a university in British Columbia, she chose McGill to experience life outside of her familiar environment. 

“Having gone to McGill was probably the best decision I ever made for myself,” she says. “I really loved my time there, the people I met from all over the world, and independence from living by myself.”

Joy lives by the mantra: If you don’t ask, you don’t know — whether in career, connections, or daily life, she believes in the power of simply asking. Source: Joy Q. Wang

However, Joy soon realised she wasn’t as suited to the programme as she had hoped. After failing a few courses, she had to reassess her path. In her third year, she started taking business and computer science classes as part of her biotechnology minor, which opened up new doors in business and technology. 

She still graduated with a science degree but had made adjustments that allowed her to explore new interests. Though she didn’t regret sticking with her original degree, the shift helped her think more analytically and critically, skills that have served her well in life.

Alongside these academic changes, Joy highly recommends that students do at least one exchange during their university or college years. “It is honestly the best experience you can get while being safe within the school network!” she says. 

For her exchange, Joy could choose between the National University of Singapore, the University of Melbourne, or the University of Edinburgh, but she ended up in Melbourne. At the time, she wanted to experience life in Australia. “It was such a fun experience — travelling almost every weekend with exchange friends, going out with local friends I had met, and learning how classes are taught there,” she says.

In Melbourne, Joy took a finance class that completely shifted her perspective on the world. “I still remember to this day how interesting that class was — I never figured myself to be a numbers person.” However, not everything went according to plan. Wong also failed her Virology class, which, though disheartening, reinforced her growing sense that science might not be the right path for her. 

Joy lost her first marketing job after two months but bounced back, growing her skills in digital marketing and tech. Source: Joy Q. Wang

From science degree to digital marketing

After realising that science and research weren’t the right fit for her, Joy turned to digital marketing, taking on various internships at the university. “It all kind of happened serendipitously,” she says.

“It wasn’t that I planned to pursue digital marketing, but I gravitated towards jobs in that field because I knew I could do it, and I had the creativity and resourcefulness to do those jobs already.”

Her first internship involved managing her university’s social media accounts, where she could experiment and create innovative campaigns.

This experience led her to a similar role at McGill’s Desautels School of Business, where she learned email marketing, data analysis, and event planning.

She also joined university clubs, taking on roles that mirrored real-world tasks such as business development and marketing. All these experiences ultimately steered her toward a career in digital marketing — something she enjoyed a lot more than her science degree.

Thanks to these, Joy landed her first job in marketing as a marketing coordinator at Structube in Montreal, but after just two months, she was let go. The reason? The role wasn’t working within the team. 

This setback was especially tough for someone like Joy, who was accustomed to going above and beyond.

However, she saw it as an opportunity to reset and move back to Vancouver, where she eventually found a marketing role with a supportive manager who helped her grow in traditional and digital marketing.

As she gained more experience, Joy discovered a natural aptitude for tech. Having built her own websites in high school and used HTML/CSS in her marketing roles, she decided to explore programming further.

She enrolled in courses at Lighthouse Labs, where she studied Swift, full-stack web development, and more.

Eventually, Joy got involved in Vancouver’s small but energetic startup scene, participating in a hackathon where she and her team spent 48 hours developing a product to present to a panel of Silicon Valley VCs.

To her surprise, they won the competition. Although the business ultimately didn’t succeed due to issues with execution and co-founder dynamics, it was a formative experience for Joy.

Joy entered The Apprentice: ONE Championship for business challenges — she got that and a front-row seat to reality TV drama. Source: Joy Q. Wang

How not using a science degree and pausing a career led to unexpected opportunities

After eight years of juggling multiple roles in new business development, fashion tech, fintech startups, and freelance work, burnout finally caught up with her in 2021. That’s when she chose to take a career break. 

“It wasn’t an easy decision because I allowed my career to define me, so when I didn’t have it anymore, I was lost and didn’t know who I was,” she says.

“I remember shortly after quitting, I was travelling solo in Paris, and I just couldn’t get out of my hotel room even though I would always be out and about exploring — that’s when I knew I wasn’t in a great place mentally.”

During her break, she reconnected with her creative side, which she had been neglecting. She explored acting and yoga and even started streaming on Twitch.

At the same time, she set herself a stretch goal: to get on Netflix that year —  a dream that did come true.

Her husband discovered that “The Apprentice: ONE Championship” was casting for Season 2 and suggested that Joy sign up for the show. 

While she initially hesitated, she decided to take it on. “I had free time, was already in Singapore, and if I were to be on a reality TV show, it would be related to business, so I went for it expecting nothing,” she says. 

After a couple of interviews, she was confirmed to represent Canada on the show.

The experience was intense and fast-paced. She had expected the competition to be focused on physical and business challenges, but reality TV was more about drama and entertainment. 

“I don’t think I was ready for the drama and politics, and my perception was skewed because Season 1 seemed more geared about the challenges,” she says. “So, in a way, it was an eye-opening experience, but I had a goal, and I achieved it, so I was quite happy about that with myself.”

After exiting the show, Joy launched something worlds away from what graduates of science degrees are often associated with: a bridal gown brand. 

Joy turned her frustration with bridal shopping into Bone & Grey, a minimalist, direct-to-consumer bridal brand. Source: Joy Q. Wang

Minimalist gowns, maximum impact: The Bone & Grey story

After the reality show, Joy decided to dive headfirst into a new venture: launching her own bridal fashion brand, Bone & Grey Bridal, a direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce bridal brand.

This passion project began when she struggled to find a minimalist wedding dress that fit her style and budget, considering it was a one-time purchase.

During her search, she visited bridal studios both in Canada and Singapore and found the experience frustrating. The customer journey was slow and inefficient, often made worse by pushy sales staff encouraging her to buy an expensive gown on the spot.

Driven by her love for fashion and her desire for a more enjoyable shopping experience, Joy created Bone & Grey.

She wanted to offer high-quality, minimalist wedding gowns at an affordable price — without the pressure.

With a realistic budget, she made her brand e-commerce-based, hoping to reach brides beyond Singapore, including Canada, the USA, and more.

“I started the company in the heat of my wedding planning, and it’s now been almost two years since I started researching it,” she says. “I’m thrilled to share that the brand has recently reached brides in Italy and Denmark. It’s not an easy journey but one that I enjoy being on and feel fulfilled from constantly.”

She often looks back on her journey and recounts one of her favourite quotes from Steve Jobs: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”