this is what some of my professors told me during the first few years to convince me to go the phd route (which isn't much better). you can get a better pay at target.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What can one do with a biology degree?
- Thread starter goodtimes5
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
this is what some of my professors told me during the first few years to convince me to go the phd route (which isn't much better). you can get a better pay at target.
it's a good one, but i think the people here have paranoia of cruise ships. out in the middle of the sea...kidna creepy. although it's a good idea for some, i don't think i could do this for longer than 1-2 years.
I love cruise ships... but only for about a week or so at a time... as a passenger... not working... and with a drink with a little umbrella next to me.
High school teaching often seems to be more about discipline, ie keeping the kids in their seats, getting them to do their homework, grading papers/exams, etc... and less about the actual subject you're trying to teach. Unless you've been teaching for a long while and have managed to earn yourself an honors/AP class with quasi-diligent kids. I couldn't even make it through one year of TA'ing a freshman biology class before realizing that teaching was NOT for me. I simply don't have the patience. (And we're talking college kids here... let alone high school!)nickster9224 said:
Sorry, I don't have any better advice for OP. After earning a BA in Biology, I myself went into the medical field. My brother however also graduated with a BA in Biology and went on to work in a lab in a small company that makes tiles (I think?)... not much to do with biology, more to do with chemistry and physics... but he loves it!
Good luck with your biological endeavors!
I do, actually.
Suprisingly I was just looking up info on that earlier. I happened to read MR and was suprised to see this.
Do you know of someone in the position? Or have you just looked up a lot about it, like me?
I plan on getting my degree in environmental engineering and then doing that for a little bit before I go to grad school for a PhD. Then settle into grad school with the nice-sized savings. Or maybe I won't even want to go to grad school at all - but I can make that decision at a more mature age.
As to the OP, I agree with considering biotech if you don't necessarily like bench work. Things like bioinformatics might interest you...
i was thinking about that as well, just temporally to pay loans, but when i got some advice about how bad high schools are nowadays, i went against that. add to that the school system in florida is horrible with the fcat reigning supreme and science not being a priority. i like teaching stuff, but not in the environment that the public schools are in...and you wonder why they are still looking for teachers?
Actually I love cruising and when I think about future jobs I always think ship. The knowledge I have is first hand knowledge of talking to 3 different environmental officers and some of the stuff they do.
okay, i just thought about these a minute ago, here are some ideas if you can't get into med school. these are some closer alternatives than most of the ones given before.
pa school: become a physician assistant, but i'm not sure how interested you are in that. it's only one year after college i think
podiatry school: no mcats needed here, and plus they will take lower gpa's than your average med school.
chiropractor school: similar to podiatry school in the requirements.
osteopathic medicine: it's similar to an md, but there are some differences in them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.O.
i learned about these alternatives as many of my classmates were going into the medical profession with their biology degree, and not too many of them were able to get into med school. of course there's pharmacy and nursing school, but i think the ones i just suggested are a bit closer to your taste.
pa school: become a physician assistant, but i'm not sure how interested you are in that. it's only one year after college i think
podiatry school: no mcats needed here, and plus they will take lower gpa's than your average med school.
chiropractor school: similar to podiatry school in the requirements.
osteopathic medicine: it's similar to an md, but there are some differences in them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.O.
i learned about these alternatives as many of my classmates were going into the medical profession with their biology degree, and not too many of them were able to get into med school. of course there's pharmacy and nursing school, but i think the ones i just suggested are a bit closer to your taste.
You could find a job within a healthcare system or facility that is not physician-related, but where your degree could give you an edge over other candidates. For instance, materials management has contract and purchasing departments that have positions where knowledge of biology and the ability to speak coherently on related subjects is a BIG plus (since you will be interacting with nurses/physicians on a routine basis). I worked for Partners HealthCare in Boston and it wasn't my major (economics) that was my edge-- it was my minor in bio.
Once you get in the system, you can check into other opportunities and pretty much gravitate to wherever you are interested.
Good luck,
Once you get in the system, you can check into other opportunities and pretty much gravitate to wherever you are interested.
Good luck,
First of all, do NOT dismiss your chances based on GPA. Years ago I put together a website for medical school applicants. It's in a sad state of outdatedness, but alot of the information is still quite relevant, including that about the "numbers" aspect of admissions. There are a lot of things you can do to make up for bad numbers.
Second, there are many, many professions that allow you to provide health care. Anyone considering becoming a physician should also consider whether they really want to be a PA, NP, nurse, physical or occupational therapist, among other things.
Internships are a great way to explore professions/careers before you devote your life to them. Just getting a job using your undergrad degree in biology doesn't leave alot of options - mainly lab jobs and the like. But, you can apply your degree to another area, like business or law or computer science, and that is where you really can do something interesting. Often this involves more education.
Good luck.
Just some clarification - osteopathic physicians are still physicians, just like their MD counterparts (I am an MD.) Osteopathic school and PA school are almost as hard as MD school to get into (depending on the school, sometimes harder). I wouldn't put chiropractic on the same list as the other professions mentioned.
Also, in my previous post I neglected to mention pharmacy somehow. Pharmacy is a nice career in that you do have some options, from retail to clinical pharmacy to bench research.
Dave
Urm.. goodtimes, you're in San Francisco and you don't know about Biotech?!?! It's one of the largest biotech centers in the US! Biotech= the interface of biology and technology with applications in everything from food science, medicine and agriculture. Essentially, if it's related to biology, there is biotech.
You could get a job as a "Research Assistant/Associate" at any number of biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies in your area.
Graduate school is nice, but not for the faint hearted. You have to figure out how badly you want a specific graduate degree and why. It's not for everyone. I got my Ph.D. in chemistry (biophysics) and quit the program once for 6 months until I had my own personal ephiphany about what I wanted from life. You'll have to really think about it carefully. If you aren't too sure at first, you can go for a couple of years to get a masters degree and try to translate that to a better position biotech/pharma company.
You could apply to law enforcement agencies to be a Forensic Scientist/Criminalist. There are many people at my work with biology degrees working in the Crimelab. The use of DNA to help solve crimes is always increasing.
I wanted to update my thoughts about all of this:
I'm sharing an apartment with a friend who is pre-med and intended business for Berkeley Haas School of Business, whichever works out better. I've watched him go through his double paths, and although we're only second years at Berkeley right now, the business path looks so much more beneficial as a career. Less time in school. Earn higher pay more quickly. Basically everything sped up compared to the doctor path. He has been having doubts himself about med school now.
Personally, I can see the benefits of a career in business and the consequences of sticking to health. However, I feel much more motivated to ignore all that just because I find great joy in helping people. Volunteering at a hospital has solidified my decision to continue striving for med school. I am genuinely interested in biology, and I am considering adding the psychology major. I will not go to graduate school because I cannot stand research and lab work.
Exploring everything, I know I want to stick to the health field. I've been thinking about careers as a physician, optometrist, pharmacist, pediatrician, or if those are unattainable, then nursing or some sort. Does anyone know anything about optometry school and the profession in general?
I'm sharing an apartment with a friend who is pre-med and intended business for Berkeley Haas School of Business, whichever works out better. I've watched him go through his double paths, and although we're only second years at Berkeley right now, the business path looks so much more beneficial as a career. Less time in school. Earn higher pay more quickly. Basically everything sped up compared to the doctor path. He has been having doubts himself about med school now.
Personally, I can see the benefits of a career in business and the consequences of sticking to health. However, I feel much more motivated to ignore all that just because I find great joy in helping people. Volunteering at a hospital has solidified my decision to continue striving for med school. I am genuinely interested in biology, and I am considering adding the psychology major. I will not go to graduate school because I cannot stand research and lab work.
Exploring everything, I know I want to stick to the health field. I've been thinking about careers as a physician, optometrist, pharmacist, pediatrician, or if those are unattainable, then nursing or some sort. Does anyone know anything about optometry school and the profession in general?
pharm schools in CA are pretty tough to get in. while the admission criteria may not seem as strict as med schools, your GPA is quite important since the PCAT is not required (UCSF won't even look at the PCAT score). also, most pharm schools will throw you out after the 1st interview if they sense that you see pharmacy as a back up.
i'd say stick to your current major if you are genuinely interested in bio, especially you still have two more years to boost your GPA (though i know being a pre-med/LS major @ Cal sux pretty bad). cut down extra work (i.e. volunteering) if you need time to study. also, you can do a post-bac after you graduate to increase your chances to get into med school (or just become a DO). and you can always get a MBA if you think that business suits you better.
Why wait for the cruise ship. What you really do with a biology degree is use it as a pick up line at the bars.....
"If I was an enzyme, Id be helicase so I could unzip your genes."
link if you dare...
goodtimes5,
As you've found out an undergrad in Biology is more like a stepping stone not a final destination.
If you don't mind working w/dead people and/or parts of people that have been removed you might want to look into becoming a Pathologist's Assistant. This is a relatively unknown, but expanding, field so it's definitely an employees market.
Lethal
As you've found out an undergrad in Biology is more like a stepping stone not a final destination.
If you don't mind working w/dead people and/or parts of people that have been removed you might want to look into becoming a Pathologist's Assistant. This is a relatively unknown, but expanding, field so it's definitely an employees market.
Lethal
Many municipalities hire biologists to work in their water and wastewater treatment plants. Our city hires biologists to work in the lab, test water samples, manage treatment chemicals, etc. Decent pay and good upward mobility.
My sister, brother-in law, brother, and cousin are ALL PHARMACISTS. None of them have a bachelors degree, because it IS NOT REQUIRED as it is for med school. Yes, some schools are tough to get into, but if you have a BS in biology, and atleast have a 3.0, and a decent pcat score, you should HAVE NO ISSUES GETTING IN. Trust me I know alot about pharmacy. I'm currently working on a computer science degree, and after that most likely I'll apply, and get accepted into pharmacy school. I think it's like 30% of people who apply to pharmacy schools have some sort of bachelors, and the majority get in because your first 2 years of pharmacy school include biochem, and microbiology. Look into pharmacy school dude, and take the pcat. I got a 88% on my pcat, and a sample question was " ATP is needed for: Energy".
Freakin cake questions.
Edit: Pharmacists get paid $55 an hour, and ~$100k per year.
Edit 2: Just saw the original date from the OP. Yikes!
Freakin cake questions.
Edit: Pharmacists get paid $55 an hour, and ~$100k per year.
Edit 2: Just saw the original date from the OP. Yikes!
thought i should update as well. i felt more motivated to become a medical writer over the summer, as i'm not really into doing lab work, but i like seeing some of the research coming out and somewhat being involved in it. i was a bit whacked after graduation though because alot of the professors were trying to put a message that good biology grads go to research and grad school and the failures don't. i did realize out of place in the lab, but i still love science. i'll probably not go to any grad school (at least for right now), and see how i can start out.