Β #BiologyDegree #CareerAdvice #MastersDegree
Hey everyone! π So I recently graduated from UF with a degree in Applied Biology and a minor in education, but now I’m feeling a bit lost in terms of job opportunities. π€ Has anyone else felt like their degree is too broad and limiting?
I’m considering going back for a master’s degree, but I’m not sure if that’s the right move. π Have any of you gone back for a master’s degree after your bachelor’s? What were some challenges you faced?
Or should I just go for a more specific two-year degree? π€·ββοΈ Any advice or comments would be super helpful right now! π Let’s chat and help each other out! π
Possible solution:
– Consider networking and reaching out to professionals in your field
– Research different job opportunities within the biology field
– Look into internships or entry-level positions to gain experience
– Explore additional certifications or online courses to enhance your skills π©βπ¬πΏ
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts! π
Get into clinical trials or pgarmacovigance
You can be a teacher or try and go for a research job. If school is an option look at physicians assistant or a nursing practitioner path. If your grades were good you could also do straight med school.
If you use instrumentation and like it, look up the instrumentβs manufacturer and see if they need field service engineers. Itβs a good travel opportunity and usually good money
Not in the least. Consider a pharma/biotech and/or life sciences consulting. Lots of potential career paths there.
What is it you want to do with your biology degree?
Work at a biotech company
Some jobs/careers only require a degree as an entry point. Some government jobs like law enforcement and military come to mind.
If you are willing to step outside your degree pathway, this might be an option.
Thereβs nothing really to do with it unless you top it off with grad/professional school to give it power. I got in to UF, microbiology MS program but thereβs also nothing to do with that either. Soβ¦med school or PhD in bio or micro does that interest you? Nursing? Physician Assistant? Law School?
My husband and I both have biology degrees! I went on to get my Doctorate of Physical Therapy. His biology degree had an emphasis on Zoology and he worked for a long time as a zookeeper. He currently works at an insurance company because it was less of a commute and paid more. A lot of his classmates work in labs. You may have to do more schooling depending on what you want to do but it’s a very versatile degree.
I have a biology degree and worked in serology at a veterinary lab, as an inorganic chemical analyst at an environmental lab, as a molecular tech testing Covid and other pcr, then as a pathology assistant and am now a histology tech at a Mohs lab. And you can get a histologist degree or MLS certificate by passing the test since you have a bachelors if that helps at all!
where did you have your internship?
County, State, and Federal jobs can be a great option especially if youβre willing to move
No more fucked than with any bachelor’s. Earning potential and job market is fairly limited with a bachelor’s degree. You need a graduate degree to really be marketable.
I used my bachelor’s in bio and went into healthcare. There are lots of options , but yeah ANY bachelor’s besides straight education with a teaching certificate is kind of limited.
Or nursing . Nursing is a bachelor’s and gets you a job .
Yeah you facked
Do you have any kind of practical experience from internships or jobs? There are a variety of entry level research assistant positions in academic or hospital labs and even biotech, though biotech has taken significant funding hits this past year so there aren’t as many opportunities.Β
Become a medical lab scientist.
I have a general BS biology where I took mostly wildlife ecology coursework. I am finishing an MS in wildlife and aquatic management with a thesis in upland bird nesting ecology. If your interested in zoology, use ur BS as a stepping stone to gradschool which then opens up biologist/environmental science/consultant careers. Will say that if you stop here, only a BS in biology is known to not do a ton of good.
Depends on your interests/networking skills as well of course, any jobs possible!!
bro you have no idea how useless some degrees are
Environmental engineers make very good money and are in high demand.
I graduated with a general biology degree as well and I was able to land a job. Under education I ended up listing individual classes I took that did things that matched what the position was looking for. I ended up landing a production job at a pharmaceutical company.
I have been thinking of going back to get a masters in something like biostats or bioinformatics but I donβt have a strong math transcript so I donβt know if my chances are good in terms of getting into grad school.
No just go become a doctor
I have a bachelors in Biology as well. I graduated in 2016 and had A LOT of trouble finding something relevant to biology. I had to go back to school to get certified as a Medical laboratory technician.
I really think that getting a certification like mine, instead of getting your masters is going to be better for you. IMO – getting a masters will alienate you even more in the job market AND you will not be compensated fairly. I’ve seen job listings that require Masters degree’s with less than $30 pay.
Get creative and look into different fields that you can apply the biology to too, you never know!
Also, consider going on to get your masters in biology as that will open up teaching at the university level. Graduate opportunities in the field of biology often are working, paid, research projects. You may can now teach university level biology labs which also may lead to other job opportunities.
My sister started with a bachelorβs biology degree. She struggled to find a job in her field. Then opted for government jobs. Then found they didnβt pay well. So she went back to school for a masters degree. Later landed a job as a EA non biology related but felt taking a graduate degree would help. It did not. So she applied to be a program manager and the job offered her back to school benefits. She later took additional classes to specialize her focus areas. Currently she is not going back to school and found out she didnβt get a good job because she took jobs at non big tech stem companies. It took her 6 years to figure this out. I work in IT and told her this way the way years ago. Stop at a bachelors and find companies that pay well and are STEM focused. Pharma, tech, health saas, government β think engineeringβ The end.
I see a lot of state and government jobs that require a biology degree within the forestry department/national parks. usajobs.gov. Filter to “open to the public”.
Hey man!
I graduated from UF, too! I graduated with a BSc degree in microbiology with the following:
1. Almost no research experience (I had a year in lab that I made sound way more glamorous than it really was)
2. Pretty rough grades (barely above a 3.0)
3. No connections to any companies
With all that, I applied like crazy for about 6 months while I worked as a line cook to keep the bills at bay. I originally got a biotech job in Alachua for a couple of years before relocating to MA for more opportunities. I can confidently say that nowadays it’s pretty rough to get a job in that surrounding area, but if you’re willing to move out of state to the Carolinas or MA, you’ll be in a REALLY good spot. There’s also some very small biotech hubs in Miami, Orlando, and Tampa, which wouldn’t hurt to try.
You’re definitely not screwed, though. If you’re willing to make some compromises and put in the work, you can be in a very cushy job in biotech. If you need help knowing what to look or apply for, let me know.
I would never promote a bio degree, hard work for little pay. Engineering is the way to go.
Why donβt people research these things prior to their degree? Itβs baffling