I’ve recently warmed up to the idea of going to medical school after undergrad but I’m still unsure if that’s where I’ll end up. For a while I was planning to just major in general biology (I’m a high school student so still figuring things out) but it doesn’t seem like the best choice anymore. It seems too broad, a LOT of pre-meds major in biology, and it doesn’t seem like it will help me out to have a BS in biology if I decide against going to medical school. I’m still really interested in biological sciences so I’m wondering what bio-related/science majors might have better prospects in case I decide not to go into medicine. Right now I’m thinking about microbiology but idk.
The prospects for all of the life sciences are honestly quite terrible; there are way too many people there who are in the same position as you. Unless working as a lab tech (with a BS/MS) or a postdoc (with a PhD) sounds appealing to you, your odds aren’t great. The more interesting life science jobs suffer from the problem of supply >> demand of qualified individuals.
If you have doubts that you can cut it on the path up to med school, it’s a bad risk and I’d recommend a different career path altogether.
Neo has a bad attitude towards science. Prep yourself for graduate school and you can go cure a disease if Med School doesn’t pan out. Or, you can go sell pharmaceuticals for big money. Or get a job in Biotech and move up the ladder.
Of course, you can always try going D.O. or offshore as an alternate. If you know the facts about being in Medicine and still want to do it, don’t let fear of failure stop you.
How are you with math/applied math/stats and computer science? Those fields can be linked with biology (computational biology or bioinformatics). Point being, the math or comp sci, as a major, sets you up very well for various fields.
Biophysics, if you can find it, could be more useful, as it involves more math/physics/comp sci. If you’re not inclined toward these subjects, I’m not sure that one biological science, alone, affords significantly better prospects than another.
Some students avoid the biology major for “pre-med”, based on the huge numbers of med school aspirants and lower MCAT scores. Probably wise.
@NeoDymium I think that, if I decide that medicine is what I want, I can “cut it” - I have the work ethic and the intelligence, but I’d really like to wait a little longer to make up my mind. I’d hate to be one of the many who enter college with the words PRE-MED above them in flashing lights only to discover that they wanted something else all along and just went with “pre-med” because it slightly appealed to them as a naive 14 year old and they stuck with it. You know what I mean? I want to explore my opportunities and as someone who is really interested in biological sciences I want to know what else is out there for me if I realize that medical school is not what I truly truly want.
@JustOneDad Thanks, this is really helpful advice actually. Good to know that there are some opportunities out there, and those all sound like things I’d definitely be open to. 
@Dunboyne I’m quite good at math, but it’s not my best subject. Right now I’m taking AP Calculus as a junior in HS and have an A, but I enjoy my AP Bio and AP English classes FAR more. Math challenges me but not so much that I can’t still do well in it. So I can’t say I’m bad at math. I just don’t enjoy it very much. It doesn’t interest me or excite me 
But yeah, the more I think about it, the less I want to just pursue a general biology degree. If only I liked math more!
@Bluelias Do you know what we call a Classics major who is taking Organic Chemistry and Physics? 
What kind of work do you see yourself doing (apart from medicine)? Can you name a few jobs/fields of interest?
I agree with NeoDymium. There are terrible job prospects for Biology/Chemistry majors who do not go to med, pharm or some other healthcare professional school. You will either end up underemployed or working in a dead end lab job for $10-15 probably via a temp agency with no benefits and no future.
I’d major in nursing or something and take the remaining prerequisites on the side. Otherwise if you graduate with a BS in science you should go directly to grad school for something more useful like accounting.
@sschoe2 Did you forget what we discussed earlier, in the other thread? Do you remember what Research Associates make?
Yes, that is an understandable sentiment; medical school, for all its virtues, is basically a lifelong commitment. I suppose it would help to ask what else you are interested beyond “a job that pays” outside of med school.
Frankly, there are far too many people in the US who have a biology background who are afraid of even the slightest bit of mathematics. It’s gotten to the point where there is one good job for every 10 applicants in the field. I know some people with excellent jobs with Bio/Biochem/Chem degrees, but they are the exceptions. The more mathematical fields, like population genetics and bioinformatics, also happen to have the widest applications outside of biology related work. To be honest I was quite ashamed of the bio majors and their inability to do simple calculations (e.g. standard deviations and binomial expansions) in the biology classes that I did take.
A Bio/CS background or a Bio/Probability background is decent as far as job prospects go. If you aren’t of the “can’t do math” crowd, 3-4 statistics and probability/CS/both would be helpful. But beware the GPA requirement; for most students, taking more than a few content-heavy classes at once can hurt your results.
If you want to MOVE DOWN in your career, stay in the sciences. If I were you (if I could turn back the hands of time, I would have done it sooner) apply for other healthcare professions such as nursing, PA, ND, nutrition, occupational therapist, physical therapist, etc. Read this link!
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2014_09_18/caredit.a1400234
That article was right on. That was one of the main reasons I decided not to get a PhD. I watched others in the lab graduate and have a worse time trying to get a job than felons. They ended right up in post-doc limbo. I remember distinctly a conversation they had as to whether they could omit the PhD and get away with it. That was it for me. I am not going to work like a slave for 7 years so I can have worse job prospects.
Ultimately though I wish I had just gone into some healthcare field rather than deal with how crappy most companies treat their scientific personnel.
Neo was being realistic. There are so many bio grads that the pay is awful. On top of those hoping for a research career with a science BS, you’re competing against pre-meds who have been advised to take a research position (pay doesn’t matter so they don’t mind the low salary) in order to get the experience for their application, and to study for the MCATs. With only a BS, you do only what others (lab manager for the PhD etc) tell you (so very little thinking) for very little pay. A master’s degree will put you over the BS but doing what the PhD directs. A PhD in many fields now requires years and years of Postdoc for a set salary (~$40k depending on field), working long hours maybe or maybe not directing your own research (depends on lab director). IF you are lucky enough to get a tenure track position, quality of life is out the door while you struggle to teach and do research. Not enough tt slots which is why many disillusioned Postdocs are bailing (most recently, I saw a science Pdoc with a new job as intake manager at a HHS dept. It’s that depressing out there). Many college grads make more than science Postdocs. If I’d worked as a secretary all that time, no college, I’d be making more than my PhD job. (And the trouble with industry is that, although it pays better, your position depends on the success of the product you are working on. High ups may have a meeting one day and decide to shift priorities. Oops)
Science jobs may be worth it if you don’t like a desk job. But if you can tolerate sitting, pick up electives that broaden your value, like business or programming, etc.