<p>I'm currently a high school senior considering majoring in biology in college. Ultimately I hope to go into marine biology or zoology, and have had an internship at a wildlife rehab center, so I think I might have an idea of what some jobs in that field could involve. HOWEVER, I am taking AP bio 2 this year, and I'm really struggling, especially having a pretty weak background in chemistry and not being very strong in math (never taken calc). While I am told that many actual jobs in the fields I am considering are not super math-intensive day to day, I feel like maybe I'm making a huge mistake. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?</p>
<p>Are you more worried in that you may not get a job with that degree, or that it is too difficult for you?</p>
<p>For one thing, actual jobs “in-the-field” for biology or biology-related majors are very scarce. The average salary for biology majors is among the lowest of all college majors. There is a lot of competition for such jobs, as a bio major you may be able to find a job as a lab tech which would get you low pay, bad working conditions and little to no benefits. Outside of that, there are horribly limited careers available for biology bachelor’s. Unless you plan to pursue med school, or grad school in a related field, your options are very limited in terms of getting something to pay the bills. Even then, Biology PhDs are in a pretty bad spot, too.</p>
<p>You are making a huge mistake Biology is a useless degree. You would have better prospects skipping college entirely and learning a trade.</p>
<p>Get into Accounting, finance, ot nursing, or get ready to move back in with your parents and live in their basement.</p>
<p>It’s not a mistake if you really love and are interested in Biology, and understand that you will need a higher degree for any decent job prospects.</p>
<p>The reason Bio jobs are so scarce is because Pre-meds with no love for actual Biology major in it, and then get denied from medical school and have nothing else to do. If you get a PhD in Marine Bio or Zoology, you can get a job doing research or as faculty at a school. It may take some time and you will have to be published, but it’s possible.</p>
<p>Albeit a somewhat biased article, it does give a more realistic glimpse into the work environment of a marine biologist. Not entirely too sure on the reputability of the website but it seems legit to me.</p>
<p>[Marine</a> Biologist Salary: Becoming a Marine Biologist](<a href=“http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2007/04/name_dr_james_b]Marine”>Marine Biologist Salary: Becoming a Marine Biologist | Payscale - Salary Comparison, Salary Survey, Search Wages)</p>
<p>The truth is, at least in my eyes, with a PhD in everything- you will be able to find a job in your field although it may take a long time accumulating experience, research… many science phds go through several postdocs before having any type of job in academia/permanent research positions… 4 years for the undergrad, 5-7 or something for the PhD, by then you’re in your late twenty’s, give it another 4-8 years with postdocs running around the country… before even a shot at a position like that.</p>
<p>If it is something you wan’t, don’t let it stop you… dreams are achievable but they are not easy.</p>
<p>If you are considering an undergraduate degree without any professional experience in biology/zoology/marine bio, think again. You will get no job, and if you do get one, it will not be remotely related to your field.</p>
<p>Yep, a huge one unless you decide to go to graduate school. If you graduate with a degree in Biology, you will be fighting other Biologist for a crappy lab tech job that pays $12 without benefits and advancement opportunities. Sad to say, your pay will remain stagnant and so will your skills because of lack of training and guidance. After 3 or 5 years you will get laid off and hop from cruddy job after cruddy job or remain unemployed. Although, an excellent degree to use as a stepping stone for graduate or healthcare programs, but a dream killer if you stay as a Biologist.</p>
<p>Lol @ basement!!! That is sadly true.</p>
<p>But I do agree with Next. A huge glut is partially due to medical school drop outs/failures or who didn’t get accepted. Also, old people who got laid off with a associates degrees in science and PhDs are added to the application pool or boxing ring as well. There are a huge glut of PhDs. Being post docs for years and years without hopes of getting tenure. The light at the end of a tunnel is a train sadly. I have worked side by side with People who had science PhDs and I had a Bachelors! Very degrading and a waste of time and money on their end.</p>
<p>If you have a passion for biology, there’s nothing wrong with working super hard to make it happen. With regard to career aspect, yes you can get accounting and go do auditing at some big firm and make more money. But you may also hate your life doing that.</p>
<p>Either way I would still take accounting and finance even if you don’t major in it.</p>
<p>OP: The thing is, there will HAVE to be Biology researchers and Biology professors 10 years from now. It doesn’t matter how many there are, but they are there and available to people with passion and a strong work ethic. I say if you do have a burning passion for Biology, pursue your dream.</p>
<p>Why will there have to be biology researchers and why do you think the jobs need to be in the USA? The USA with its budget issues will likely continue the trend of defunding science and companies like big pharmas will continue the trend of relying on cheaper overseas labor or bribing congress to bring them here in the form of h1-b’s. As for Professors, there will continue to be 100’s of PhD ready to knife each other over every opening. </p>
<p>As for passion, passion does not genereate jobs or money. Those BA’s serving cofee at Starbucks aren’t there because they lacked passion in whatever nonbusiness-relevant major they decided to study, How much passion for biology will you have living in your parents basement or collecting shopping carts at Walmart. Time to face reality and loose this idealistic crap you’ve been spoonfed. If you want any standard of life you need to make yourself valueable to companies and the economy.</p>
<p>At the very least if you decide to continue with biology get some really useful internships as that will be your only hope.</p>
<p>Some of my biology “professors” were TAs. Even one of my professors who had a PhD was TAing and without his own lab and teaching plan. Humiliating. No wonder he quit, he was a good teacher too. The PhD business is just as cut-throat than having a BS or MS in Biology or Chemistry. Everyone was fighting for tenure and I mean brutally! Throwing each other under the bus, backstabbing, and lying. I heard so many stories.</p>
<p>By the end of your second year it will be pretty clear what the marine biologist job market will be like for you and you could switch to something related like teaching high school biology or veterinary school.</p>
<p>The difficulty with a PhD is getting the opportunity to be productive in research that will make people want to invest in you.</p>
<p>@JBoyLover27 It’s good the school is putting the excess teaching load on faculty instead of grad students who need to conduct research. When fighting for tenure, throwing people under the bus, backstabbing, and lying aren’t going to help because there is no one you’re competing with. There’s a lot of incentive to act like you fit in with other faculty, not to make waves, publish a sufficient quantity of papers with will get a sufficient number of citations, get at least average teaching reviews, and graduate your students. (There is a serious problem in science where new professors who need tenure publish papers with unreplicable results.)</p>
<p>The market is tough, but I have not seen that sort of terrifying back-stabbing culture in my field (neuroscience). Yikes.</p>
<p>Majoring in Biology is in fact, a little risky due to the scarce job availability for recently graduated students. Well at least for undergraduates. Most people that major in Biology tend to or originally plan to go to grad school in order to obtain PhD or professional schools such as med school. It’s a just a gateway to many professions that actually require graduate work due to its generality. If you do not want to spend more time in school I suggest not getting a degree in Biology.</p>