Looking for suggestions for biology-related majors that have decent job placement rates with only an undergrad degree. Do they exist?
Most/many students who majored in biology eventually end up in grad school.
I would look at the internships and research opportunities that are available for biology majors at the schools you are interested in.
My daughter was a biology major and had/currently has a “decent” job (good salary, benefits, etc). This is not her final stop- she will be heading to grad school.
Have you looked at biostats? That’s usually public health, and not in the biology Dept.
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My 2023 is planning on being a bio major. She’s been researching and says she will almost certainly need grad school of some type for a good job. I’ll ask her what she’s looking at.
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Bioinformatics, Biostatistics and Allied Health care type jobs (many require additional training and certification) will offer better ROI’s for Biology majors.
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We will check out biostats…thanks!
If you don’t mind me asking, what kind of work does your daughter do? Was she able to find a job right out of school?
Someone with a bio degree may end up in a general trainee program whether it be consumer goods, pharmaceutical, automotive or name your industry. Like any liberal art, the job may not be degree related as many aren’t. One isn’t limited by the degree, if their interests lie elsewhere.
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You could major in data science with biology as your chosen “applied domain.” The quantitative and statistical familiarity you would attain with respect to large data sets likely would be immediately valuable in business and government employment settings.
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Yes, she found jobs right out of school. She knew these jobs were temporary- she always knew she would be returning to school.
These jobs including teaching (as a bio major), editing for a science journal, several job offers in research/genetics.
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One daughter switched to being a biology major after her freshman year of university. This required that she take four lab classes at once for the full sophomore year to catch up.
It was like watching a duck take to water for the first time.
Having a lot of lab experience (including internships) and doing really well with it seemed to help quite a bit with her job search.
Like other responses, we are expecting that at some point she will end up in grad school.
So she was able to find a related job once she graduated?
Not opposed to grad school, but would like the option to work and take some time off school after undergrad.
Thanks!
Yes. She works for a biotech company. Her salary and benefits are better than I had expected. The actual work that she is doing is pretty much what she wants to do, at least for now. This includes quite a bit of lab work, and a variety of types of lab work.
What I had heard about students with just a bachelor’s degree in biology had been somewhat bleaker than what we observed. I have wondered about this.
The only explanation that I can come up with is that she likes lab work, has done a lot of it, and had very good grades, very good references, and good internship experience. In comparison I have wondered if premed students who do not make it to medical school have more clinical experience and less lab experience.
I do not think that I fully understand this.
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Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
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Bioengineering. Known a few bioengineers that from a bachelor’s now work in decently high paying biotech jobs, albeit in a HCOL city.
My daughter was biology/premed - she changed her mind about medical school after realizing what she really wanted.
She had a gap year position teaching, and it actually provided her with a decent salary (lived in an expensive city and supported herself).
She will begin a research position soon in a well known teaching hospital while applying to grad school. She was offered a salary that will allow her to live in her own apartment (high cost of living area), with benefits, grad school $ etc.
I know that biology is often criticized on CC, but that has not been my D’s experience. I do think it’s important to develop a very strong undergraduate resume- that really helped her.
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Thanks for the feedback! You do have to take a lot on CC with a grain of salt. 
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Yes, they do. But the caveat is that you need to find programs that will provide these opportunities and that is often absent at many so called “prestigious” schools. Look up Clinical Laboratory Sciences. Starting pay around here is $25-35/hr. One can choose to do 4X12 hour shifts and get three days off. Bio-statistics is another one that is very lucrative. Health economics can be lucrative if you train and gain experience the right way. If you do not mind sales and marketing then Pharma/Biotech sales jobs pay a lot. If you are lucky enough to gain entry to a truly elite school then management consulting, healthcare management and IB are all possibilities.
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Very true, but also keep in mind that the experiences you obtain during your undergrad years will be very very beneficial. Research, publications, connections and experiences working for various organizations, etc.
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