<p>I'm having a difficult time deciding on what to major in. I want to get involved in some type of biological research. However, I hear the job prospects for biology majors are pretty awful. I have good math skills and was thinking about incorporating some math or CS courses into my BS degree, because I hear they are valued highly in the job market. Can anyone offer some advice?</p>
<p>Go get a Masters or PhD in biology, if you want a career in biological research. A BA/BS is only a stepping stone to that terminal degree.</p>
<p>computational biology is a very hot field right now, you could consider going into that. A math/CS double major plus a few biology electives and maybe some biochemistry would prepare you very well for that. Depending on which area you specialize in, there’s people working on modeling biological systems, people working on algorithms for processing biological data, etc. all of which are in high demand. I think microsoft research even has a computational biology branch.</p>
<p>An undergraduate biology degree is a complete waste of time. If you ever need to know about something in biology, just look it up online or in a textbook, there’s no need to spend several semesters in a classroom learning things that you could otherwise learn in a day.</p>
<p>Most computational biology people come from math/physics/CS backgrounds with no prior knowledge of biology anyhow. Your time is better spent developing better analytical skills.</p>
<p>An undergrad bio degree is not a waste of time, as long as you plan on going to graduate school in biology/medicine.</p>
<p>I’ve thought about going to graduate school. I love learning, especially about biology. I was actually thinking about going in to academia, as I love teaching as well, however I hear the competition is fierce, especially for a university position, which is what I would want. How are the job opportunities for someone with a master’s degree in a biology?</p>
<p>I don’t know. However, know that research positions are in general very competitive. However, if Bio is your true passion, you should not be dissuaded by the fact that a field is competitive. There’s no free lunch - you need to work hard in any field.</p>
<p>I’ve been researching computational biology and it’s pretty interesting to me. I feel like going to school for a double major in computer science/math with a minor in bio, maybe something more specific like molecular biology, is my best option. I have an interest in computer science, the theoretical aspect in particular, and biology, and like I previously said, I’m good at math. I naturally have good analytical skills so make sense to develop them. I think it’s a pretty lucrative and flexible degree. What universities in new york state have good programs for computational biology and/or computer science/math?</p>
<p>I think ‘worthless’ is a bit of an exaggeration. For information on pay for biologists (and other majors) with a B.S., see</p>
<p>[Center</a> on Education and the Workforce - What’s It Worth Home Page](<a href=“http://cew.georgetown.edu/whatsitworth/]Center”>What’s It Worth?: The Economic Value of College Majors - CEW Georgetown)</p>
<p>Though it is true that most of the research positions go to Biologists with M.S. or PhD degrees as the terminal degree. Microbiology does seem to pay better than straight biology.</p>
<p>The MS is often treated as a BS + 2 years of work experience or as worthless as the job ads will say BS/MS. The number of Biology PhD’s working dead end post docs because there are no jobs should also be an indicator that it is not worth it.</p>
<p>Focus on the computer science or prepare to go to professional school. I would not recommend trying to get a job with just a science BS or going for a science grad degree.</p>