Guidance on what can realistically be done with a bs in biological sciences?

College Majors
1

Hello,

My daughter is going for a degree in biological sciences…in doing some research, not finding anything that helps her know what she can do,with just a bs…Anyone out there with this degree,can you please weigh in? What did you all do with your degrees? Is it only good if you want to go premed? At this point she doesn’t want to go down that path…

Thanks all!

2

She may have to consider a graduate program: Physical therapy, Occupational therapy, Clinical Laboratory Scientist, Physician Assistant, Dental school, Pharmacy, Health Dept jobs or focus on research as an assistant (fairly low paying).
Does she have a specialization? Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Genetics, Botany, Forensics ???
How about teaching, Hospital administration or analyst, Biotech?
All will still require additional classes.

3

Students Review dot com shows software engineer, teacher, environmental scientist, microbiology technician and health data analyst among those having a bachelor’s in biology and plausibly not more than that.

Also http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Science_%28BS_%2f_BSc%29%2c_Biological_Sciences/Salary and http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree=Bachelor_of_Science_%28BS_%2f_BSc%29%2c_Biology/Salary show what some have done with a BS biological sciences or BS biology (with or without grad school).

I know from experience a lot of laboratory technicians have just a BS in biology.

4

Thanks for the responses… We were thinking she would probably need grad school but needed more info in what types of degree she should consider…no specialization yet, but thanks for suggestions…she was interested in biomedical engineering too… Jjwinkle, what sort of work do lab technicians do and what sort of money do they make?

Thanks so much for your help!

5

In my experience in commercial analytical laboratories:

Food safety lab technicians test for salmonella and other microbial organisms. Food is also tested for nutritional makeup (fat, protein, etc). Wastewater is tested for various kinds of contamination. Some tests entail sophisticated instruments such as ICP-MS and gas chromatography. Standard, nationally recognized methods are used, so ordinarily there is no opportunity for method creativity. Typically a fast pace is required. In my experience in small cities in Northern and central California, entry-level pay is around $15/hour and permanent jobs with benefits are fairly easy to get with a biology degree. Rising to become a supervisor is an available path to advance (in time) for those who have degrees.

6

I see job postings for program and project managers with undergrad bio degrees sometimes.

7

I am a CLS (Clinical Laboratory Scientist/Medical Technologist) and I have been working in the hospital setting specifically Cancer treatment hospitals for over 27 years. I make around $120K/year as a Lead Tech. The CLS program is a 1 year internship post BA/BS. You sit for your State License and/or National License. Entry level position wages vary from state to state, but CA/TX/FL have some of the higher rates. I do all the specialized testing required for cancer treatment so you have to like to deal with blood and bodily fluids. I have found it very rewarding, there are many avenues for advancement and I find the job constantly challenging.

8

I only have one data point to offer: one of my friend’s daughters graduated 2013-ish with a BS dual major biology/psychology in the Boston area. She found that for entry-level bio jobs, she was competing against (and losing to ) those with masters degrees who were willing to work entry level positions. She is now happily employed (though not particularly well-paid) at a job that did not require a college degree.

You might want to ask in the Biology Major forum too.

9

^Oops, didn’t notice where I was…