<p>First of all, there are two biochemistry majors at UCSD, one in the bio department and one in the chem department. I would assume you’re looking at the one in the bio department from your post, but the majors are pretty different so your experience may be different if you choose the one in the chem department.</p>
<p>I was a biochem/bio major, and UCSD does have very well-known and well-respected programs in biology. There are a lot of biotech places around San Diego, as well as many research and industry labs around the school. However, job-wise you’ll face the same pressures graduating from any school with a biology degree. Typically, you’ll need a higher degree to advance beyond a lab tech or something similar. There are definitely job opportunities when you’re straight out of undergrad, but career-wise, you may need a higher degree to advance to the level that you would like.</p>
<p>As a biochem/bio major, you really only have to take two biochem classes (metabolic and structural), unless they’ve changed things since I was there. Most of the core or popular biology classes (like metabolic biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, etc) are very large classes with smaller (and often option) discussion sections. I’ve had great experiences with professors, but I like to be selective about what professors I choose, whenever possible. There are classes with smaller class sizes that you can choose as electives though, if you’re looking for a smaller class size.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the job market because I went straight to graduate school after undergrad, and most of the biology majors that I know are doing the same (getting their master’s, PhD, or MD) or they’re taking a gap year or two (Americorps, Teach for America, Peace Corps, one got a Fullbright to study abroad) before applying for med school or grad school. The only people I know who were struggling to get jobs also had no experience during their undergrad and only wanted a job to get experience before applying to other schools (they wanted to go to pharmacy school or nursing).</p>
<p>There are a lot of opportunities here for biology majors to pursue what their interested in (research experience, TA-ing as an undergraduate, volunteering in different settings), and I would recommend that you take advantage of those opportunities as a biology major whether you go to UCSD or elsewhere. Regardless of whether you decide to get a job or continue you’re education, doing extras like that will help keep you ahead of the pack.</p>