<p>I am just about to graduate with a bachelor's degree in biology. However, I absolutely hate it. I just cannot get into it the way the other students can. I can't get excited about it the way everyone else can. I don't feel passionate about it.</p>
<p>When I told my mother this, she took offense to it, and said she couldn't believe that $25k was spent on this degree only for me to hate it at graduation.</p>
<p>I really would like to do something else that is perhaps somewhat more applied, with a lot more real world applications. Biology just seems to be too much basic science. The classes are boring me with theory. I was really able to get into labs like making your own yogurt in microbiology for instance. I feel better doing real world things, not just studying theory.</p>
<p>I can't do med school because my GPA is too low, and I don't think I want to go to grad school in biology because the work doesn't stimulate me. How do I make this right, to where I can feel excited about what I'm doing? I would be open to a second bachelor's degree, btw.</p>
<p>I was advised, long ago, that a second bachelor's degree didn't make sense. If you're going back to school, I'd recommend looking into a master's degree program.</p>
<p>You mentioned yogurt, though, and I wonder if you couldn't find a job working in a winery or for one of the artisanal cheese farms that are cropping up here in the northeast and west coast. There are so many neat things you could do with your technical background it seems with a little brain storming you could find an application that really excites you. Things in the environmental field, too - lots of real world applications there and not necessarily things you've specifically learned in class but that have on the job training. Look up the Chatham Sheep Herding Company on line and see where that leads you - what about the Culinary Institute of America? You're not in a bad place just because you don't want to go on in biology. It sounds like you have found something you like, you just need to find a way to be employed doing it.</p>
<p>My brother-in-law, who is a physicist, suggested to my son that he combine physics and an m.b.a., or physics and law, as a way to have more job opportunities. He feels that there are many businesses that have specialty backgrounds. In particular, I recall him mentioning patent law. My son is no longer looking at physics as a major because his interests have changed, but I remember thinking it was good advice at the time. So, for example, you may wind up managing a biotech company someday, or patenting genomes.</p>
<p>As an employer, I do not always focus that much on what a person's degree is in, as long as they have a degree. I typically am far more interested in their work experience and in assessing how well they will fit within the team I've built.</p>
<p>Also, you may want to begin by taking a career quiz like one offered on Princeton Review, which is a variation of the Myers-Briggs test, I think. If you are really outgoing, you may be happier in a job that lets you deal with people all the time. Anyway, your degree in biology will not be wasted, because you are certain to have learned about critical thinking and how to analyze data. Those are valuable skills!</p>
<p>Look into the PA (Physicians Assistant) programs. You must start them with a BS in Biology or Chem. so no waisted time with your degree. There are numerous branches of the PA degree. You can specialize in many interesting areas. The job outlook for a PA is great for the next 10 years. Starting salaries are 65-75K and after 2 years experience you are at 6 digits. Some examples...surgery, plastic surgeons office (some of the best pay),pharmaceutical, psychology,and the list goes on. It's only two more years after you graduate and most of that is clinical so you can get out of the classroom duldrum.</p>
<p>I am thinking about going into environmental engineering as part of a civil engineering program. I took some engineering related classes, and I seemed to like it better than pure biology. Any advice and thoughts?</p>
<p>Real engineering combined with bio might have some real opportunities because many bio majors are there because they like science, but not math. If your state has a "technical/agriculture" university, do some research on their website about majors and career opportunities that intersect engineering and biology (outside of formal bioengineering) - try UMass Amherst, Cornell, UCDavis, Auburn Univ or Vanderbilt (food science in particular) to give you some ideas.</p>
<p>PA is not a bad idea, either, if you are detail and person oriented - although most PAs I know are nurses or MTs that have gone back to school - some medical experience.</p>
<p>My school does have an engineering school, and some of the engineering courses that I have taken out of personal interest include courses in civil, environmental, and electrical and computer engineering. I am thinking about pursuing an engineering degree at my school, but I would like to know how it relates to biology from you parent's view so I can convince my mom that engineering could be a good fit for me.</p>
<p>My husband graduated with a BS in Biology. Has never directly used his biology knowledge, and yet has done quite well for himself working for the Federal government. Another biology major I know has had a very satisfying career in the insurance industry. And, still a third biology major I know ended up in journalism with a specialty in health-related topics. There's no law that says you have to do something directly related to biology. In fact, I would suggest broadening your career search beyond just the traditional "jobs for biology majors." </p>
<p>The first thing you should do is go to your school's career counseling center and ask for a schedule of which employers will be recruiting on campus over the next few months. Many employers hire college students with ANY degree for entry level career jobs, and on campus recruiting is the place to start looking for these kinds of jobs. While you're at the career counseling center, ask about any resources they may have (books, databases, etc.) concerning different types of careers. Put aside the "must do something with biology" thinking for a while and let yourself dream a little about what you would like to do. Do you want to work with people? Do you enjoy researching solutions to problems (not just biology problems)? Do you enjoy writing? Working with numbers? and so on. In other words, don't lock yourself into thinking that you can ONLY do something related to biology. </p>
<p>It's a big world out there, and the skills you've learned as a bio major (i.e., research, data collection, writing, presentation skills, etc.) can likely be applied to many different types of jobs, not just science related ones. Good luck!</p>
<p>I am 21. My parents paid for my degree, everything above merit aid, which wasn't much. I won't get into an argument about my personal financial situation, the job situation near my hometown, or anything like that. I'd like to hear more from some others, if possible.</p>
<p>You do realize there's a huge difference between classes on theory and real-world jobs doing bio? Esp. the jobs available with a bachelor's degree?</p>
<p>I have a SB bio degree, and I spent several years working as a biology technician. I have also taught science (lots of opportunity for hands-on, but you do have to teach that boring theory).</p>
<p>Go to your college's placement office and look through the starting level job offered, even the ones outside your field. Something may appeal to you.</p>
<p>I'd still like to know what everyone thinks about myself doing environmental engineering. It seems to be closely related to bio from the class I took, and engineering, with my interest in math, could be a good option, especially if combined with the bio major. I'd also be interested in some computer stuff, as I REALLY like computers, yet I don't know about the opportunities in bioinformatics. I'd really like to have computers be part of my job when I finally get out of school, and I definitely wouldn't mind doing engineering. What do you think?</p>
<p><em>I</em> think that some environmental engineering firms (I used to work for one of the biggies) hire people with bio degrees to work with the engineers on certain projects. If you were to go to work for one of them you could try the environmental engineeering discipline on for size and think about working on that sort of degree part time (and let your employer pay for it!).</p>
<p>I would also look at some of the things you like to do, that maybe you took electives in, and see how you can combine that with the bio -- such as science and medical writing, marketing/sales of biologically oriented products, things like that.</p>
<p>I don't think I would like writing very much, or sales. I am intrigued by the engineering idea, however, since the engineering disciplines are what I took electives in for some reason, but I ended up liking it because it was less memorization based unlike bio.</p>
<p>At my school, however, there is no separate environmental engineering program, and usually there isn't from what I've seen. It is part of the civil engineering program. I think that it would take a long time to complete this degree part time, and it would still take two to three years full time. You also have to take courses in structural, geotechnical, hydraulic, and other forms of engineering. The question is, should I pursue this option? What do you think?</p>
<p>Also, how can I bring computers into the mix, since that is one of my favorite hobbies? If I could do this, I would feel more satisfied in my career.</p>
<p>It is hard for me to imagine how I could you advise you on whether or not you should pursue envioronmental engineering. On paper, you would appear to have reasonable tools for it. But whether you will like it, whether it is a good fit for you, really only you can say IMO. </p>
<p>This is why I agree with the earlier posters who said to go to the career office. My advice is to keep unearthing and exploring options (perhaps in many fields) until you feel comfortable at a gut level with at least one option. </p>
<p>As for computers: if you love computers, then that in itself gives good reason to think that you might well be happy in that field. Why don't you explore computers first (at the career office and on your own)?</p>
<p>As for environmental engineering, would you be able to attend classes and/or talk to people in that field, in order to see for yourself, in order to get that gut feeling one way or the other? Many people are willing to chat briefly with students about their work.</p>
<p>I used my degree in Environmental Engineering with what was then called "systems analysis" to do modeling work for a regional planning agency after graduation. While on the job, I learned more commercial data processing skills, and from there worked into a career that has been far more computer-oriented than my original degree would have predicted. </p>
<p>You'll end up "bringing computers into the mix" wherever you work: data has to be analyzed, and we don't tend to do that by hand much anymore. ;)</p>