<p>Hello everyone! I'm going to be attending UC Davis in the fall. Career-wise, I'm interesting in researching medicine and developing pharmaceuticals. Another thing I'm potentially interested in is cancer research. Previously, I had my eyes set on majoring in pharmaceutical chemistry. However, some people have been saying chemistry degrees are pretty much a bust in the job market and that I'd be better off majoring in biochemical engineering. </p>
<p>I love chemistry, and I feel like pharmaceutical chemistry is likely to focus on that more. My main concern with it is the job market afterwards. If I major in pharmaceutical, I would like to pursue a PhD for it, but I'm not entirely should I would be able to afford to do so unless I managed to find work for a company who was willing to help me pay for the schooling. I've read all of the necessary courses for both degrees and the classes for pharmaceutical chemistry appealed to be more than the courses for biochemical engineering.</p>
<p>If I were to major in biochemical engineering on the other hand, I will likely be able to get a decent job with simply a bachelors and would not have to worry about affording schooling for a PhD. I don't want to be stressed with extremely hard engineering classes and I would like to enjoy college life while being able to get decently good grades, so choosing an engineering major would worry me but it could help my life in the long run. I'm decently good at math, but I was never one of the top students except in non-honors math classes in high school. I only took up to pre-calculus and then did AP Statistics senior year since a large percentage of people in AP Calculus in my school flat out fail the class and I didn't want to risk that to my GPA. I'm worried about the more difficult math courses required for biochemical engineering, I believe I'd be able to handle math for science majors, but maybe not math for engineering majors. </p>
<p>Regardless of what I have stated, I would appreciate any opinions you may have on majoring in pharmaceutical chemistry versus majoring in biochemical engineering. Thanks!</p>
<p>What exactly is biochemical engineering at UC Davis? Is it a concentration / minor in the chemical engineering department?</p>
<p>Keep in mind that for most PhD programs, in fact, all worth attending, will completely fund your PhD tuition. </p>
<p>Thanks for your response!</p>
<p>To be honest I’m having difficulty telling whether biochemical engineering at Davis is simply a part of the chemical engineering departments or whether it’s its own program. I’m interested in both biochemical engineering and chemical engineering if that matters.</p>
<p>When you saying that PhD programs tend to fund tuition do you mean through loans? I’m rather cautious about loans because I’m worried about basically being stuck paying loans for the rest of my life, especially if I end up in a job that doesn’t pay extremely well. Regardless, loans would make getting a PhD more doable.</p>
<p>As an engineering major you would probably have to take calc I through calc III, and elementary linear algebra and partial differential equations meant for non math majors. As a pharmaceutical chemistry major, you will only need calc I-III. However, math will show up again when you take the physics and physical chemistry series. </p>
<p>Some PhD programs will pay you to TA to pay off your tuition and give you a stipend. I do not recommend going into a PhD program where you will have to pull out significant amount of loans. </p>
<p>It is typically done through RAs or TAs. They will often give you a stipend as well, which is usually based upon the cost of living in the town the university is in It is uncommon for you to have to pay anything for a PhD education in STEM. Any program that you may apply to in the future that does not fully fund you is not worth your time.</p>
<p>The more safer option would be chemical engineering. When I looked at UC Davis website, biochemical engineering appears as its own major, that is actually the first time I have seen this. I still believe this would be a safer option than pharmaceutical sciences because of the inherently interdisciplinary nature of engineering, there would be many applications for biochem engineering. Southerneastern California has a lot of agriculture (I think), there is probably a lot of sustainable agriculture companies down there, chemical biotechnology and what not, so I think such a degree could be applicable, but take what I say with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Either way, paying for the PhD is none of your worries. You won’t have to pay a dime for the education itself, not even in loans. The biggest thing is that PhDs in engineers actually usually end up making less than MS (and often times BS) engineers, but for cancer research and other medical research a PhD would be necessary, so you would just be losing out about 6-7 ish years of income making roughly $60,000/year (common starting salary for new chem-engs), so by the end of the program you would have lost out on ~$360,000 and may have even picked up a raise on the way or something. Just be aware of that going into a PhD program, you have to really love what you’re doing to get started on that and to kiss goodbye a lifestyle that would have been vastly different in all other aspects.</p>
<p>I’m also in high school and pondering getting a PhD in engineering. From descriptions it seems much more interesting to me than what BS / MS engineers do. Especially in one of the fields I am interested in (biomedical engineering), this major usually doesn’t get you a job as a biomedical engineer at the BS level, so I’d kind of have to go to graduate school to make it applicable. But it’s too early for me, and you too, to know for sure if that’s our path. I love these forums because there are a lot of viewpoints that really make you think but luckily we do not have to make that decision for many years to come.</p>
<p>Good luck !</p>
<p>Thanks both of you! It’s good to know that getting a PhD won’t be costly, but the lost income while getting one is something to consider. You’re absolutely right in saying it’s too early to know what path is actually right for us. At Davis I’m in Undecided - Physical Sciences. They have some good career exploration opportunities/programs for undecided majors so I’m definitely going to take advantage of those, I just wish the undecided programs allowed you to explore majors/careers outside of your college, which for me would be psychology and chemical/biochemical engineering. Regardless, I’m still excited to go to college and actually be able to explore my interests and find my true passions. Chances are, when I find my true passion, I’m going to pursue it regardless of the financial/available jobs outlook. Good luck to you too!</p>