<p>Hello
I was interested in Pharmacology at UCSB but i couldn't really find any information on it.
What is it? Is it a good major? What kinds of jobs could i get and whats the job outlook look like? Any information on this major would be appreciated</p>
<p>Essentially, its how drugs interact with the human body. There are different parts to pharmacology…mainly a psychology segment, a chemistry segment, and some neuroscience. The chemistry in pharmacology deals with structure activity relationships between molecules and their effects. The psychology part deals with what the user actually experiences/feels/etc upon drug administration. The neurochemistry deals with actual receptor affinity and binding. There’s also much more to this but now you have the idea…</p>
<p>If you like chemistry then its a good major…job outlook is pretty good, you can go into academia or industry with a PhD and fill a variety of positions</p>
<p>Pharmacology is generally a graduate-level specialty. At the undergrad level, major in one of the bioscience fields (e.g., physiology, biochemistry, or neuroscience) or chemistry, then apply for a grad program in pharmacology.</p>
<p>All true–^ except perhaps the point about job outlook. As with many biomedical science disciplines, you can stop with a bachelors or masters and be relegated to lower positions for the next twenty or thirty years of your career, or you can get a Phd and struggle to compete for jobs and funding with the glut of postdocs that never seems to diminish. This isn’t to say that the job situation is bad, we make in the 20K’s during grad school, in the 30K’s and 40K’s during postdoc and permanent positions range from 50K on up. The day to day work is what makes it all worth it, you get to discover never before known information about the nature of molecules and life and maybe cure a disease or enhance the healthcare of the world.</p>