<p>I've always been fascinated with biology however I got lured into the whole Wall St bonanza when I enrolled in college in 2005. I've recently graduated with a degree in Economics but the jobs that I've worked and are available to me bore the hell out of me. Therefore, I want to reconnect with my passion for biology and pursue a career in Biotech. Ideally, I'd like to work with DNA and genetics.</p>
<p>I was going to minor in biology as an undergraduate but I regretfully listened to my academic advisor who strongly pushed me away from even taking an Intro Bio class. As of now, I have taken none of the prereqs needed besides calculus to enroll in a Biology Master's program so my thoughts are that I may as well get a second Bachelor's in Biology.</p>
<p>I would prefer to not get a Master's because I could finish a second Bachelor's much faster and begin working. However from what I've read on these forums, people seem to think a Bachelor's in Biology is not enough to do interesting and well-paying work.</p>
<p>So if a Master's is required to do important work, should I take the prereqs at community college or get the full Bachelor's?</p>
<p>Because I know someone will ask, the reason why I didn't stay in school to double major is because it was too late by the time I was seriously considering this.</p>
<p>One of my friends in a lab I’m researching in has almost your exact situation; graduated with a degree in marketing a few years ago, and now wants to do a graduate degree in biology.</p>
<p>My first piece of advice, since you mentioned you haven’t even taken an introductory biology course, would be to try taking a couple courses before committing fully to it. You can like the idea of something, but absolutely hate the day-to-day reality of it (A friend of mine absolutely loves the studies of biophysics, but will never pursue a degree in it because they can’t handle the actual major).</p>
<p>If you still want to do it, go for it! I’d do what she’s doing and attempt to do post-bac work at a University/resarch in a lab, since research is extremely important in a lot of graduate programs. In addition to that, it’ll help you narrow down your interests, and hopefully help you figure out what you want to do. Saying you want to work with DNA and genetics is like a mechanical engineer saying they want to work with machines (although I totally get where you’re coming from, since I just wanted to be “a genetic engineer” when I started my major).</p>
<p>If you have any other questions or want some help, just PM me. I switched majors to bio a couple years back, and I know full well how disorienting it can be jumping from one field to another. Take it easy!</p>
<p>Without any of the foundation, an MS isn’t going to happen yet. You need to go back to undergrad-level courses. If you want a career in science, you really ought to get the full Bachelor’s degree and the requisite solid background… 4 semester of chem, physics, intro bio, molecular and cellular biology, genetics, some electives, etc… and then some form of grad school. </p>
<p>More and more schools are offering combined BS/MS degrees these days. You would be wise to look into these as an expedited route to a graduate degree, especially since it may be otherwise difficult to find a program you like that offers an MS (as opposed to most biology programs that are just PhD-track).</p>
<p>Wow, thanks for the quick responses and great advice.</p>
<p>Serric, you’re certainly right that I should try a couple courses before committing to this plan. I’ve been voraciously reading books on biotechnology and evolutionary biology but the classroom and lab is a different setting. Since it is too late to enroll this Fall for most schools anyway, I’ll take some Bio and/or Chem at a local community college or CSU.</p>
<p>Would I be able to work in a lab even though I have no training? I would love to volunteer at a lab if I could.</p>
<p>It is too early to know exactly what I want to do but I am particularly taken by DNA silencing. Genetic kidney disease is in my family so working on something like that would be very satisfying.</p>
<p>Sounds like a second Bachelor’s is the way to go. A joint BS/MS would be fantastic. Due to budget cuts in California, the CSUs and UCs are no longer accepting applicants with a Bachelor’s already. I would imagine these programs would be similarly discriminating? </p>
<p>I’ll conduct my own research but I’d greatly appreciate if anyone could share what good schools they know have these programs. I live in the SF Bay Area and closer is better but I did my undergrad in the Northeast so I’d be open to going back. As far as Bay Area schools, Berkeley, UCSC, SFSU and SJSU would be closed to me. Santa Clara and USF don’t offer joint programs but would be where I’d most like to go for a second Bachelor’s since the publics are unfortunately out of the picture.</p>
<p>I took another look at my institution’s (U of Arizona) accelerated master’s programs and unfortunately it looks like having any bachelor’s degree puts applicants out of the running. It’s not TOO hard to get around this though… I talked my undergrad department into letting me do an MS after graduation because I’d been working in a lab as a technician and would be taking another year before starting my PhD. Since I stayed on as a part-time employee, tuition was pretty much free. </p>
<p>Another thing you could do is find biotech companies or research groups that interest you and look at their job postings/websites thoroughly. You can probably get a good idea of the kinds of qualifications they look for and the associated responsibilities at each level. </p>
<p>I strongly agree that taking a few intro courses before committing is a great idea. I don’t know what your schedule is like right now, but if you’re really curious what the classes are like, I don’t know any professors who would object to you just sitting in on a large-ish lecture class (they wouldn’t even know…). Class schedules and whatnot are all online, so it wouldn’t be too hard to track one down.</p>
<p>I too can totally relate to the phrase “I want to work with DNA and genetics,” by the way. Between the ages of 13 and 20, all I really knew was “I want to be a geneticist!”</p>
<p>Well I did a bit of research regarding the qualifications companies are looking for and I found a number of positions that do not require a MS. I’d still like to get an advanced degree one day but it seems like I wouldn’t have to get it right after a BS. It’d be great if I could find a company that would pay for me to get an MS or PhD.</p>
<p>I would imagine most schools would be accommodating to what you did at UofA. I’ll certainly try that myself if I think it will be advantageous. </p>
<p>What materials would you recommend to learn more about job specifics? I kind of feel like a 13 year old who’s pumped but can’t even tell you exactly what he’s pumped for haha</p>
<p>If you’ve just got a BS and you get a job, you’ll probably be doing really boring bench work. You’ll probably need an MS if you want any kind of independence.</p>
<p>Depending on where you are, you can probably get a lab position rather quickly. I started in a genetics lab after taking just one semester of biology + lab, and it’s worked out pretty well for me. For a lot of introductory lab work you don’t really need that much background, and most of it’s pretty easy to learn as you go.</p>
<p>Buy a cheap edition of “Biology” by Campbell and Reece and have at it. And before you start in a lab, I’d recommend reading “At the Bench” by Barker.</p>
<p>I highly, highly recommend watching the 7.012 (not 7.013 or 7.014) lectures on MIT’s opencourseware (especially the ones when Lander lectures). Also, Berkeley has Bio 1A and 1B video lectures online (webcast.berkeley.edu), and those are excellent as well.</p>
<p>I am surprised nobody has suggested this. There are professional masters degrees in biotechnology that last 2 years, divided into four different topics for biotech professionals- molecular biology, patent law, business management and regulatory. They take people from various disciplines that want preparation to work in biotech. I know of UW’s program but there are probably similar programs wherever you live.
[Master</a> of Science in Biotechnology, University of Wisconsin - Madison. Educating professionals in the business, science and legal/ethical aspects of the biotechnology industry](<a href=“http://www.ms-biotech.wisc.edu/]Master”>http://www.ms-biotech.wisc.edu/)</p>
<p>I have a second Bachelors degree. I went from Accounting to Nursing. If I had it to do over again I would have gone the Masters Route in a program similair to the one described at the UW. I would take my prerecs at a Junior college and go straight to masters work. You can probably take your pre recs at night in about a year and continue working at the same time. Cost is a big factor for a second Bachelors. Financial aid for second bachelors degrees is slim to nil. I had to pay for mine out of pocket as i used my federal aid up in the first degree. It was expensive, but… WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY. I am a much happier soul today. Go for it, you may find a cure for that Kidney disease you were talking about. People who do whay they love are much better people and employees!</p>
<p>I think the biotech MS programs are definitely worth looking into, but it really doesn’t appear to be science-based. It’s about management, business practices and ethics, as opposed to the R&D itself.</p>
<p>All I know for certain is that I want to work in the Biotechnology industry. If I don’t like working in a lab, it’s good to know there are MS programs out there that also prepare people to deal with other aspects of biotech and not just the research side. </p>
<p>As of now, I’m leaning towards getting a full Bachelor’s in Biology and then proceed with an MS in Biotechnology or Molecular/Cell Biology. Of course, I’ll have to weigh all my options and compare costs before making a final decision but you’ve all helped me greatly so thank you.</p>
<p>Sarbruis, these video lectures are great, thanks.</p>
<p>I’m in a similar situation graduating in economics and now regretting that decision. In my case I want to go back to school for engineering. I’ve also contemplated going directly to MS (taking the require prereq classes at a local university) but in the case of engineering it seems that for licensing a BS is required. I say go for what you’ll enjoy, in the long run four extra years is not going to mean much.</p>
<p>Also, I’m curious, whenever one of these type of “should I go back to school” threads pop up, there always seems to be an example of someone who is working in a field not related to their major. For example, someone mentioned earlier in the thread a person who had a bachelor’s in marketing but was working in a biology lab. My question is, how do these people secure these positions? I have tried looking for jobs in non-econ/banking/finance fields and I have noticed that the job postings 99% of the time require at the very minimum a bachelor’s in that field.</p>
<p>The someone who mentioned a person with a bachelor’s working in a bio lab was me. I guess ‘working’ wouldn’t be the right word, but she wants to pursue an MSc in biology, so she’s doing undergrad (well, post-bac) research in the lab I’m part of.</p>
<p>I’m curious, what’s her background with regard to how many bio classes she has taken? It just seems to me that with a marketing background (assuming she hasn’t taken any bio classes) that she would be over her head even being an undergrad assistant to a professor at a bio lab.</p>
<p>In another thread I was reading about someone that started out as an english major, but with some make-up classes ended up in a good neuroscience masters program. I’m seriously curious as to how these students do it.</p>
<p>Pugsley, if you are thinking that you want to make a real go of research and not simply to be a part of the biotech industry, then a Phd will be necessary. Your comment demonstrates that you might not have realized this- Phd’s in the biomedical sciences come with tuition remission, health insurance and a salary. You needn’t have a company paying for your degree.</p>
<p>I’m curious, what’s her background with regard to how many bio classes she has taken? It just seems to me that with a marketing background (assuming she hasn’t taken any bio classes) that she would be over her head even being an undergrad assistant to a professor at a bio lab.</p>
<p>In another thread I was reading about someone that started out as an english major, but with some make-up classes ended up in a good neuroscience masters program. I’m seriously curious as to how these students do it.
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<p>Well, it sort of helps that my school is known more for business (hint: got “Best in the West” recently for its business program) than anything else, and that the labs aren’t that difficult to get into. I don’t know exactly what classes she’s taken, but–given her current courseload, and knowing the course reqs for her/my track inside and out–it was at minimum basic cell/molec bio, a year of basic chemistry, basic genetics, and developmental genetics. The professor we work under has a minimum requirement of basic genetics to work in his lab, so I don’t think she’s been in the lab much longer than I have.</p>
<p>As for the English major, that’s almost me…spent my first two years as an English major before finally doing what I really wanted. Here’s keeping my fingers crossed that I can do the same, except replace ‘neuroscience masters’ with ‘neuroscience PhD’, heh.</p>
<p>I’m on the same boat. Have a BA in something completely not related to science, and I am just now taking extension classes to finally take the classes I was too intimidated to take in college. I want to eventually obtain a Phd in something biology (I want to work in a lab/do research) related and am unsure whether I should try and get a BS or just do the prerequisites and try to find an MS program that accepts non science majors. So far all the masters programs I have looked into require you to have a degree in some sort of science. Does anyone know of any masters programs that make exceptions?
The only thing about getting a BS is the cost. I hear financial aid for a second degree is very limited and all the state schools (I live in California) are no longer taking people who want a second Bachelors because of budget cuts. My only choice seems to be to go to a private institution, which I can’t afford.</p>
<p>If it interests you, I’d definetely say go for for it.</p>
<p>A few of my friends graduated with biology degrees and got jobs easily (Ireland’s focus on the knowledge economy paid off)</p>
<p>Way too many people I know are doing degrees they hated just to try and get jobs, which is working out really badly for them. Seeing as you have a passion for it, I’d definetely say go for it. A good friend of mine became a nurse and hated it. He went back to college, did a BA and MA and just got a PHD in history. DOing some secondary history teaching while applying to universities. He’s happy as a clam, so he is. Loves teaching and the possibility of moving onto academia is a bonus.</p>
<p>Have you considered studying outside of America? I know fees would be tight as you already have a degree. For example, Scottish universities are 11k a year for international students. THis could be a lot cheaper than going to a US.
If you’re interested in going down the PHD route, most science doctorates will pay for you to do a PHD (along with tuition waivers) in exhange for acting as a TA/RA.</p>
Hey, Pugsly!
It’s been a long time…
I have quite the same situation - I have business administration undergraduate degree and MS in entrepreneurship and innovation management. Now I’m considering biology BS. So I’d very appreciate if you share an update on your story. Did it really work out? Have you got your bio BS ?