<p>Hi, I'm an incoming second year Physiology & Neuroscience major at ERC, pre-med. I'm afraid of not making it into any med schools, so I'm considering switching over to a major in biotechnology since I dunno what else to do with this degree. The problem is, I've already wasted a whole year on my phys&neuro major requirements, so there's a high chance I'll have to graduate in five or more years with the engineering major. </p>
<p>Is it a good idea to switch? Or.. what other possibilities will I have with a physiology & neuroscience degree besides med school?</p>
<p>You won’t really have a chance at anything with just a BS in Physiology and Neuroscience. But this girl I know is about to be a 5th year and she did the BS/MS program. It’s not that hard, you just need a 3.25 I think and you apply your 3rd year. She got accepted and she basically only needs two quarters of grad school classes and she gets an MS even though she isn’t doing a thesis. And she’ll already have an MS which is a good foot in the door toward PHD. She won’t have trouble finding a job, she also has lab experience. </p>
<p>But Bioengineering: Biotechnology is also a dead end if the BS is your terminal degree and you don’t do an internship or get lab experience. You won’t get a job unless you have lab experience. My friend just graduated BioE/Biotech and he’s still looking for a job after two months. His experience is lackluster and he’s just shy of a 3.0. It all boils down to experience/internships and making yourself stand out.</p>
<p>And if you do that with any major, you’ll land a good job. My ex graduated Econ/Man Science and she got a job ON campus over 35k a year full time with benefits and quickly moved up to a supervisor position. She got experience through an internship on campus. </p>
<p>The biggest mistake engineering majors make, is taking “easy” technical electives. That’s just stupid. Take stuff that has to do with what you want to do as a job, so you get experience in it. </p>
<p>Is it possible to graduate with a BS in Bioengineering in 5 years with a major change? Sure it is. You’ve taken all the Physics and Chemistry and Calculus right? 20A-20D at minimum, 2A-2C and 6A-6C, maybe 140A? If so, you have a huge lead. You could take some BioE classes in the summer to make up. But GET EXPERIENCE and get involved. And take tech elects that are USEFUL to you in the job market.</p>