Trying to Choose a Major with Biology Bachelors?

Graduate School
1

<p>I have a bachelors in biology and intend on going to graduate school next year. I have always wanted to do environmental science or a related biology field but have recently been discouraged due to the low availability/low salaries available if I got a gradute degree in this field. Especially with the way the economy is now, I have decided to look elsewhere within the biology field.</p>

<p>I am trying to find a field that I can get into with my biology bachelors degree but offers employment opportunities and salaries that are not too low.</p>

<p>I have looked into pharmacology and vet schools. I would rather not do pharmacology (I would probably do a masters in pharmacology, not get a pharmacisits license) and do not think I could get into vet school. To add some info, I am really into animals and conservation but do not care for cell biology although I am decent at it and can do it. My overall GPA is 3.69 and my GRE scores are 540 math and 570 verbal (I realize my scores are lower then average, hence my apprehension applying to vet schools).</p>

<p>Are there any other programs that I have not considered? </p>

<p>I have also looked into business programs that allow applicants without a bachelors in a business field.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

2

<p>Not to sound rude, but if you’re going into a PhD because you want to make a lot of money, you might want to reconsider. A lot of people on here have already mentioned how it’s not just the four-plus years of low income, but lost money from investments/etc. I can’t help you much with this part, because I haven’t really researched the salaries people get in a lot of areas of biology (although a quick Google search could remedy this for you).</p>

<p>As for working with animals/environmental science, I think the best thing you could do is do what I did after first coming to this message board: look for professors/faculty that are a good fit. Go to the Academic Programs portion of the website, rather than doing a specific Google search for a department at a university, and poke around–partially because they have a bunch of different departments that sometimes overlap at schools, partially because you might see something you like, but would have otherwise missed.</p>

<p>This approach could also have surprising benefits, too. My organic chemistry professor, for example, had a friend who was a synthetic chemist. Every year, his lab went somewhere in the Indian ocean and researched a certain type of sponge for a few months, then would take samples and study properties of some biological compounds in the lab. What you can do in a given department isn’t set in stone, and there are some nice exceptions.</p>

<p>Another good piece of advice I’ve seen on this board is try and apply to biology umbrella plans (Berkeley MCB, UCSF Tetrad, etc). A lot of these places will admit students under a large umbrella program where you poke around several disciplines for a year, then decide your specialty and pursue it.</p>

<p>I guess what I’m getting at is poke around for a little while and try to get a rough feel for things you might be comfortable studying for four or more years. Don’t set anything in stone (especially if you’ve never done labwork with it), but just get a good feel for it. If money’s the main factor, though, you might want to reconsider; since a PhD isn’t the fastest way to go about earning a large paycheck.</p>

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<p>Environmental science is a difficult field to obtain a job and the jobs that are available are similar salaries to what I can obtain without a college degree. I would basically most likely be living paycheck to paycheck.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

4

<p>First off, I feel your pain. This was my area of interest and where I got my degree 25 years ago.</p>

<p>I started out as a science teacher, first at a small private school, teaching science from grades 7 to 12. Then I tried my hand at teaching chemistry to hs juniors at an all girl catholic hs, figuring I wouldn’t have as many discipline problems. I was all of 23 at the time. Finally, decided teaching was not for me, although if I had been older and more prepared for the classroom setting, it would not have been a bad career. </p>

<p>I then got a job as a lab research assistant at the local medical school. The pay was even less than teaching. But I enjoyed what I was doing, and it was great to use my degree as well. I started in pharmacology, then moved into a genetics position when the animal experimentation phase started because I was just too much an animal lover to kill mice. I loved the tissue culture and really enjoyed doing library research to help write grants and even the menial tasks of cleaning glassware and ordering supplies. I really felt like I was a scientist. At 25, seeing as I would never be able to afford a house, I went back to school and became a freelance court reporter, something I’ve been doing now for 20 years.</p>

<p>Things that could have helped me succeed in my research jobs, especially the genetics, was being more familiar with lab equipment. As I mostly took field courses, like marine bio, ornithology, and wetlands ecology, I had never gotten proficient on microscopes, slide making, and other more practical scientific methods. </p>

<p>So my advice to you, if you haven’t already done so, is to take courses in microbiology or any other classes where you’ll get practice using hands-on everyday lab techniques.</p>

<p>Another field that would have greatly increased my salary, but that wouldn’t have required much more schooling at the time, was a medical technologist, a certified position that you have to take a licensing test and have to do unpaid internships, “clinicals” like a nursing student would do, to receive this degree. It would have been worthwhile for me to do go an extra year or so to pursue this, as I would have been able to work in a hospital lab, and earn twice what I was earning as a lab “technician” rather than a lab “technologist”.</p>

<p>If your true love is environmental and you are willing to barely live paycheck to paycheck, you don’t have family to take care of and have simple needs, I would urge you to visit the various universities websites under their biology departments and click on the various faculty members webpages to see what kind of research they’re doing. You can maybe apply for grad school there and possibly get a TA or research position and move on to graduate study.</p>

<p>One thing I will say to you, even though I am not employed as scientist, I have never lost my passion for biology. My nature interests have become my hobby now, and my science background helps me greatly in my job.</p>

<p>Good luck to you!</p>

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<p>^^^Your wisdom and life experience is greatly appreciated. One point though- medical lab technologists no longer make twice what research techs make. The clinical lab affiliated with my department pays exactly the same for research techs and mlts.</p>

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<p>Some program areas you might not have considered:</p>

<p>Dietetics</p>

<p>Restoration Ecology</p>

<p>Also, don’t limit your search to biology departments—check out colleges of agriculture, too. </p>

<p>I’m thinking in terms of master’s programs in applied biology fields that have some employment/salary potential with private companies and down the road, even consulting (dietetics has that potential). For a field like dietetics, it might involve either a master’s or a second bachelor’s degree.</p>

<p>Any interest in health-related fields such as nursing or public health?</p>

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<p>Excellent point on the colleges of agriculture. </p>

<p>There are programs out there that combine degrees or have dual-focus, like conservation biology meshed with policy. They’re harder to track down, but they’re definitely out there.</p>

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<p>Many state medical schools, such as LSU, have applied medicine programs alongside the traditional medical school, where students take classes and do “clinicals”.
Besides nursing, there are ultrasound technicians, pulmonary technicians, various other health fields that require more than just the 18 month associates degree at a community college. </p>

<p>However, radiology, X-ray technician is a very good field, and may only require a couple more years in school, and it pays well. </p>

<p>I don’t know about since Katrina, but Tulane had an excellent school of public health and toxicology. Many toxicologists consult on DWI cases, toxic tort cases, asbestos cases, and make money on the side of their professor duties doing that.</p>

<p>One of my classmates did go on to get her masters in microbiology, using bacteria to break down waste. That was pretty cutting edge back then, 20 years ago. She went to UTenn, but I think a lot of colleges have that program as well.</p>

<p>Good luck to you, and keep your chin up!</p>

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<p>Thank you for all your replies…</p>

<p>I am willing to look into anything at this point- health care etc. I will look into all of your suggestions.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p><strong><em>I am sorry for some confusion but I was mainly looking for obtaining a masters degree in any field with a bachelors in biology</em></strong></p>

<p>I was just wondering if anyone else had any ideas of healthcare/medical or any other programs I could get into with a bachelors in biology.</p>

<p>I was hoping to obtain a masters degree and not simply a certificate or get a second bachelors degree. I basically wanted to use my biology bachelors toward admission into a masters program. I dont want to feel like I am wasting my degree and starting over in a completely new field. </p>

<p>I have done some research and have not come up with a whole lot so far. I have looked into physical therapy/physician assistant programs but they require many hours volunteering or working in that field for admission into their masters programs which is something I do not have. </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

11

<p>I think you can find some physician assistant programs that will take you without the experience. Otherwise, I’ve known a few people who get EMT training and that gets them into the program.</p>