<p>this is my first thread but I've been reading cc for a while.</p>
<p>I'm a second year city college (CA) student and I've been getting a 4.0 GPA while taking a lot of units (52 first two semesters + summer session) so I feel like I'll have some options as to what schools I can get into.
Basically I am really good in academics but I'm kinda confused as to what I wanna do.
I plan to transfer next year to UCSD Bioengineering: Biotechnology, which shouldn't be a problem for me. However I don't really know what a job in this field is like.
What I know is that I'm interested in regenerative medicine and in doing research or working in a start up, basically in an exciting environment where new things are being studied as opposed to being stuck in a lab all day every day (if that's the case for anyone, but again I have no clue).
Regardless, I'll definitely complete a Master's. Is there any UCSD biotechnology graduate (or current student) who can report on job opportunities/salaries for an above than average person, but mostly on what they actually do on a daily basis? Preferably someone who graduated with a Master's but any opinion and comment is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Also, I'm going to apply to Berkeley and Stanford. If I were lucky enough to get in, do you think I should go there just for the 'name' even if Bioengineering is probably better at UCSD? Considering I plan to go to graduate school either way, do you think starting bioengineering at the undergraduate level is gonna make any difference as opposed to say getting a chemical engineering degree at berkeley and then going for a master in bioengineering somewhere else?</p>
<p>I’m a chemical engineering student at Berkeley. If you are interested in biotechnology, you can’t really beat Berkeley or Stanford being that the biggest biotech firms are in the Bay area. Also, as a chemical engineer at Berkeley, you have the option of concentrating in biotechnology, as I am doing right now. This means taking more of the bio related chemical engineering courses. Even our chemE department is now called the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department. You can’t really go wrong with any of the three choices you mentioned.</p>
<p>Well first of all, you can look at two very different industries: medical devices or biotech (pharma) firms. I am more knowledgeable about pharma</p>
<p>(1) You will need at least a masters, if not a PhD if you are interested in pursuing anything research-related in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. Bench (lab) and clinical research will require a PhD (bench) or MD/PharmD/MS/PhD (clinical). </p>
<p>(2) Aggressively pursue internships. </p>
<p>(3) Typical day will depend on what function are in - clinical trials are a huge process and there are a lot of different roles. You’ll have to specify what you are interested in if you want more information.</p>
<p>I am currently a student in a six-year doctorate of pharmacy program. I have worked on three oncology therapeutics in the last two summers at some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world in marketing and medical affairs. </p>
<p>Marketing entails two major functions: strategic development and tactical implementation. Strategic development is the brand positioning and vision of a product for the next few years - it is heavily based on market research, input from clinicians, etc. The tactical implementation side is the actual “operations” aspect of marketing - putting the brand strategy into practice. This can include direct-to-consumer advertising, physician symposiums, print advertisements, etc.</p>
<p>Medical affairs is typically involved with post-marketing clinical trials and long term safety evaluation of drugs. Most drugs pursue multiple indications and after the pivotal phase III study (the study that gets the drug approved by the FDA for marketing), medical affairs is usually in charge of the medical strategy and management of the clinical trials. There are many subdivisions of medical affairs including: drug information (answering physician questions), medical science liaisons (field-based clinicians that interact with physicians), etc.</p>
<p>Clinical Development is in charge of your typical Phase I (safety), II (efficacy), III (large, multi-center efficacy) studies.</p>
<p>PS: Name (Cal, Stanford) will always help, but from my experience in industry, there is really a very wide variety of people from different education backgrounds. The common thread between all of them is that they almost always have some scientific training and a higher degree if they are in R&D. Pharma isn’t as obsessed about the prestige of a degree as some other industries (consulting, investment banking), but it certainly does put you in a favorable light if you do have prestigious degree.</p>