knower214

Currently, I am a biology major and computer science minor and I plan on applying for Med School. If not accepted to med school, then is there a good job prospects with a biology degree in the market?

As a back-up plan, I am thinking about a double major in biology and computer science. I am interested in Bioinformatics, and was thinking about getting a master's in bioinformatics, if not accepted in med school. How is the job market in the bioinformatics sector?

Any other suggestions are helpful too.

sschoe2

No. There are very poor prospects for BS level biologists in most specialties (not much better at the MS/PhD level). If you don't get into medical school you will need to do another professional degree (dental, PA, PT, OT, optometry, pharmacy or get a nonscience graduate degree such as finance accounting HR economics etc...

You will have a hard time finding any college degree requiring job with a biology degree let alone a nonpermatemp one with decent pay and benefits.

csh123

Bioinformatics is doing so and so as of right now. There's a huge bubble waiting to burst because you have CS majors that are overqualified switching over to bioinformatics because of the job prospects and then you have the Biology majors that are severely underqualified with no CS experience going into bioinformatics.

The competition is fierce.

yodelo

I wouldn't be a bio major unless you have future plans such as med school

terenc

It is not the end of the world if you don't get into med school and have a bio major with CS minor. You will still be in a better position than most humanities majors out there.

Focus on getting into med school. Get your GPA up. Do research.
And if you have a high GPA and research experience but still somehow don't get into med school, you are well positioned for
1) grad school (PhD or masters)
2) research jobs, bioengineering, the type of jobs that take any major.

sschoe2

Why not switch to CS major and biology minor? You will be in a much better position with a BS in CS than in BioS

discoinferno

I would go with the bioinformatics option. It would leave med school open and turn your odd major/minor combination into a single recognized and recruited major.

Depending on the school, switching to a CS major could border on starting from scratch, but if not, then CS is easily the best undergrad degree out there in terms of pure job opportunities. Source: Indeed.com

astults13

I feel like there are lots of job opportunities for bio majors, but it really depends on what you focus on when you get your degree. Sure, everyone takes the basic ecology, botany, genetics courses, etc., but you should set out with a goal in mind. If you want a job doing research, you should apply for undergrad research positions and then continue in graduate school. There is a ton of research opportunities for people who have a background in biology, but if you want the big bucks you need to have some experience and more than just a BS. Also maybe you should consider switching into a related major such as microbiology, genetics, neuroscience, biotechnology, biomedical sciences/engineering, or biochemistry. Find out what interests you the most and follow a path that is suitable to get a job in that field. There are plenty of positions for people who have a background in biology, but specialization is what's needed to land a job more lucrative than being a teacher or lab assistant. Take for example two people who are applying for a position are a company that develops drugs. Both went to the same university. One majored in general biology and took a wide array of courses, but has no research experience. The other majored in biochemistry and spend their junior and senior year doing research and published their work. Who do you think is more qualified for the job? Who is more likely to be accepted into grad school or med school?

I strongly believe there are jobs available, but you really have to work for a specific goal to get somewhere in the huge field of biology.

sschoe2

I felt like there were too but that doesn't make it a reality. Frankly your comments sound naive like a college student full of optimism who hasn't met reality yet.

The economy now a days has little room for scientists other than health care providers. Most of that is getting off-shored to China and India where there are few regulations and large numbers of more desperate third worlders who will work under any conditions. There are huge gluts of scientists even at the PhD level so they are post-docing for the better part of a decade while searching for a real job and many times never getting one.

I also graduated with tons of research experience in a field that appeared to be in demand (protein biochemistry). It didn't help. Every position in science has at minimum 100 applicants and some as many as 1000 (federal jobs). As others have mentioned, unless you have a daddy or drinking budy in hiring authority you are looking at low paying temp mixed with unemployment followed by permanent unemployment past age 40.

knower214

What would be the best major and minor combination for bioinformatics? @sschoe

labeisoup

perhaps a double major in CS and some sort of bio field?

ucbalumnus

There may be, but there are lots of biology majors seeking those jobs.

A quick look at some bioinformatics job listings like these:

News for Career Center - Bioinformatics.Org

indicates that, for jobs not specifying a PhD, computer science appears to be the most commonly mentioned major. So perhaps majoring in computer science with some selected non-major courses in statistics and biology may be the thing to do for bioinformatics (and the computer science degree can prepare you to apply for other computer software jobs). (The PhD jobs are more likely to specify a biology major.)

libbyrue

I plan on majoring in biology and teaching high school biology. Teaching and biology are both things I love.

Lollerpants

Do you like biology or the idea of biology because you need it for med school? There's really no point in majoring in biology as realistically you can learn virtually all the biology you need in only a few classes without majoring in it. Majors don't really mean much now a days.

Brian1

No. A biology grad gets paid less than a liberal arts grad. It's completely useless in finding a job without a grad degree, and boring because it involves rote memorization and little understanding and thought. It's 4 years of rote memorization, not fun.

For med school, you still need a high cumulative GPA. CS is a lot harder to do well in than biology, so take that for what it's worth. I would do the pre-med recs and then major in something that allows you to get a job straight out of undergrad but isn't as hard as CS or engineering.