<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>