<p>D is a first semester nursing student. She has come to the realization that she wants to pursue her original plan of being a doctor or dentist. Her plan is now to major in one of the biological sciences. I’d like her to major in something that is useful in finding employment, should she change her mind. She is fully prepared to go to school beyond 4 years. Which biological science would actually help her find a job with an advanced degree? I’ve read that biology majors are a dime a dozen out there be because they’re all students that didn’t get into medical or dental school. She really loves biology and wouldn’t eve consider majoring in chemistry.</p>
<p>would she consider a major in environmental studies? I would think she could get a job with that.</p>
<p>If she loves biology, she should major in it, but be prepared to do advanced study in another (related field) if med school does not work out. There would be many possibilities for grad school other than biology - Public Health, Education, Toxicology, environmental science come to mind. Or she can go to grad school in biology if a specific specialty catches her interest. Some specialties may have good job prospects like bioinformatics if she is also a computer/math type.</p>
<p>Unless you go into industry and work your way up through a company (typically not in a research area), you are pretty much going to have to get an advanced degree in any biological sciences to make a substantial career out of it. The entire field is really geared to training for academic careers, but if she wants to do science anywhere, she’ll have to get a PhD. Without a PhD, you plateau quickly in academia or industry. Bioengineering may be an exception. Chemists and people with computer (coding)/math skills could also be exceptions, but aren’t typically going to leading projects. But as far as really being a scientist, doing your own experiments and stuff, you’ll likely need a PhD. So, for a non-MD track, plan on 4 years undergrad, an average of 5.5 years for a bioscience PhD, and another 3-5 years as a post-doc. You are certainly talking about up to 15 years of training before you might see your first real position in industry or academia. The good news is you don’t have to pay for grad school and you’ll get stipends during grad school…so essentially you’ll get paid the whole time.</p>
<p>MDs can also get into science, although they aren’t trained to do science in straight med school, but they can get into it later. Of course you can shoot for MD/PhD programs, which are typically 6-7 years long (4 years med school, 2-3 getting your PhD). Those programs are longer, but your med school tuition is paid for, and like other PhD programs, you’d get a stipend, sometimes for the length of the program. They’re a good deal if you want to be a physician-scientist, but extremely competitive to get in even at bottom-rung school. </p>
<p>Pitt is a good place to go for any of these goals because there is so much research going on, and so many different types of research to explore, and any applicant will absolutely have to show a health dose of interest and experience in research for any PhD or MD/PhD program.</p>
<p>I’m not an expert in this (my daughter was a psych major), but this looks interesting:</p>
<p>If your daughter likes computer science: Bioinformatics is the theory, application and development of computing tools to solve problems and create hypotheses in all areas of biological sciences.</p>
<p>[Bioinformatics</a> | Department of Biological Science | University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.biology.pitt.edu/undergraduate/academic-programs/bioinformatics]Bioinformatics”>http://www.biology.pitt.edu/undergraduate/academic-programs/bioinformatics)</p>
<p>If your daughter is environmentally inclined: The field of Ecology explores the interactive web of organisms and the environment. Studies in evolution consider the processes by which modern organisms have developed from ancestral ones. The Ecology and Evolution major is a good choice for students interested in the fundamental questions of the evolutionary origins of organisms and how they survive, or don’t survive, in their changing habitats.</p>
<p>[Ecology</a> and Evolution | Department of Biological Science | University of Pittsburgh](<a href=“http://www.biology.pitt.edu/undergraduate/academic-programs/ecology-and-evol-0]Ecology”>Ecology and Evolution | Department of Biological Sciences | University of Pittsburgh)</p>
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<p>Not necessarily true. Getting paid to do grad school all depends on the type of program (Masters/PhD/Post Doc) you are getting, and what kind of work you are doing. If you’re doing heavy research work with good funding, it’s possible that they will pay you (in terms of a fellowship/TA type job on top of class and research). They might pay tuition, but it’s not always the case. A lot of schools don’t give first year/second year students funding. I’m saying this after researching into a BUNCH of engineering grad schools (where it’s almost typical to get funding and scholarships) and noticing that quite a few actually…don’t.</p>
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<p>My friend is a senior in Bioinformatics. He currently researches on campus and already got offered a kick-butt internship for the summer at a company in Ohio. It’s definitely a good field to choose!</p>