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Careers in Science
- Careers in the Biosciences
- Career Web Links
- Career Profiles
I. Careers in the Biosciences
Job opportunities for biological technicians and biological and medical scientists will grow at a faster rate than most occupations in the next decade, according to Best Jobs for the 21st Century.1 One major contributor to this boom is the field of biotechnology — the use of organisms, cells or molecules to make products or solve problems. Other so-called "hot" bioscience fields include pharmaceuticals, genetics and bioinformatics (the processing and analysis of data).
Our future promises to be more complex, according to noted author Shelly Field in her book
100 Best Careers for the 21st Century. "The need for scientists and engineers in the year 2000 will reflect the complexities of today’s living and the need to tackle newer tasks in a more efficient or automated manner. The demand for ... professionals who can meet the challenges of the new century will far exceed that of the past."
Steps Students Can Take Now:
Although you may be too young to commit yourself to a particular job or career now, you can take steps to learn about the very wide range of employment opportunities in our society. You can begin to think about the education and training that jobs require and the potential career satisfaction and earnings they offer. Furthermore, you can participate in activities that will help you prepare for the future.
1. Krannich, Ronald and Caryl Rae. 1998. The Best Jobs for the 21st Century, 3rd Edition. Manassas Park, MD: Impact Publications.
2. Field, Shelly. 1996. 100 Best Careers for the 21st Century. New York: Macmillan.
Becoming a Bioscientist
"You do not have to be a scientist to enjoy and understand the wonders of nature."
J. Michael Bishop, M.D., Winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology
What Does it Take to Become a Professional Bioscientist?
Scientists are current-day pioneers, exploring new things much like the Americans who settled our country. Scientists and pioneers both:
- Want to find something new every day
- Create things that never existed before
- Explore new territory
- Enjoy finding out about things unknown
One excellent definition to remember is, "Biologists study life on many different scales." Those scales refer not only to size — biologists study the tiniest particles up to the largest animals (and populations of animals) — but also to time, since biologists study life in the present and back through millions of years of time. The term bioscientist refers to anyone involved in the scientific study of life.
Of course, no matter what area of science you pursue, math and science courses are needed. You should take as many as you can. Some students think that the science and math they need to learn are too hard or too much for them. But many professional scientists had the same concerns when they were students but found that they enjoyed the challenge. In addition, the information in one subject often relates to others, so that the student builds a broad foundation of knowledge. This is especially true with math courses, which prove useful when collecting and analyzing data from experiments.
In high school (and sometimes middle school), the "big three" science courses are physics, biology and chemistry. Physics is the study of how the physical world works; biology is the study of life; and chemistry is the study of matter and how different kinds of matter interact. Physics, biology and chemistry all focus on the different ways our world works, and each provides an important part of the foundation of an education in science.
There are so many different careers in the biosciences, and a high-school level education can open the door to some of them. Of course, a college education can provide you with even more knowledge that will give you more career opportunities. An associate’s degree (A.A. or A.S.) or similar course of study takes about two years after high school, and a bachelor’s degree (B.S. or B.A.) usually requires about four years of study after high school or two years after earning an associate’s degree. After earning a bachelor’s degree, some students choose to receive a more in-depth education in a given subject and earn a master’s degree (M.S. or M.A.), which usually takes about two years. Finally, as described above, a Ph.D. is the highest degree in a given subject and can take several years to receive.
Facts about Scientists:
- Scientists can be any race or gender.
- Scientists use many different communication skills — they are not just "lab jockeys." Scientists must write for other scientists, present their research in small and large meetings and talk to nonscientists about their work. Many also teach in colleges, universities, technical and professional schools.
- Scientists need good organizational and people skills. Science today is nothing like the stories we’ve heard about the lone scientists working day and night in the basement lab. Science today needs people from all areas to work in teams and share their expertise.
- Scientists don’t always work in universities or other academic centers. In fact, more than half of new graduates with Ph.D.s in all disciplines find employment in organizations like pharmaceutical companies, public health laboratories, and governmental agencies.
- Scientists don’t always have Ph.D.s. Also called a doctorate, a Ph.D. is the highest degree that a university awards in any subject (not only science). To earn a Ph.D., a person goes to graduate school after he or she earns an undergraduate, or bachelor’s, degree. Many of the jobs in science are performed by people with a solid background in basic science courses, but like most occupations, there’s lots of on-the-job training.
What Makes a Good Scientist?
A common characteristic of a scientist is curiosity – something we all seem to have from birth. Scientists are often compared to detectives because both share a number of characteristics. They’re both:
- Creative
- Logical
- Intuitive
- Imaginative
- Observant
- Able to learn from their mistakes
- Persistent
Do You Want to be a Professional Scientist?
Let’s consider whether you want to earn your living as a professional scientist. In talking with scientists about their careers, some say they made the decision early in their lives and considered little else; others worked at other professions and became scientists later in their careers. No matter when you choose, the path to these careers can take you along many enjoyable routes. It’s never too early — or too late — to consider science as a career.
A survey of professional scientists revealed a variety of rewarding scientific experiences during their youth that helped them decide that they wanted a career in science. These include:
- Science classes
- Science field experiments
- Science toys and equipment
- Natural history collections
- Visits to science museums
- Visits to science laboratories and science centers
- Science experiments at home
- Science in the media: newspapers, TV, radio, and the movies
- Science camps
- And the two most important groups of people: parents and teachers!
Wherever and whoever you are, you can learn about the world. Even if you do not become a professional scientist, the knowledge and the way of thinking you may learn through these types of experiences will help you in every part of your life.
You Don’t Need a Ph.D. to be a Bioscientist
The traditional route to becoming a bioscientist was to spend years in school — first getting an undergraduate degree in science, then focusing in on a specific subject and completing an original research project. The reward of all this hard work — a Ph.D. — usually meant the start of a career at a university or medical school, teaching students and conducting research.
Nowadays, however, Ph.D.s in science may never have a job in a university. They may instead decide to work for the government or for one of the many companies that employs bioscientists. Companies that produce medicines (pharmaceutical companies), chemicals of all types, and food products all need bioscientists. What’s more, these industries all have many jobs that don’t require a Ph.D.
- Pharmaceutical companies employ bioscientists in a variety of different areas, from the very basic research in drug discovery and design to overseeing and analyzing the testing of new drugs in humans.
- Chemical companies need bioscientists to test whether the products they produce, like paints or plastics, are harmful to living organisms (including people) and the environment.
- Companies that produce pesticides (chemicals that kill "pests" such as insects or rodents) must perform a large number of biological tests before their products can be sold. These tests show that the chemicals are not harmful to other organisms.
Sometimes a bioscientist is a medical doctor, the kind you’re more used to — the M.D. Medical doctors, dentists, veterinarians and a host of other medical professionals (such as nurses, physician assistants, and medical technologists) also can become researchers. All of these medical professionals need to have taken courses in the basic sciences before they begin their course of study in one of the medical sciences.
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II. Career Web Links
A. Web sites with information about careers in science:
B. Science Organizations
C. Education: Graduate and Professional Schools
D. Government Agencies
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III. Career Profiles
The following career profiles appear on NCABR's Bioscience Clearinghouse Web site (www.aboutbioscience.org):
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