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Author Topic:   A question to those who work in any science field.
pink sasquatch
Member (Idle past 6052 days)
Posts: 1567
Joined: 06-10-2004


Message 16 of 29 (125780)
07-19-2004 7:46 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Justin Horne
07-18-2004 8:00 PM


too much advice
Hey Justin-
Hopefully I can give you some advice since it sounds like I've been where you are thinking about going.
I did my BS in biochemistry and my PhD in cellular and developmental biology (though my research was in cancer genetics).
A biochemistry degree is excellent if you want to go into a field along the lines of cell bio, molecular bio, or genetics - it will give you a much stronger foundation than a biology degree. (Most grad schools look more favorably on a biochem degree). However, if you are interested in ecology, wildlife studies, or the environment - go with a straight biology degree. A biochem degree is much more rigorous than a biology major at most institutions - more credit hours and much more math and physics. I averaged 20 credit hours a semester to finish my major and core courses in 4 years (the average is 16).
That said, I had no room for electives.
Skip the business courses, unless you want to open a business someday.
Having excellent writing and logic skills is much, much more important to grant success, which is the lifeblood of research. The truth is, if you ever have enough training to place yourself in a position to apply for a grant, you'll have enough common sense (or an adminstrative assistant) to help with the budgetary matters. Also grant writing, science communication, and science budgeting is not something you'll ever learn in an undergraduate business course - really you need to learn by experience and reading lots of other successful grants, and you should have some sort of grant-writing course if you ever go to grad school.
When it comes time to choose a college, pick one that has writing intensive course requirements and a requirement to do at least two semesters of laboratory research to get a science degree (without the latter you won't get a very good science education).
Once you get your degree you could go directly into a lab technician job - though the pay won't be great and you'll be doing other people's experiments for them. I've never heard of someone with just a bachelor's degree writing a research grant proposal, so that is something you wouldn't have to worry about.
Another choice is graduate school. Since graduate schools waive tuition and pay you a stipend, it's really more like a job than school (I only had classes my first year of grad school - it was research under a mentor from then on...) Graduate school stipend have been going up steadily over the past several years, and at some institutions are comparable with the salaries of entry-level tech jobs. So in a way you'd be "working" towards your degree, and NOT sitting in class everyday for five years. You also have more intellectual freedom as a grad student (and eventually PhD) than as a tech - you'll be doing your own research, and depending on your mentor, will be designing your own experiments, (and writing your own grant proposals).
If you even think you might want to go into science, take every math and science class your high school offers - if you cannot handle doing this, you probably don't want to commit your life to science (though if you have a bad class or an obnoxious teacher don't give up your dreams...). It will also be the best preparation for your college experience.
Many universities have summer research programs for high school seniors that place you in a lab with a mentor and usually a small project - find and apply to one of these to see what day-to-day science is really about. (Some labs also offer summer lab positions that make you the equivalent of a minimum wage dishwasher - avoid these unless it's your only lab opportunity).
The most important piece of advice: only go into science if you love it - as others have stated there is little in the way of rewards: little money, long hours, little recognition. I did ten years of school after high school and am currently making about thirty thousand a year.
The biggest pros to me: intellectual freedom and the discovery of new knowledge.
Please let me know if you have any questions about all of these ramblings...

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Justin Horne, posted 07-18-2004 8:00 PM Justin Horne has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 18 by Justin Horne, posted 07-19-2004 9:09 PM pink sasquatch has not replied

  
pink sasquatch
Member (Idle past 6052 days)
Posts: 1567
Joined: 06-10-2004


Message 23 of 29 (125945)
07-20-2004 1:51 PM
Reply to: Message 17 by Justin Horne
07-19-2004 7:54 PM


Hopefully I didn't sound to pessimistic in my first message - a life in science is fantastic, as long as you love science.
Thanfulyl I have got 3 more years of HS, so no decisions for sure yet.
A lot of us (myself included) are getting a bit carried with career advice to a high school sophomore. Like Loudmouth also said, try to explore science as much as possible in high school, especially any hands-on opportunities you can find or make. Take as many science classes as you reasonably can, and look for potential summer research programs at nearby colleges for the summers after your junior and senior years.
In general, keep in mind that it is usually better to have too much rather than too little science background when you do make a decision regarding college, grad school, or a career. In other words, once you've started it is much easier to transition from a biochemistry major to a communications/business/history/etc major than the other way around. (This is isn't to say those other majors are "lesser" than science, just that the nature of the requirements are different.)
Good luck!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 17 by Justin Horne, posted 07-19-2004 7:54 PM Justin Horne has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 27 by Mammuthus, posted 07-21-2004 4:11 AM pink sasquatch has not replied

  
pink sasquatch
Member (Idle past 6052 days)
Posts: 1567
Joined: 06-10-2004


Message 24 of 29 (125947)
07-20-2004 1:58 PM
Reply to: Message 22 by Loudmouth
07-20-2004 1:30 PM


I have already done enough work for 2 PhD's, so I keep kicking myself for not going into grad school 4 years ago. Oh well.
Go for it, Loudmouth...
(Though I probably don't need to give you advice since you obviously have a handle on the whole scene.)
Do you work at a university with a grad program? Potential you could do your dissertation work in the same lab you are in now (you seem to like the environment), and apply some of your present work at least as the preliminary data foundation of your dissertion.
We have two tech-turned-grad-students in our lab and they are much happier working towards a degree. One of them was a tech in our lab before becoming a grad student in our lab.
If you hate the grants you could always work as a high level research assistant, or go to a biotech company and make the big bucks.
If for no other reason, perhaps someday people would call you Dr. Loudmouth...

This message is a reply to:
 Message 22 by Loudmouth, posted 07-20-2004 1:30 PM Loudmouth has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 25 by Loudmouth, posted 07-20-2004 3:55 PM pink sasquatch has replied

  
pink sasquatch
Member (Idle past 6052 days)
Posts: 1567
Joined: 06-10-2004


Message 26 of 29 (126009)
07-20-2004 4:26 PM
Reply to: Message 25 by Loudmouth
07-20-2004 3:55 PM


One more note:
Perhaps you already know about interdisciplinary graduate programs - many universities seem to be going in this direction. You basically apply and are accepted by a program that is funded by many departments doing biomedical research. In your first year you do rotations through different labs to get a feel for lab focus and culture.
I would definitely recommend this route if it's available to you - the rotations would allow you to sample different labs and projects in quite diverse areas, and learn a variety of techniques, before deciding what you want to do.
Diversifying your scientific background is definitely a good idea in my opinion.
What ever you decide, good luck.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 25 by Loudmouth, posted 07-20-2004 3:55 PM Loudmouth has not replied

  
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