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Author Topic:   Biology Jobs
JustinC
Member (Idle past 4843 days)
Posts: 624
From: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Joined: 07-21-2003


Message 1 of 9 (349427)
09-15-2006 6:16 PM


I just got B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh. I decided to take a year off and see if I can a job that interests me. Sadly, I've only been able to find lab technician jobs.
Does anyone here know of any other jobs I could get with this degree?

Replies to this message:
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 Message 6 by RickJB, posted 09-16-2006 4:22 AM JustinC has not replied
 Message 7 by Quetzal, posted 09-16-2006 9:43 AM JustinC has not replied
 Message 8 by Dr_Tazimus_maximus, posted 09-16-2006 11:19 AM JustinC has not replied
 Message 9 by Dr.Durg Singh, posted 10-03-2006 3:57 AM JustinC has not replied

  
AdminNWR
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Message 2 of 9 (349447)
09-15-2006 6:56 PM


Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

  
iano
Member (Idle past 1940 days)
Posts: 6165
From: Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Joined: 07-27-2005


Message 3 of 9 (349464)
09-15-2006 7:59 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by JustinC
09-15-2006 6:16 PM


General job getting advice
1. The value of your degree lies more in the way it has shaped your thinking that what you studied in.
2. Apply to smaller companies - they are more flexible that bigger ones
3. Let your cv show your character seeing as work experience won't be the selling point. Dependable, hard working, interested, flexible, willing to learn, smart etc. It may be a little sad to say "use power words" but a cv's intention is only to get you in the door
4. Shotgun the market. Send your cv to every employment agency in the book. Follow up a day later with a telephone call. A week later phone again. A week after than send your cv again. Get to know an agent. Go on interviews even if the jobs don't strike you as interesting first off: you show the agent your keen and you get familiar with the questions for the day the job you want does appear. Agents are crap at representing the job correctly: the most interesting sounding one on paper can be duds and the least interesting on paper very interesting once you get talking to the employer themselves.
5. Forget title - seek opportunity. Lab Technician in one company can mean Lab Technician. In another you could have the run of the place simply because your keen. Keen employees float to the surface - all you have to ascertain is that there is a surface available for you to float to
6. Never get disheartened. You will get dozens of refusals. That's not a reflection on you its a reflection on what you want.
7. If you get a decent job this way let me know. I'll know my advice isn't a load of crap

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by JustinC, posted 09-15-2006 6:16 PM JustinC has not replied

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iano
Member (Idle past 1940 days)
Posts: 6165
From: Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Joined: 07-27-2005


Message 4 of 9 (349475)
09-15-2006 8:26 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by iano
09-15-2006 7:59 PM


Re: General job getting advice
Biology Jobs
I keep on catching this thread title in my peripheral vision and it reads like something else. Anyone else as depraved as me suffering the same thing?

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 Message 3 by iano, posted 09-15-2006 7:59 PM iano has not replied

Replies to this message:
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kuresu
Member (Idle past 2513 days)
Posts: 2544
From: boulder, colorado
Joined: 03-24-2006


Message 5 of 9 (349543)
09-16-2006 3:38 AM
Reply to: Message 4 by iano
09-15-2006 8:26 PM


Re: General job getting advice
what, reading it as blow jobs?
on-topic
I'm a lab assistant. Without a biology degree (kinda in college right now). The lab, as a whole, is studying alpine fungi. The specific area I'm working in is with enzyme assays. If you just got out of college, well, sad to say, that's all you're gonna find--lab technician, assistant, et al. gotta work from the bottom up, eh?
I'm guessing cv is resume? Iano's advice appears to be good--considering I never really applied for a job--walked in, interview, basic resume, got the job two days later, I can't say from personal experience. Try it though.

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RickJB
Member (Idle past 4990 days)
Posts: 917
From: London, UK
Joined: 04-14-2006


Message 6 of 9 (349546)
09-16-2006 4:22 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by JustinC
09-15-2006 6:16 PM


Great reply from Iano!
Anyway, do you have any other interests/skills that might be combined with your degree?
I started my career at a company that made educational software. A couple of the guys there had decided lab work wasn't for them, so they combined their chemistry degrees with programming skills. They were working on chemistry teaching software.
In fact, being able to program in general opens up doors these days.
Just a thought...
Edited by RickJB, : No reason given.

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 Message 1 by JustinC, posted 09-15-2006 6:16 PM JustinC has not replied

  
Quetzal
Member (Idle past 5872 days)
Posts: 3228
Joined: 01-09-2002


Message 7 of 9 (349571)
09-16-2006 9:43 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by JustinC
09-15-2006 6:16 PM


Hey Justin,
Congrats on getting your degree! Iano's generic advise is very good, although you shouldn't count too much on accomplishing much through headhunting outfits. A recruiter I used to use told me once that most recruiting firms, especially those on-line versions, receive up to 25-35,000 resumes per job posting. Unless there is something truly outstanding in your cv, the odds are long that you will get lost in the sauce. Telephone follow-ups are good, if you can get a real phone number... Once you get experience, of course, generally the recruiters will come to you if they have specific needs.
Starting out, my first suggestion would be to check your uni's career center (most schools have one). At the same time, start slogging through the internet for companies that work in whichever field you want to specialize in. Don't forget local and federal government agencies - these often have entry-level positions, and can be a good way to get some experience under your belt. You should also consider whether you want to stay in the US, or are willing to go overseas - there are a lot of good entry-level positions available if you can somehow translate your academic experience into something the donor organizations want. Especially if you speak a language besides English.
For a science career, think very seriously about an advanced degree. Most of the best bio jobs are going to require MSc or even PhD and post-doc. Just the way the market is.
Anyway, if you have more specific questions, feel free to ask. The first step is going to be to decide exactly what you want to do, then look for places that are hiring for those jobs. Don't get frustrated, it can be a very lengthy process - especially given the state of the US economy today.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by JustinC, posted 09-15-2006 6:16 PM JustinC has not replied

  
Dr_Tazimus_maximus
Member (Idle past 3217 days)
Posts: 402
From: Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Joined: 03-19-2002


Message 8 of 9 (349580)
09-16-2006 11:19 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by JustinC
09-15-2006 6:16 PM


Other options
Congrats on the degree Justin.
One option to consider is the biotech or biopharma industries. There are some growth oportunities there that you can not find in academia if you don't want to go for a doctorate degree, in fact at the moment many groups meed BS's and MS's more than Ph.D.'s.
If you go that route make sure that you pick a company with a career track, and preferably one that will help you with further studies if you want to go that route. Many Biotech companies will move people from Technician or Associate to Senior Associate through Associate Scientist up to Scientist level positions, although it will take time (10 years seems to be the mean time to go from Associate to Associate Scientist or Scientist in Biotech). Others will help with tuition costs to a certian degree (sorry, couldn't help the pun )This also would give you opportunities to move into other areas such as IT applications, manufacturing, etc.
You can move into these areas generally by going over company web sites and do a direct application. The use of head hunters and placement agencies is OK, the problem there is that they make more money off of the senior people than the junior people and therefor will spend a LOT more time pushing those applicants over the time spent on the junior applicants, its simple economics. I did not have any luck with head hunters until I moved into management and it became worth their while to push me as a product. The other approach is to look at State provided sites for the Biotech industry(i.e. MDBio.Org), these sites genreally contain links to available jobs and can broaden your search.
Hope that this helps, good luck.

"Chance favors the prepared mind." L. Pasteur
and my family motto
Transfixus sed non mortis
Taz

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by JustinC, posted 09-15-2006 6:16 PM JustinC has not replied

  
Dr.Durg Singh
Inactive Member


Message 9 of 9 (353809)
10-03-2006 3:57 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by JustinC
09-15-2006 6:16 PM


hi
my self Dr. Ds worked on langur behaviour and now working on tiger monitoring.
share your ideas about behaviour research

This message is a reply to:
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