Jobs with Biology BS degree?

[Izzie]

Izzie's halfway-to-midlife-crisis has been resolved!

This post will be a little long, but I'd really appreciate if some of you take the time to read through it. Thank you!

Okay, I've been a Nursing major for three years now.
With clinical depression and ADD, academic success has been a big challenge, particularly if the class is more assignment oriented- I learn and test very well.
If I can't get self discipline as far as assignments going, nursing school is going to be a joke. Because of all the setbacks I've been getting myself into, I've started to have serious rethinking of what the heck I want to do in life.

Needless to say, I've been just treading water for a while now, feeling kind of down and purposeless.
Finally started figuring things out at the end of last semester, obviously, a little too late. But it was a start!

Talked with my most amazing "Elephant Aunt" last night, and she had an idea that my mother and I had never even considered.

"So you're passionate about Biology, Botany, Nursing, and Culinary Arts. You've been floundering for a while, why not just get a degree of some kind, get that under your belt, and get a job whether it's related to it or not. Right now, it's going to be hard to get a job related to a future career anyways."

Talk about a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.
Everything clicked into place!

A Biology degree will open lots of doors, no matter what I choose to do.

I'm finally starting to figure out plans of attack to help me get things done and be the good student that I really am- and Biology is something I can really dig into and be passionate about!

Not to mention, with the new Health Care Reform, I don't have to be a full time student in order to keep my mother's insurance- EXCELLENT. So I'll be able to work at my own pace and take only as many classes as I can handle.

So, here's my next bit of wonderings.
I want to help people.
I don't want a sit-down job.
I want a liveable wage.
I want a job where jobs will actually be available.

I know it won't be perfect.


What jobs are out there with a Biology Degree that you guys would recommend?

Might help to know that medicine fascinates me, I love research, and I'm a big environmental conservation advocate. Yay nature!
I'm about 70% sure that I will eventually go back some day and get a Nursing Degree, but I'm open to other options along the road.

[Tindomul]

Look at your local universities for college lab tech (clt). Maybe you can find one that deals with medicine or related classes. Or clt for ecology based courses.

[susiep]

Hello, Izze! It is hard to know what you want to do for the rest of your life (career-wise) at age 21. So there is always the chance that you will be going back to school later in life anyway. I went back to school at 30 and got my degree in Pharmacy. It wasn't easy but it was the best decision I ever made.

That was 20 years ago. Things have changed a bit. In order to get a good job these days, you need to be a specialist in something already. So the options are to go to school for a very specialized job (teacher, nurse, dietician, physical therapist, etc) and take the exam for that license or get a more general degree and have several internships under your belt. You need to make yourself look like a great choice to employers. I suggest getting a summer job in a field you like. I was majoring in Laboratory technology before switching to Pharmacy. One summer job in a lab was enough for me, so I changed my direction in the fall. But no matter where you end up, every job will affect the well rounded individual you will become. This is a good time to experiment and try different things. Have fun with it!

[Connie Star]

I agree with your aunt. My undergraduate degree was in sociology, then I got a graduate degree in it in Sweden, then I got a Masters in Botany, and then I went to med school- second oldest in my class, at 27. Along the way I worked as a file clerk in a bank, a sales clerk, a nurses aid in a psychiatric hospital and a photographer.
Most important, at 60, I'm still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up. Life is journey, not a destination.
From what you describe, med school might suit you well. Or, get your degree, work in a clinical setting of some sort, and then become a physicians assistant or a nurse practitioner.

[IraGlacialis]

In biology, there is a myriad of choices to the point that it is best to just go through your base-line classes and decide there which path you want to take.
A very crude way that I narrow things down is through these three categories: medicine-based, chemistry-based, and organism-based.
From there, you can narrow things down further. Note: those categories are not exclusive (pharmacology is pretty much between medicine and chemistry), but it is best to decide first on one category and then make another category secondary.
Oh, and internships/undergraduate research is is recommend to the point of it being practically obligatory.
For example, I knew before going in that I was not that much of a people person, which eliminated medicine, and that I sucked at memorizing formulas and molecular structures, which eliminated chemistry. However, I was interested biodiversity and ecology, which was reaffirmed by my classes so far.
Even if you like and are good at everything, you will pick up subtle hints at what you really excel at.

In any case, I highly recommend that you plan ahead for grad-school (whether going for your major or med school). When going into medicine, a graduate education is expected, but even when going into other fields, you will probably want to at least go for a masters. This is due to the fact that biology is so broad (from organic chemistry to zoology/botany to ecology) that it is good to show that you have an emphasis in a field.

Good luck.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by IraGlacialis

In any case, I highly recommend that you plan ahead for grad-school (whether going for your major or med school). When going into medicine, a graduate education is expected, but even when going into other fields, you will probably want to at least go for a masters. This is due to the fact that biology is so broad (from organic chemistry to zoology/botany to ecology) that it is good to show that you have an emphasis in a field.

Yep. Just remember that getting a biology degree of some sort means that you will definitely be going to grad school. When it comes to biology, having an undergrad degree is just the basic requirement, like having a high school degree.