Re: [DIYbio] Re: Career advice for bioengineering Undergrad

9:16 PM |

Many people on here haven't followed the traditional path of under grad -> grad -> post doc -> try to get tenure -> publish till you die.  That's exactly why we are here.  I think there is no set way to go about living your own life, you have to decide what is important.  Do not let others decide it for you.   I've known brilliant people that have been very supportive and helpful towards me, and I went to an unknown undergrad and havn't gone for a PhD yet.  I've also met assholes that will screen you based on your associated institution.  I'm of the predilection that if someone judges you based solely on the number of abbreviated letters you have before your name, without letting you speak your piece, then they aren't someone worth knowing.

That's fantastic you have iGEM experience, use it!  I also wanted to intern for Ginkgo Bioworks and applied during school but was told I didn't have any experience that would fit.  I was sad for a day, but then, I turned it around, it was a huge motivator to prove people wrong.   Spite is a powerful motivator, but not the most noble one.  Find what drives you, find what inspires you, and do what others will not.  Be crazy, be creative, and above all, be PASSIONATE.  You cannot fake passion.    People will know when it is genuine, and they will want to help you.

How to be successful in life is not a question that can be answered.  Some people find the way and others do not.  Some people are born with the drive, others are not.   People that aren't will just write a book about how to do it and still probably get rich.  You need to decide what it is you want to do and how you will go about doing it.  At some point you need to decide between security and sanity.  I have friends that started as research associates at nice biotech companies in the Boston area for ~40k with bonuses and benefits, and they want to blow their brains out 2 years later because the job is so mundane and boring.  It's production, not science.  Some people are perfectly happy doing that, they like the 9-5, in and out, no overtime.

If you work for a startup your hours will be 60+ hours a week.  If you work for your own startup they will be 168+ hours a week.  

If you want career advice, go to a guidance councilor at your school, if you want my advice, find what you truly love more than anything in the world and sell everything in your possession to see it into existence.   You can always buy more "things", you can never buy this time in your life again.

But hey, who knows, maybe in 50 years I'll be homeless begging for change and all my friends who I thought were silly running 20 Western Blots a day for the same protein over and over again will be retired and happy.

Time will reveal all things and it will kill us all.  


On Sat, Jun 7, 2014 at 8:21 PM, Josiah Zayner <josiah.zayner@gmail.com> wrote:
You should read this thread that was just posted: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/diybio/2JAQ2ponSuw

You should be able to find jobs in Biotech with a bachelors but you will most like be paid little money for a long time(i.e. $30-50k/year) and have a very difficult time rising to any position in which you are allowed to design your own experiments. At most decent universities graduate students are paid ~$30k.

If you have the chance to goto a decent graduate school, do it. You will learn alot and be in a great position in life. But do it only if you really really enjoy Science. Graduate school is long and hard. Why not come up with a research project, ask your professors for advice? Also, most universities have undergrad independent research projects try and do one of those.


     Josiah Zayner, Ph.D.
     NASA ARC Space Bioengineering 
     Founder The ODIN
     http://www.the-odin.com





On Saturday, June 7, 2014 4:39:51 PM UTC-7, Chowe wrote:


Hi, I was hoping to get some insight into the biotech industry, so I can better make my decision about my future. I would like to know what kind of degree will be required to do research in biotech. I will graduate from college in May 2015 with a Bioengineering degree in Ohio. My main interest is to conduct research in synthetic biology and exciting new biotechnologies. I have worked on several research projects throughout college, working in genetics labs, 2 summers of the iGEM competition, and I am currently doing an internship with a biotech company this summer. 


My original plan was to get a PhD and be able to design my own experiments and guide the direction of my research projects. However more recently I have felt that I would rather just start working and not do any schooling or money spending that is unnecessary (I have been finding that most of the real learning I have been doing has been outside of the classroom). The more management duties and less lab work doesn't sound like something I want. This has made me look into the more independent biotech start up environment, and it seems like something I would really like to do, rather than working for a bigger corporate biotech company. I have also looked into the different biotech incubators that have been made recently (synbio axlr8r, biocurious) and could also see myself working/starting on a project there. 


Things about my job I would really like to have, 1. Freedom to design my own types of experiments and research direction 2. Freedom in work schedule, not standard 9-5 M-F hours 3. Money is not a high priority on my list, I would much rather enjoy everyday I'm working than know I have plenty of money. My DREAM JOB would be a small lab with a few smart people that I can be free to do any kind of research Im excited by, be able to work whenever I am truly motivated to, and lastly have enough income to live modestly (kind of ridiculous, I know but loving what I do is VERY important to me! and I do not see myself settling in any job I don't enjoy). If I could make a career out of doing DIY Bio, I definitely would! 


Also I realize funding is a huge factor in research and one of the biggest limiting factors for startups, but I could see myself enjoying working on a really cool project and using kickstarter (like glowing plants project) and finding funding other ways. 


My question is, would I need a Masters or PhD in order to do research in a biotech company (startup or corporate) or would I be able to find work after my bachelors degree? Would a few more internships in biotech (like ginkgo bioworks) be as good as a masters? Would it be worth it for me to get the more years of schooling so I am more marketable? To be honest, I would much rather find work right away because I have really grown tired of the academic environment, but on the other hand I would be willing to do more schooling if that is the only option because I do not want to be unqualified for biotech research and be stuck making reagents all day. Any advice/insight/regrets/realizations would be greatly appreciated!   


-Corey 


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