Career Opportunities in Biological Sciences
Biologists are being asked to solve the greatest challenges facing humanity today. From protecting our health and curing disease to cleaning and preserving the environment to providing green sources of energy, life sciences stand at the forefront of the sciences and technologies that enhance our lives.
By pursuing a degree in Biological Sciences, you can contribute to this revolutionary field in a wide range of roles and settings. Biologists gain strong technical knowledge spanning atoms to cells to organisms to ecosystems, through courses in chemistry, physics, engineering, statistics, humanities, business, and of course, biology. Cross-disciplinary training and research are common for biologists. This means that you will acquire skills that can lead to exciting employment across an array of sectors.
Certain employment opportunities are open to students with a BS in Biology, while for others, an undergraduate degree is a steppingstone on your educational path. Careers can be broadly divided into laboratory science, field work, health professions, business, and education.
Work in the laboratory is key to advances in life sciences, from new drugs to new flavors to new fuels. Graduates may find laboratory positions in nearly any industrial setting, in research labs, manufacturing, or supporting environmental health (sanitarians). The positions include biochemists, biophysicists, bioinformaticians, laboratory technicians, research associates, laboratory managers, pharmaceutical scientists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, process development scientists, renewable energy specialists, immunologists, virologists, molecular biologists, and biostatisticians.
Biologists working in conservation or agriculture are traditionally considered field scientists, however, as genetic technologies have become mainstream, these scientists are often cross-trained in both field and laboratory sciences. Potential careers include environmental scientists, conservationists, park rangers, botanists, agriculturalists, marine biologists, environmental consultants, zoologists, wildlife biologists, soil scientists, and zookeepers.
A biology degree often leads students to professional and graduate schools. Substantial additional training is necessary to become a physician, dentist, or pharmacist. Specialized post-graduate training is required for careers as a physician assistant, optometrist, clinical laboratory technician, genetic counselor, nurse, radiation therapist, and anesthesiology assistant.
By combining biology skills with studies outside of biology, students can pursue any number of exciting careers in business, bioengineering, forensics and teaching. Biologists can become forensic scientists and toxicologists. They can become teachers at any level, and with a PhD, university professors. They can become patent attorneys, science policymakers, and regulatory affairs specialists. In industry they may work in pharmaceutical and medical device sales or as product specialists or quality control associates. With skills in biology and the humanities, graduates can find careers as technical writers, medical illustrators, museum curators, and science writers.
The career opportunities for students in Biological Sciences are vast. Our graduates have pursued all of these varied paths to success. Where do you want your biology degree to take you?