A&S Careers, Biology

CAREER OPTIONS FOR BIOLOGY MAJORS

TWO BROAD TRACKS OF INTEREST

1. Subjects related to health science where students study structure, function, health, and/or treatment of the human body (or animals through veterinary medicine).

2. Subjects pertaining to theoretical, experimental, or applied biology where students study structure, function, behavior, and/or distribution of other living organisms at either the microscopic, organismic, population, community, or ecosystem level and how to apply this knowledge.

OR BIOLOGY IN COMBINATION . . .

3. Subjects where you can combine your biological knowledge with other professional training such as:

• Law:     Be an environmental advocate working to protect endangered species. Be a lawyer for a biotechnology company evaluating patents.
•Business:   Be a regulatory affairs manager for companies selling seeds, drugs, biologically-based products
• Communications:   Be a science journalist writing about scientific advancements for the layperson.
• Politics:   Be a policy analyst helping government officials develop science-based legislation.

SUB-FIELDS of STUDY

• Aquatic Biologist:water plants and animals
Marine - salt water organisms
Limnologist - fresh water organisms

• Biochemist: chemical composition of living things

• Microbiologist: microscopic organisms

• Medical Microbiologist: relationship between organisms and disease or effects of antibiotics

• Physiologist: life functions of plants and animals

• Zoologist: animal origins, behaviors, diseases, life process

• Ecologist: organisms relationships, their environments, and effects of influences such as population size, temperature, etc.

• Agricultural and Food Scientist: safe production and supply of crops and animals

• Botanist: plants and their environment

EARNING HOW MUCH?

Occupational Outlook Handbook 2004-2005- Biological scientist [biochemists/biophysicists] with a graduate degree earned about $66.2 in 2003.

2003 Salary Survey of the National Association of Colleges and Employers- approximate annual salary:
$42.2 for PhD degrees, $33.6 for MS degrees, and $29.5k for BS candidates for entry level positions.

2003 Federal Government salaries for nonsupervisory, supervisory, managerial positions averaged $66k; for microbiologists, $73.5k; for ecologists, $65k; for physiologists, $85k; for geneticists, $78.6k; for zoologists, $90k; and for botanists, $55.7k.

IN AKRON AREA
Biologists study basic principles of plant/animal life and affects of varying environmental and physical conditions.

BIOLOGIST I

Requires bachelor’s degree and up to two years field experience or related area experience. Demands knowledge of commonly-used concepts, practices, procedures within a particular field. Little creativity. Works under supervisor. Low: $35.9K Median: $40K High: $44.8K

BIOLOGIST II

Requires bachelor’s degree and 2-4 years field experience or experience in related area. Demands familiarity with standard concepts, practices, procedures within a particular field. Relies on limited experience and judgment to plan/accomplish goals. Perform a variety of tasks. Has a certain degree of creativity and latitude. Works under general supervision. Low: $40K Median: $46K High: $52K

BIOLOGIST III

Requires a graduate degree and at least five years of field experience or related area experience. Demands familiarity with variety of Field’s concepts, practices, procedures. Relies on experience/judgment to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of complicated tasks using wide degree of creativity and latitude. Reports to supervisor or manager. Low: $51K Median: $59.5K High: $68.6K

(http://swz.salary.com) [February 2005]

WHAT TO DO!

Research:
- Basic: Pure science motivated by the need to answer questions about how organisms function and evolve.
- Applied: Application of concepts driven by need to solve problems often of immediate concern to society, medicine or industry.

Teaching:
- Faculty: Teach in formal classroom setting / serve as mentors in research laboratory or extend into community or environment
- Community: Create educational exhibits for museums, zoos, aquaria; give public lectures or workshops; write science articles published in newspapers, magazines, books; produce educational software or multimedia applications; develop educational films and TV programs

Administration:
- Academe, Industry, Government: Complement biology knowledge with communication skills, business knowledge, information management and computer skills

WHERE TO DO IT!

Federal, State, local governments; pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, research laboratories.

Teaching Institutions:
- Colleges and universities, community and junior colleges, technical schools, high school

Industries involved with development/application of new products:
- Agricultural products and pesticide production, biological testing, biotechnology, food industry, health-related consumer items, independent research laboratories, pharmaceutical sales and production

State agencies:
- Agricultural extension services, resource protection authorities, forest services, health departments, natural resource conservation boards, water quality and water development boards

Federal Governmental agencies:
- Department of Interior in Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife Service, Food and Drug Administration, Geological Survey, National Institutes of Health, National Park Service, National Science Foundation, Dept. of Agriculture

Miscellaneous Employers:
- Zoos and aquaria, environmental consulting firms, museums, theme parks, private foundations

- Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. October 13, 2000. http://sicb.org/cib/faqs.html

WEB SITES OF INTEREST

American Association for the Advancement of Science
http://aaas.org

AAAS Science Magazine
http://recruit.sciencemag.org

American Institute of Biological Sciences
http://aibs.org

American Physiological Society
http://the-aps.org/

American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists
http://aapspharmaceutica.com

American Society of Microbiology
http://www.asm.org

Botanical Society of America
http://www.botany.org

Biotechnology Industries Organization
http://www.bio.org

Created by Ameri.Assoc.for Advancement of Science [AAAS] and Howard Hughes Medical Institute [HHMI]
http://www.Grantsnet.org