Biochemistry as a Backup plan

[pow123]

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Hey everyone,

So I am currently pre-med and a biology major with a 3.6 GPA. I am not 100% sure if medicine is right for me after shadowing some doctors so I am thinking of changing my major to Biochemistry. From the job searches I did I see that the starting salary is around 50-60k for the new england area which isnt that bad for a BS. How are the job prospects for biochem these days at the bachelor level? They got to be better than for a bs in biology right?

 

[LMBLBM]

Hm I don't know about New England but Virginia usually requires master degree for 50-60k starting

 

[jk1006]

as a biochem major grad, id say the two majors are pretty identical

especially if youre looking for more of the biological work

from my experience job searching, chemistry is a major thats sought after, not so much bio or biochem

 

[mcloaf]

tl;dr You need at least MS to make the type of money you think you will make with a BS.

Truth.

 

[circulus vitios]

Science as a whole is pretty dead-end unless you have a PhD and connections or academic pedigree.

 

[Bear Grylls]

It'd be pretty difficult to land a 40k+ job with just a biochemistry degree B.S. where I'm from.

 

[DoktorO]

Biochemistry is not a good backup. These 20-60k salaries are not enough in this day and age to even scrape by a living and form a savings account. You need to find a program to get a professional degree, those will pay better and you will live a life better than your lab rats.

 

[tmn5291]

My dad works for a pharmaceutical company and says that the recent college grads with a BS in biochemistry usually work with a salary of ~ $15/hr. Some actually begin working as temps. My gen chem professor used to work in the industry and told me the same thing as well. If you want a higher starting salary, you should consider getting a master's.