Need advice on majors

[Road2Success]

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Been stuck on deciding if I either want to major into biochemistry, biotechnology. I'm not sure if these are good major choices. I just want something that I can get a job with if med school doesn't work out. I know biotechnology is a new and expanding field with alot of growth. Don't really like chemistry so I don't think I should go the biochemistry route? Any advice is helpful.

 

[ppfizenm]

Been stuck on deciding if I either want to major into biochemistry, biotechnology. I'm not sure if these are good major choices. I just want something that I can get a job with if med school doesn't work out. I know biotechnology is a new and expanding field with alot of growth. Don't really like chemistry so I don't think I should go the biochemistry route? Any advice is helpful.

Go biotech. It's hard to do anything strictly biochem with just a BA or BS in it. Biotech is a pretty decent industry and I am pretty sure it is only anticipated to grow.

 

[AFMD]

Been stuck on deciding if I either want to major into biochemistry, biotechnology. I'm not sure if these are good major choices. I just want something that I can get a job with if med school doesn't work out. I know biotechnology is a new and expanding field with alot of growth. Don't really like chemistry so I don't think I should go the biochemistry route? Any advice is helpful.

If you don't like chemistry then don't do chemistry. Do something you like enough to do well in for FOUR years.

 

[MrBird]

Neither field has decent nonacademic job prospects at the moment. But the economy may be different when you graduate.

What about bioengineering?

 

[EBTrailRunner]

Pick a field that aligns with your interests. It's difficult, if not impossible, to predict the state of the job market by the time you graduate.

 

[jf1987]

I know someone who did biotech and then an MBA while in his application cycle. Got a really awesome and well paid job during his application cycle and was finally accepted. Biochem can be fairly hard for some people and it might be more difficult to maintain a top notch GPA. Jobs in biochem aren't too great either from what I have heard.

 

[firemedic12]

@Road2Success
I would only recommend biochemistry if you really enjoy doing chemistry (sounds silly, but some people forget that it's mostly chemistry). At my school, the degree program is pretty much the standard chemistry track with extra classes built in to satisfy the biology/biochemistry content (advanced cell biology, microbiology, bioinorganic chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, biochemistry I and II, etc.). That translates to a pretty tough degree program, since most schools will require several semesters of calculus and physical chemistry I and II (probably the hardest classes I took as a chemistry major).

That being said, there are definitely opportunities out there for chemistry/biochemistry majors in industry. We tend to have some extra technical skills due to the analytical and instrumental chemistry classes we take. Plus, the more academically rigorous classes teach you great problem-solving strategies that you can apply to many situations (after the p-chem series, you'll feel ready to take on just about anything).

I would not recommend chemistry/biochemistry if you're looking for a guaranteed 4.0 GPA, though.