Undergrad Major: Chemistry vs. Biology

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iMedical

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I enjoy both bio and chemistry. I have finished the lower-division requirements for both the majors but it is now my junior year and I have to choose one but don't know which one to pursue. I am comfortable with math/physics required for chemistry and also the rote memorization for bio. So which one do you guys think I should pursue?

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You enjoy bio and chem, so would you enjoy biochem?
 
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Either way if you want a job where you are making good money or have real responsibility/independence you are going to need some graduate work. If this is primarily for medical school concerns I would go with chemistry, I feel like chem is more helpful to have for the MCAT than bio because as mentioned below bio is mostly memorization, so just get your hand on the bio material and constantly review.

For chem knowing concepts in physical chemistry can really add an extra level of depth to understanding, which will make MCAT study for chem and to a lesser extent physics tons easier. But MOST important is your personal preference, which are you more interested in or which seems like more fun? Hell which one do you have better friends in (not the best criteria but may help break a close tie)?
 
It doesn't matter, to the nth degree. You might as well just make a poll, "what do you find more interesting, bio or chem?" Because you're just going to get bio majors to say bio and chem majors to say chem. And none of that is particularly helpful to you specifically.
 
It doesn't matter, to the nth degree. You might as well just make a poll, "what do you find more interesting, bio or chem?" Because you're just going to get bio majors to say bio and chem majors to say chem. And none of that is particularly helpful to you specifically.

iMedical, while chem might be interesting in school, you will probably be bored out of your mind on the job because most of the time, they are doing monotonous, analytical lot release testing using HPLC, GPC over and over again.
 
iMedical, while chem might be interesting in school, you will probably be bored out of your mind on the job because most of the time, they are doing monotonous, analytical lot release testing using HPLC, GPC over and over again.

do you have any idea what you're talking about? there are all different kinds of chemists. granted, if you end up in quality i pity your life. but there are way more interesting and fulfilling routes that take up at least 75% of the chemistry-degree holding manpower at any decent company. formulation, peptides, bulk, tsgs, synthesis, the list goes on and on just for pharmacy.
 
You enjoy bio and chem, so would you enjoy biochem?

I have taken a course in biochem and found it more memorization than the typical bio course. Going through all those metabolic pathways (glycolysis, citric acid cycle, etc.) and knowing all the enyzmes, intermediates, their structures, their stereochemistry, and other special properties was very painful (But beneficial) .

iMedical, while chem might be interesting in school, you will probably be bored out of your mind on the job because most of the time, they are doing monotonous, analytical lot release testing using HPLC, GPC over and over again.
Oh really? I always thought chemistry in the industry might be kind of interesting. I think I would enjoy it more working at a desk job doing accounting or something.


Anyone know the difficulty of the upper-div classes of bio vs. chem? Which one will provide me with more free time for studying the MCAT and extracurricular?
 
I agree about working in quality control. I did it for a year and was quite bored. The thing that is nice though is that you have a potential to make serious cash if you hook on to the right company.
 
I have taken a course in biochem and found it more memorization than the typical bio course. Going through all those metabolic pathways (glycolysis, citric acid cycle, etc.) and knowing all the enyzmes, intermediates, their structures, their stereochemistry, and other special properties was very painful (But beneficial) .

Oh really? I always thought chemistry in the industry might be kind of interesting. I think I would enjoy it more working at a desk job doing accounting or something.


Anyone know the difficulty of the upper-div classes of bio vs. chem? Which one will provide me with more free time for studying the MCAT and extracurricular?

Biochem is a lot of memorization, there's really no way around it. But you can learn it 'right' so it stays with you a lot longer.

Chemistry and biology in the industry really aren't that much different structurally. In chemistry, you're bound to have quality guys who are either new or have no talent. But there are real synthesis and other research groups that can be an absolute joy to work in. In biology, the no-talents will eventually end up doing the same repetitive lab work; they might be running assay after assay or gel after gel or trying to synth a certain imperfect transformation excision.

There is really no denying that chemistry is a harder undergraduate major, but that doesn't mean there aren't smarter and better biologists out there. Just do what you like more, it'll save you a headache in the future. If you don't have a problem memorizing zoology, learning microbio, immunology, mol gen, etc, and it sounds good to you- then do it. If you can/want to handle inorganic chem (the real kind), p chems, quantum, all calc, diff eq (if you want to actually understand any of the previous stuff) etc then do chemistry.
 
Doesn't matter.

Do what interest you. Obviously, if you could do both, then do both. In fact, if I were you I'd pick the easier one and add on an interesting double major or two minors that are non-science and can set you apart from the 1000000s of other Bio/Chem majors out there...
 
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