A person having a bachelor's degree in biotech can seek a career in the biotechnology field as a biological scientist in testing and inspection. For seeking a career in biotechnology in research and development, a person is required to possess a Ph.D. in biology or one of its specializations. A person having a Ph.D. degree is eligible to carry out independent research, industrial research and college teaching. If a person is seeking biotechnology jobs like applied science, inspection, management or product development, he must have a Master's degree.
There are certificate programs, bachelor's degree programs, master's degree programs and doctoral degree programs through which a student can start his career in Biotechnology. Persons having bachelor's degree with some experience in the field can expect to get employment as an Industry Researcher or Consultant. Biotech graduates having management skills have potential to be employed as biotech directors or biotech consultants.
The other skills required for success in a career in biotechnology are analytical skills and a detail oriented attitude. He must be inquisitive and creative in thinking. As the biotech engineer is required to interact with various persons at various levels, he must be excellent in written as well as oral communications. He should possess the ability to lead a team and should also be able to work as a member of a team.
There are a few specializations where a person can seek a career in biotechnology. These are Biomedical Engineer, Clinical Laboratory Technologist, Forensic Scientist, Pharmacist, Medical Scientist and Biological Scientist.
The job profile of a Biomedical Engineer is to form artificial body limbs called prostheses. Student of this field can seek a career as a physical therapist, computer hardware engineer, mechanical engineer and also surgeon. A Clinical Laboratory Technologist deals with checking the symptoms of disease and body fluids and tissues. His career avenues go in the direction of chemist, pathologist, biological or material scientist. A forensic scientist is required in crime laboratories and is also called a crime laboratory analyst. Career options to a student of this field are archaeologists, anthropologists and detectives.
A pharmacist dispenses medicines and guides patients for correct medication and proper dosage. A pharmacist has many career options like an advanced practice nurse, psychiatrist, pharmacy technician and anesthesiologist. Medical Scientist is a person who is involved in conducting intensive research on bacteria and different other viruses to develop varieties of medicines and vaccines to combat these diseases. The field of biological scientist covers microscopic organisms, plants and animals. A student has the option to work in any of the fields like general practitioner, conservation, biomedical engineer, veterinarian, pharmacist or agricultural scientist.
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual salary of engineers as a whole ranged from $75,144 to $107,546 in 2007 depending upon their area of specialization. The annual earning during 2007 of a Biotech engineer with a degree in bioengineering and specialty in biomedical was $51,356 to $59,240.
Today there is increasing demand for qualified biotech professionals in US. However, most biotech professionals who were accustomed to academic lifestyles may experience drastic change in the industrial environment. Employment growth in biotechnology is expected to be 9 percent during the decade 2006-2016 as estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US. Hence, there is good growth of careers in the biotechnology field in the coming years.
