What do you do now?
Im considering vet school or med school but some time off would be nice.

Research might not be a bad idea or perhaps doing some wildlife work




I graduate in December and although that's 11 months away....Im scared shitless


Any ideas?

1/24/2007 4:19:16 PM

I have a good friend with a biology degree (biology & biology education double major). He sold out for a little bit and worked HR over in RTP. Now he teaches high school in Johnston county.

1/24/2007 4:25:52 PM

I was a bio science major for 2 years and then realized i drank way too much and cared way too little to get into a (decent) med school. So I switched to business to expand my options. I didn't want to be biologist or work in a lab all day...

1/24/2007 4:26:40 PM

If you want to do vet school, I suggest go get alot of prereq animal experiences (unless you have them already).

[Edited on January 24, 2007 at 4:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/24/2007 4:27:22 PM

i have two bio major friends...one works at telecris now and the other is at grad school at boston university. the one at BU is thinking either going on to working in a lab, or perhaps getting her business degree and doing upper management in bio labs/companies/etc.

1/24/2007 4:29:20 PM

i've got the animal experience needed for vet school

but my gpa is somewhat on the lower end of the spectrum compared to the 3.5 or better needed for vet school

1/24/2007 4:36:23 PM

I knew a guy with a bio degree. last I heard (about a year ago), his best job option was an assistant at the Zoo.

But, I know another guy who only has some type of associate bio degree and he works as a water analyst for the city.

I think the key is specialization, you should get some training for a specific field after graduating, or get an internship now.

1/24/2007 4:37:44 PM

how many internships/lab tech type jobs have you had?

get in gear and start hustling for as much experience as you can handle. if you get good and like what you do, some of those jobs may turn into full time employment upon graduation. if not, atleast they will be resume builders, potential recommendations from supervisors, and you may learn some valuable science along the way.

1/24/2007 4:44:15 PM

i've worked in vet clinics in the past and will continue working in one this comin summer

i also interned at CPT for the summer and got some animal-keeper experience

i'd like to do some wildlife rehab work, perhaps somethin for the US Fisheries and Wildlife


Working as a zoo curator and doing educational work as well as animal care and maintenance would be ideal in my opinion

take care of the animals, give tours, etc....


it just sucks that there's no money.......im lookin at 30k a year if im lucky

1/24/2007 5:10:07 PM

^sounds like you should be a vet, or something that has to do with animal.

1/24/2007 5:43:08 PM

I graduated with in May with Bio Sciences. I had kind of a hard time finding a job and right now I do animal control catching raccoons and squirrels and stuff that go into peoples houses. I'm currently looking to go back to school.

1/24/2007 6:22:05 PM

Fuck, you guys are making me depressed, and I don't know shit about bio.

1/24/2007 6:25:50 PM

my wife got her BS in bio w/molecular chem minor.

she hated her jobs. worked as quality control in pharmaceutical plant, and did some temp work for Quintiles and others managing drug trials (overpaid data entry). did work in a research wet lab, which was better but still tedious.

she went back for Nursing. got BSN/RN. best thing she ever did. loves it, and never will be out of work unless she wants to.

now shes applying for nurse practitioner.

and Im lookin forward to retiring early.

1/24/2007 7:03:08 PM

ya I definitly switched out of bio due to this :x not that I picked a better path, but it's atleast a bit more promising

1/24/2007 7:34:19 PM

I am only a freshman in college, but I ma taking my biology degree and going into dental school. Thats always an option

1/24/2007 7:38:27 PM

Quote :

"she went back for Nursing. got BSN/RN. best thing she ever did. loves it, and never will be out of work unless she wants to."

Great that she likes it, but nursing is not for everyone.

1/24/2007 8:09:31 PM

I'm doing something with animals...yeah there's probably no money, but I'll be happy and a contributing member of society.

1/24/2007 8:18:28 PM

^that's how i see it

1/24/2007 8:27:28 PM

^^^^good luck with that. If I have a dollar for every pre-dental/pre-med student out there, I don't have to go to school anymore.

[Edited on January 24, 2007 at 8:48 PM. Reason : .]

1/24/2007 8:48:15 PM

I was a Bio major and now work at BASF in RTP doing plant studies. It doesn't seem to be directly related to what you're interested in but I think it pays better than the other options you've mentioned. Bottom line, looking back, I'd have to say that Biological Sciences is inordinately hard given the meager job opportunities available, unless you plan to go to grad school.

1/24/2007 9:40:18 PM

i've come to realize this.....^



i just dont wanna go to school anymore


I know the real world really sucks compared to school but i need to make some money and maybe scare myself back into school

1/24/2007 9:44:22 PM

ive got a bio degree. dont do anything now, shooting for dental school.

but like every other dentist will tell you, major is somthing easy. because you will be taking these classes again in grad school.

1/24/2007 9:49:25 PM

I have an animal science degree and not shit to do with it
can't do anythign with a BS in life sciences anymore

1/24/2007 10:23:03 PM

cant do much with a BS in many areas.

gonna need your masters nowadays.

1/24/2007 11:46:56 PM

which is why I'm trying to go to gradschool . . I miss school anyway.

1/25/2007 12:00:09 AM

i wasted 8 years of my life in undergrad./grad. school only to find out they want people that have common sense, not book sense. so i wait tables for a living.

1/25/2007 8:14:43 AM

I went back to school for a masters in computer science. Now I am a bioinformatics programmer in academia.

1/25/2007 11:42:48 AM

I plan on going to graduate school for a Ph.D. since I want to eventually become a professor. However, I decided that I need some time off before jumping into such a big commitment. It took about 3 months of job searching, but I finally landed a job with an environmental consulting firm here in Raleigh called Axiom as an environmental consultant. I plan on sticking with the job for at least a year and a half to pay off my debt before going back to grad school, but if I like it I might stick with it even longer. I start in a week and am extremely excited.

If you know yourself and know that you will eventually go back to school because that's what you want to do, then don't listen to the nay-sayers that push you to stay in school in fear of not going back. Vet and med schools are serious commitments and if you have any doubts in your mind, take some time off and get your feet wet in the real world. If you're thinking about NCSU vet school, it's very likely you won't get in the first time anyway. No offense but if you don't even have a 3.5 you might as well forget about NCSU vet school.

If you want to do some wildlife stuff, keep up to date with North Carolina state jobs on the state employment page, http://osp.its.state.nc.us/pickdepartment.asp. Keep an eye out for jobs through the wildlife resource commission as Wildlife/Fish Tech 2. Also keep checking positions with the DENR, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, that's where all museum and zoo positions are posted, along with Div. of Water Quality and other environmental jobs.

I had never thought of it before I kind of stumbled into the field, but environmental consulting might be something else to consider as well. Pay is better than starting out at state jobs (mid 30k range), and it's a lot of getting out into the field and data collecting, as opposed to sitting at a lab bench pipetting all day.

[Edited on January 25, 2007 at 12:08 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2007 11:57:36 AM

badass man, i appreciate it ^



what does an evironmental consultant do?

this is pretty much right up my alley....i wanna work and take care of myself for a bit 1-2 years at most and then make the decision as to whether or not i wanna go back to school.

Graduate school is very very likely and vet/med school is quickly being discarded....

1/25/2007 1:36:37 PM

you could do what I've done after getting a zoology degree...
http://www.moorparkcollege.edu/zoo/
if you were interested in training exotics, that is...but it's not a grad program so maybe not.
It's fun, though

1/25/2007 2:56:40 PM

I graduated from State in May with a degree in Microbiology. I got a job as a student contractor with the EPA doing research with nanoparticles something unrelated to microbiology that gave me a chance to learn some new skills. It also allowed me to realize that I wanted to pursue a career in public health.

So currently I am working on my MSPH at UNC in environmental health. This choice gives me flexibility in career choices I could go one to get a PhD or even medical school if I so choose, if I didn't I could still make a decent living with the master's degree. Your biology degree allows you more flexibility then you might realize.

Good luck and don't be scared.

1/25/2007 3:10:25 PM

Just an FYI... to get into Vet School you need virtually a 4.0 average.

We had 745 applications this year that passed the screen, just for normal entry. only 20 were selected.

1/25/2007 3:47:36 PM

yeah i have pretty much eliminated my chances of vet school (at least in the US)


med school isnt out of the question yet....my dad practices in charlotte and heavily encourages my efforts

hell at this point, med school is easier to get into than vet



i just wanna work, establish myself independently from my parents, scare myself, retreat to grad school

1/25/2007 3:57:06 PM

Microbiology major here, graduated in December. I'm now a Testing Technologist for a pharmaceutical company doing viral marker testing (among other things) on donor plasma that is used in the manufacture of some of our products. Hoping to go back for my MBA after 2 years of experience and move into the management side of things.

1/25/2007 4:21:19 PM

For Vet. School, you do not need a 4.0. I am a first-year vet. student at State and there are plenty of people in my class that had below a 3.5 and still able to make it in. But they also had plenty of work experience and good recommendations. You can still go to Vet. School without the 4.0 but make sure if you apply that all your other items are above and beyond what the minimum req. say on the application.

1/25/2007 4:21:35 PM

i graduated in may with a wildlife biology degree and am working in florida for the university of kentucky trapping bears. i am doing research and see myself continuing to do that. i love being in the field so after my masters which i hopefully will start in a year from now will be it. then on to a biologist position which is what i am considered now just one where i get paid alot more. if you are willing to travel, google texas a&m wildlife job board. lots of jobs, most of them 6 months or so and great experience. good luck and just a heads up, if you go into wildlife do NOT expect to get paid.

1/25/2007 4:23:15 PM

an environmental consultant is kind of a blanket term that could mean a whole plethora of things

to be completely honest, I don't even know exactly what it means yet...but so far for me it's meant:
- writing biological assessments to assess a given construction's potential damage to an endangered or threatened species
- writing Clean Water Management Trust Fund applications, and learning about water quality, sewage, wastewater, and water treatment systems
- wetland mitigation, the replacement of wetland functions through the creation or restoration of wetlands
- stream and wetland delineation, surveys conducted to determine the extent of wetland/streams and the types of wetland/streams that would be impacted by a project

With so much development taking place in North Carolina, it's no wonder that there are so many env. consult. firms in Raleigh alone. I will be working for Axiom like I said, I'm currently working for R.J. Goldstein and Associates, and I had interviewed with EcoScience, the big boy on the block so to speak.

1/25/2007 8:13:21 PM

lacy you're parks 'n rec....

i do data coordination / specimen processing for a set of labs at Duke...

aids/hiv vaccine endtrial stuff...

bio and chem

[Edited on January 26, 2007 at 12:46 PM. Reason : m]

1/26/2007 12:46:04 PM

i have a biochem degree

and now i'm a commercial banker

i strongly recommend abandoning science as a career

1/26/2007 8:56:13 PM

^you're also a troll

but I also agree with you, unless you plan on going back for a professional/PhD degree.

1/26/2007 9:43:45 PM

^^ a commercial banker? surprise surprise

1/26/2007 10:27:03 PM

I got my bio degree, worked at a lab company and now I teach english in Japan. Though, I do plan on going back to school for a phd.

1/26/2007 10:43:12 PM

I'm a grad student in a clinical medicine field and also on the admissions committee at my grad school. My advice to anyone applying to grad school is to not be insincere in your personal statement: anyone can see through that. Although they always ask what you want to do after grad school in the prompt for the statement, it is not bad to say you don't know yet if you really don't. Just justify that you DO really want to do science for the rest of your life (otherwise grad school will be hell). Also, a terrible personal statement or letters of recommendation despite good scores will hurt your chances of acceptance significantly.

My advice is that if you love science, go to grad school. It's been one of the best experiences of my life as long as you don't let it burn you out and you don't mind sometimes feeling like a retard (b/c you will).

1/26/2007 10:54:30 PM

i have a botany degree and I work as a molecular biologist for a small ag research company doing analysis of genetically engineered plants. the work isn't that bad and the company is really cool but the pay kinda sucks shit. I don't think I like school enough to go back but would need at least a masters to make any $$$. I wouldn't suggest a career in science unless you really love it or could commit to the extra schooling to make it somewhat worthwhile.

1/28/2007 10:59:37 PM

Quote :

"If you know yourself and know that you will eventually go back to school because that's what you want to do, then don't listen to the nay-sayers that push you to stay in school in fear of not going back."

Sorry man, but once a family starts up, that completely changes the playing field. Not saying its not possible, but its going to be a hell of a lot harder. If you plan on going back to school before you start a family, experience is a plus to have.

Quote :

"I wouldn't suggest a career in science unless you really love it or could commit to the extra schooling to make it somewhat worthwhile."

From what I've been told (and I'm not sure on the validity to this), folks with BAs or BSs tend to do grunt work and analysis. Those with a Masters oversee the day-to-day specifics of the work. Those with PhDs come up with the projects / take care of higher-level administrative items.

But beyond all of that, it REALLY is up to you what you want to do with your career and personal life. Some folks really want to move up the career ladder, others are content to move to a specific point, and others really just want to make a sustainable income. That being said, "biology" is a huge field, and you mentioned enjoying working with animals. Have you explored options than than being a vet that meets those goals/objectives? (And have you visited the Career Center about this?)

[Edited on January 29, 2007 at 6:56 AM. Reason : .]

1/29/2007 6:55:47 AM

i had always planned to go to vet school. changed my mind and finished my BS in animal science, then started grad school for animal science (reproducive physiology).

when i'm done, i'm planning on a job in the zoo research setting.

1/30/2007 6:07:22 PM

^^depends on the company structure and personality of who has what degree. I am a BS and work right beside PhD's on a pretty similar level. I'm sure they make more than me and make a few more decisions but just because you have or don't have the higher level training doesn't 100% determine your job function.

Basically if you have a BS only be prepared to work your way into a higher level position over awhile, if you are impatient like me, it may not be your best choice.

1/30/2007 7:28:39 PM