Biotechnology not appearing as what it was mention..?

Question

I would like to become a scientist and so i choose to go for biotechnology after I graduate from high school. But what I saw from websites on careers offered to biotechnology are so limited and kind of lame like glasswasher somemore! I thought in my mind that biotechnology studies and research new things, invent tools or weapons for society, but what it was was just not i imagine to be! Do they really has a name scientist on it too? Does biotechnology really have a bright future? Then in a way how? It saddens me when i read even more about biotechnology.. Heres the link.. http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/CC/bio_intro.html to it..

I choose biotechnology because I would like to change the DNA of an orchid and the color from purple to green or something that makes the society more beneficial and better..

Oh yes, and work for the government after i graduate.. (for the mean time i think of)..

Answer 1

It depends, I suppose, how forward-thinking you are. Biotechnology right now is really just getting started out.

Altering DNA is at best a bit inexact, often resulting in damage to recipient cells. Cloning still has a fair amount of hit-and-miss. And though we have access to the full genomes from more ane more species each day, we are still figuring out what the vast majority of those genes do.

All of which means there is lots of work to do. Fortunately, we are getting to the cusp where much of this work is beginning to look profitable, which means it gets support from industry as well as government. More and more medicines are being produced by artificial means - insulin first appeared in genetically engineered bacteria in only 1982, and now it dominates; much of the clotting factor for hemophiliacs comes from genetically engineered mice, approved in only 1998. If cloning ever took off, both of these might be transplanted into goat milk and produced for pennies on the dollar.

I know of some biotech companies that consist of only a handful of employees: they determine the shape of a particular enzyme, figure out a biomolecule that will fit into it, and engineer something to produce that molecule. If you pick the right enzyme and discover a particularly potent medicine in this way, there's no reason why you might not become ludicrously wealthy and have relatively few people to share it with.

But this is all very, very advanced work. Don't expect it to happen overnight, or even to be qualified for it overnight. The hallmark of science is sometimes to be able to patiently endure meticulous and repetitive trials. So hold on. The field needs time and you will need time to prepare for it. The sky is probably the limit, but this thing is just getting off the ground, so to speak!

Answer 2

Biotechnology can accomplish some great things, but you can't do much without at least a MS degree. Plus, many biotech jobs are now becoming automated, so human workers are not going to be in great demand.

I'd advise going to college where biological research is possible, and that way you could find a better focus. The better the degree, the better the job...usually.

Answer 3

That site gives the *entry level* jobs. ENTRY LEVEL.

If you want a good position, you need at least an MS...but that being said, a prominent magazine did a report on the people who make the least for what they pay for education and Archaeology and Lab Science (Biotech) were the worst- Look for between 20-50K in student loans and an entry level position in the 20,000-30,000 range, topping out in the high 60s for arch and 100k for those very few biotech people who make it.

That's not to say a degree in Biology isn't damned helpful, but Chemists and Engineers are the folks who aren't doctors and rake in the dough.

If you want a job with a 4 year degree that pays well, become an engineer.

Good Luck,
LabGrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl
(holder of degrees enabling me to take positions in both archaeology and lab science, and 70K in student debt.)