/sci/ - Science & Math

long time stemfag here.
bio is weird. in computer sci, or even engineering, you can learn new skills on your own, as much as you want. in those fields you have some degree over the direction of your career.

in bio, you go in with the academia skillset, but a company or organization will have you do very specific things. you def won't use lots of what you learned, whether it's western blot, hplc, gc/ms, pcr, biolistic pellet gene insertion, page gels, dna synth, peptide synth, beta harvesting, gamma or beta assays, radio-immune assays (ria), chemical extractions, ligand affinity testing with 96-well matrices, etc.
no, you'll use like maybe two or three skills, and then all the basic buffer formulations, pH testing stuff.

so what happens is: the longer you stay at a company, the more you learn their system, and lose the big foundation you graduated with. so, you kinda become 'middle management material'. not good when a research grant runs out, or a company shifts direction or ownership.

i became very comfy, but very out of touch with the newer skills. i learned the hard way; keep all of your skills current and fresh. but see, for bio, that means taking extended studies at a 4-year, because your company just isn't going to pay for you to take a refresher in GC/MS, ..and what about hands on use?

..i learned to love the comp sci field. i can pick up or d/l an eBook, load up some software, and learn all the new stuff i want. never could do that in bio.

remember, you can really be fascinated by astronomy, but it makes a terrible living.
remember, there are a shitload of people (PhD/businessmen) that know labrats come a dime a dozen to staff their benches. labrats are generally young, don't owe mortgages, don't have children, aren't wage savvy, and can be hired and pink-slipped all day long. i have been in companies and have seen entire research arms get laid-off.

advice in bio that is so true: go into manufacturing, qa/qc second. not research & dev.