I graduated a few years ago and am not feeling so enthusiastic about my original plan to get a masters and work in the healthcare space. A lot of what seems to be available for bio grads are severely underpaid lab jobs. I am getting into my upper 20s and honestly am just getting to a place where I am dreading every new day because I am feeling life slipping by while I seem to be unable to identify a good career to pursue. I’ve come here to see if anyone else has a story to share about what they are doing with their biology degree, or maybe even stories from those who have just pivoted into a new field not directly related to their studies in college.
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Studied criminal justice, work in insurance investigating fraud, but will be transitioning to insurance underwriting soon.
I was Wildlife Biology rather than General Biology. I worked for a few years in Environmental Science. Doing invasive species control, habitat restoration, and some arborist stuff (tree preservation/hazard tree inspections mostly). I eventually got tired of doing fieldwork and I decided I wanted a change. I’m in the process of transitioning into education. I’m working as a college tutor while taking a few English classes (writing was a weak area for me during my undergrad). I might go ahead and get an AA in English just to make my resume look nicer. The plan is to get a Master’s in Teaching and move forward in education. Though, I might decide I’m happiest staying in the community college ecosystem rather than a different kind of school.
I’d say your best bet is PA / NP school. 6 figure salary, job security.
I’m the latter option you reference. BS in psych in 2010, currently working in an IT operations role at a major industrial supplier. It’s fine. I discovered after I graduated that my interests don’t necessarily align with my strengths in terms of marketable skills. I’m way better at being the overly organized guy who asks way too many questions and worries too much, which is a laymans way to describe what I do day to day now. Funny enough my boss does have a biology degree though, and even worked as a lab manager for a while before she got hired at my company.
I still have a hobby interest in psychology, specifically around a person’s vulnerability to manipulation, cults, and the like. I’m content reading other people’s work though, rather than contributing myself.
I wanted to be a conservation officer, graduated when Covid hit and started working on the vaccine at a large pharmaceutical company. Managed to do well and moved up the ranks. Got into QC work for the company which paid way more and got way more OT and bonuses. Next levels management. I got lucky… I was 100% expecting to be a squirrel cop making 45k a year… now I’m a full blooded scientist working for a multibillion dollar company. I do very well for myself at 25.
Not gonna lie though would still prefer the game warden job because it’s what I want to do but the money in big pharma is just too enticing. I went into biology knowing full well that I wasn’t gonna make money and was very surprised it wasn’t the case. I only have a BS… I would. Not recommended to anyone to get a masters or phd unless then want to work in academics or become a medical doctor
Biology is the least well paid field among the STEM degrees. This isn’t to say you can’t work in biology and make a decent living but you can’t do it with just a BA/BS and doing lab work, or something similar. You need a higher degree and in a subfield that pays well. Usually this means getting close to either medicine (so clinical diagnostic credentials are an option, as is PA/RN/MD, or even MPH and going into administration), or you can go towards informatics, so bioinformatics or clinical informatics (MS degrees can be useful here), or you can pursue a PhD and be a lab lead or be competitive in industry for Scientist and eventually Director/Officer roles.
I did English Literature. Via the army, the navy, the Coastguard, the police and the fire service I now work, funnily enough, in a combination of law enforcement and marine biology. The pay is okay, the hours are decent and I get to chase baddies on boats and play with fish.
Food processing Ingenieur, food technology
My degree is in Computer Science and Digital Forensics. I used it, very briefly, while working for a federal intelligence contractor. Now, I work for the federal government directly, and my employment has nothing at all to do with computer science.
I used to be a recording musician and music teacher, now I’m in IT. The music degree and teaching experience have both helped in the new field more than one would imagine
Doing a mix of research, habitat restoration and education. Severely underpaid compared to low skill, low experience requiring, low education requiring entry / minimum wage jobs. But that’s getting into politics. The work is relatively fulfilling but the pay is miserable for the amount of effort it’s taken to get here.
I was in the exact same boat. Did a molecular bio degree and realized I’d probably need a Masters to continue in the field. Also I found lab work really boring. I did a software bootcamp and am much happier now. The existential dread about my career outlook is mostly gone, since at least I have a job where I know I can keep advancing and know how to advance
Yeah a Biology degree provides terrible job prospects and horrible salaries.
According to a study of over 30,000 degree programs in the USA by the Foundation for Research and Equal Opportunity a whopping 31% of all Biology graduates that hold only a BS degree are estimated to have a NEGATIVE return on investment by the end of their working career. This means that 1/3 of these biology graduates would have been financially better off NOT going to college in the first place or choosing another major. The study also found that Biology is the 3rd worst major in terms of finances. Only ART and Theology majors had worse career outcomes… (link below with more statistics )
[https://freopp.org/is-college-worth-it-a-comprehensive-return-on-investment-analysis-1b2ad17f84c8](https://freopp.org/is-college-worth-it-a-comprehensive-return-on-investment-analysis-1b2ad17f84c8)
According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York over 70% of all biology graduates have at least a masters degree… BUT shockingly 49% of these graduates are still UNDER-employed. this means that even though most of these graduates have post graduate degrees 1/2 are still unable to find work that require their degrees. (link below if you want to see the data for your self)
[https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/index.html#/outcomes-by-major](https://www.newyorkfed.org/research/college-labor-market/index.html#/outcomes-by-major)