Anyone with a career in data science, biostatistics or epidemiology?

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I have an undergraduate from a life sciences background (biochemistry) and I want to explore careers in epidemiology, specifically biostatistics/medical statistics or data science. Wondering if someone from a life science background can go into these fields?

Which would be the best masters degree to study? Epidemiology, biostatistics or public health?

What would you want to do with your degree? What's your ideal job?
Maybe try to go on LinkedIn and search for people who currently hold positions you want to apply to and check their education.

It would be sensible to look on jobs websites to see what is out there and what requirements they have. Some pharma companies may have a data science graduate track?

There are currently lots of opportunities out there for this skill set. Have you looked at www.hdruk.ac.uk/careers-in-health-data-science/ - sponsored MSc and PhDs available.

Your choice of masters probably depends on what you specifically want to do - eg if you want to conduct analyses/be involved in evidence generation then I’d look for courses that have a large technical component (ie that includes type of analyses/statistical methodologies and how to apply them)

I work in market access/health economics. Most of my colleagues have a masters or PhD of sone kind. It’s not at all unusual to have a biomedical undegrad and then a masters in the type of course you’ve mentioned. My degree/PhD are biomedical, and my role means that although I need to have a good knoweldge of biostatistics and epidemiology in terms of interpreting data sources and understanding their implications. However, I don’t need a technical working knowledge as I don’t run analyses myself. So you can work in related areas without biostats/epi qualifications… though you may need a post grad qualification of some kind to get a relevant role in the first place. Hope that makes sense!

@macaronip1e

Your choice of masters probably depends on what you specifically want to do - eg if you want to conduct analyses/be involved in evidence generation then I’d look for courses that have a large technical component (ie that includes type of analyses/statistical methodologies and how to apply them)

I work in market access/health economics. Most of my colleagues have a masters or PhD of sone kind. It’s not at all unusual to have a biomedical undegrad and then a masters in the type of course you’ve mentioned. My degree/PhD are biomedical, and my role means that although I need to have a good knoweldge of biostatistics and epidemiology in terms of interpreting data sources and understanding their implications. However, I don’t need a technical working knowledge as I don’t run analyses myself. So you can work in related areas without biostats/epi qualifications… though you may need a post grad qualification of some kind to get a relevant role in the first place. Hope that makes sense!

Thanks for this. It does make sense.

My undergraduate degree was in biochemistry but I don’t have a good degree classification (2:2). Will this be a hinderance?

I actually just finished a masters degree but it was also in a bioscience field. I wonder if this would be a problem?

I started this degree and masters before I developed an interest in this field so I don’t have any relevant work or research experience.

I don’t feel like I’m academically strong right now so I was hoping a masters degree would help me fill in my knowledge gaps and get me up to par with everyone else in this field.

I don’t feel proficient in programming languages for example, although we did use R and SPSS in statistics modules during my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Does demography count?
I guess a lot depends on what you want to do afterwards?
I did a BSc in life sciences, then did an MA in demography and then a PhD. I've always worked in the field since my MA, lots of work available. I didn't really need a PhD, a mastes is enough for my job, but loved the subject so much that I decided to do one.
I can't really programme but can code basically (usually using what other people have done!). Was trained on SPSS, SAS and Stata and have been trying since then (unsuccessfully unfortuantely) to learn R. If I were at the earlier stages of my career, I would put more into coding in R, Python etc.

Definitely go into data science, it's a burgeoning area at the moment and extremely well paid. If you can add some kind of digital/IT expertise to your skillset, even better.

But if you do data science without any substantive area behind it then you just run the analyses for others or datamine with no understanding of the relationships. Some people love that and you can get good jobs (although there is also a lot of competition too) but, personally, i'd find it quite boring. With epidemiology or demography, you can actually learn about the theoretical frameworks and relationshops. If you add to that skillset data science then you're in a really strong position (especially because epi and mortality is obviously in the spotlight at the moment)

My husband works in data science, his degree, masters and PhD are all in chemistry(computational). He works in python and is about to do an masters in data science through the apprenticeship levy at work as he has no actual qualifications in it. He has colleagues from a life sciences background.

My good friend became a data scientist with a 2:2 in biochemistry. He went from university to a small health science startup that he heard about through word of mouth, worked there for a year or so and then got a government job on the basis of that experience. He actually found the life sciences degree helpful because there aren't many people with that background who are also good at programming.

He's really into programming though and has been doing it for fun since he was a child. I think that would be something you'd need to work on - obviously not to nearly the same degree, but coding is something you'd be using all the time on the job, if not a requirement for applying. Perhaps you could set yourself some mini-challenges to analyse some of the covid data that's available and teach yourself some skills that way? I think it's much easier and more fun to learn when you have a specific project as a goal rather than just taking a course with no particular motivation, and you can use the experience to demonstrate your enthusiasm when applying for jobs. You don't have to be an amazing programmer, just having a solid grasp of what you're doing would put you ahead of most life sciences grads I think.

I've only just woken up so I hope that's coherent! Feel free to ask more about my friend's experience and I'll try to answer as best I can.

@BayesianBlues

But if you do data science without any substantive area behind it then you just run the analyses for others or datamine with no understanding of the relationships. Some people love that and you can get good jobs (although there is also a lot of competition too) but, personally, i'd find it quite boring. With epidemiology or demography, you can actually learn about the theoretical frameworks and relationshops. If you add to that skillset data science then you're in a really strong position (especially because epi and mortality is obviously in the spotlight at the moment)

Thanks for the advice. I’m thinking with my biochemistry background to do a masters in epidemiology (which contains biostatistics), then a phd in epidemiology afterwards?

Or since I already have a masters in a different field, would it be better to do an mphil first in epidemiology instead of going the masters/phd route?

Also, how do you gain relevant work experience for this field?

So I would say that you should do a taught masters in epi in the first instance and then see where you want to go from there. Research is quite a specific skillset and might not give you much more. If you decide to do a PhD you'd have had more time to think of a good topic, ideally one which will be fascinating to you but also one which will have relevance to the job market
Look at these courses at the LSHTM - they even have health data science! Quite jealous, I'd love to be starting a masters again.
www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/courses/masters-degrees

I should say, I did my masters part-time and the uni helped me find a job in the field and that's what launched my career.

OP just following on from what BayesianBlues says, DD2 recently finished a Masters in control of infectious diseases at LSHTM – she would highly recommend the School, she loved her course, although it was seriously hard work! It actually contained a fair amount of epidemiology – though that isn't really where her interest lies – and there are also courses in data science and public health. It was a taught Masters, but also involved conducting original, cutting-edge research which her supervisor is planning to get published.

Sorry OP, should have said her first degree was biomed at a mid-rank university, so similar background to you.

@thing47

Sorry OP, should have said her first degree was biomed at a mid-rank university, so similar background to you.

Oh wow, so very similar to me. Thanks for sharing. I’m now looking into MSc/PhD courses offered at the LSHTM. Thank you for the suggestion @BayesianBlues and @thing47. Looking into this now

OP, have a look at the Distance Learning (DL) courses offered by LSHTM, in addition to face-to-face. Other universities offer similar-ish MScs - Leicester Uni, UCL, Bristol to name a few....

A taught MSc in one of the fields you mention would definitely be beneficial to a career in epidemiology/medical statistics. I did a BSc in maths & biology, followed by MSc in Med Stats, and certainly feel my science background has helped in my current job (statistician in a clinical trials unit)

Have you looked at FMCG companies? There are interesting roles in clinical teams normally that involved statics.

It’s a job seekers market right now so it’s good time to apply.

I'm no expert but I would certainly say medical statistics requires a PhD in statistics.

@ibbydibby

OP, have a look at the Distance Learning (DL) courses offered by LSHTM, in addition to face-to-face. Other universities offer similar-ish MScs - Leicester Uni, UCL, Bristol to name a few....

A taught MSc in one of the fields you mention would definitely be beneficial to a career in epidemiology/medical statistics. I did a BSc in maths & biology, followed by MSc in Med Stats, and certainly feel my science background has helped in my current job (statistician in a clinical trials unit)

Thanks, are distance learning courses viewed the same as face to face courses by employers? I’m thinking the MSc in epidemiology by distance learning looks attractive but don’t know whether it’d be better to apply for the 1 year face to face course?

My first job was as a data scientist - I had no scientific or computer science background! So there's nothing intrinsically stopping you with regards to choice of degree (in fact my undergrad degree was a humanities subject and my postgraduate was in geography).

That having been said I got a high 2:1 in my undergrad from a Russell group uni and a distinction postgraduate from another RG uni which helped get me my interview. I then had to sit general and specific competency tests.

Now when I'm hiring I don't look really at the degree as my main criterion for selection. I look at the person's level of interest and engagement in data science/ analysis and I look at their ability to learn. Things like doing data courses through Datacamp or Udemy demonstrate this as well as having a github repository of projects you have done through your own initiative.

Apply to as many internships related to data as possible - this first experience will massively open the door to further job opportunities.

Best of luck OP!

It depends on what sort of role you would like, and what industry. Someone with a life sciences background can go into those fields, but data science would be 'easier' to get into with a masters in data science, and statistics you'd want a masters in medical statistics. Statisticians can do data science but data science does not necessarily equal statistics. Epidemiologists have all sorts of backgrounds.

If you are not sure, it might be better long term to start getting some work experience in an area you think you are interested in, rather than launching into another masters then finding out it's not your thing. Also, if you work in, for example, a university as a research assistant, sometimes they will pay for you to do a masters or PhD.

If you really want to do any sort of data analysis, you will need R to a very high level. I would concentrate on improving your skills here. That will also open things up into analysis of fields other than medical, e.g. other life sciences such as environmental.

@Snoozer11, I am a medical statistician without a PhD (but do have a Masters in the subject). Am unlikely to get much further without a PhD.