Biochemistry grads - are jobs hard to come by?

[FreezingAsUsual]

DS has taken an interruption from his current university course for numerous reasons. He is now back to the drawing board and looking at options. He is considering a biochemistry degree, as he's really interested in the research and lab type careers. However we've had numerous discussions with family and friends, who are discouraging - the feedback is that these type of jobs are scarce, that biochemistry will result in being 'stuck' with being a teacher (not that there is anything wrong with teaching, just not what he wants to do). The feedback is these type of jobs are scarce, pay is poor, and to get anywhere career wise you need a PHD. Any biochemists or life science peeps out there who can advise. He isn't wanting to do a 'milk round' graduate type role in finance / banking etc, but equally want to find somehere where his degree will be relevant. He also is neurodivergent, which complicates things a little and he needs a role with structure.

Hi, I was a biomedical scientist in clinical chemistry (NHS)

a general biochemistry degree is pretty pointless, better to look at biomedical degree courses (ones which are accredited to nhs) with a placement year. Guaranteed job and options to climb the ladder.

Hi, thanks for responding. He is pretty limited in location, for health reasons. The IBMS accredited biomedical science degrees tend to be old poly tech type places. He has 3 x A star so.was looking at unaccedited Russell Group type places. How important is the accreditation?

My daughter went to Russell group. She is not doing a job that required a degree.
But she is earning good money and she’s happy

You have to get a 21 though to join the NHS

Sorry I meant to say, a lot of the accredited biomed courses are not in our location, and the ones that are are old polys. @Apprentice26 is your DD doing a job related to her science degree? DS due to his disability is unlikely to thrive in a standard milk round finance / consulting type role. He wants to do a job related to biochemistry (or whatever degree he chooses) as that will give him comfort and familiarity with the content of the job so to speak (creates less anxiety)

With 3 x A star under his belt he is comfortable that he could achieve a 2:1. I also heard they places on NHS scientist training programme are like hens teeth

With respect, the NHS is hardly the only employer for biosciences grads so it's rather narrow to say that a general biochem degree is useless. There's all sorts of industry roles available to people with a life sciences background, both at the bench and away from it.

@JohnnyAndTheTaxDemand I'm not in science myself, so apologies for the daft question, but what sorts of science roles would be available for a biochem grad?

He should do whatever degree he is interested. A biology degree is a good foundation for loads of different careers.

So she got a temp job in manufacturing that I don’t think kind of crossed her mind for a minute when she was at university it is science related and you need to know some scientific processes but you definitely did not need a science degree. Most of the people she works with have got a levels, nit graduates.
I’ll DM you the company because they do take on a lot of young people who use it as their first job

Not daft at all! I work in an industry adjacent to pharma, so this is what I know the most about. The ABPI has some great pointers for possible routes and roles from different degree areas if he thinks he might be at all interested in that sector https://www.abpi.org.uk/careers/school-college-studies/my-choices-at-18/

My degree was in biochemistry and genetics, and I've worked in academia, industry and NHS clinical science. I'm currently on the industry side and I've found it the most enjoyable and intellectually stimulating as well as the best paid. For transparency, I do have a PhD, but it wasn't necessary for either my NHS job (and nor did I need an accredited BMS degree for that!) or my industry roles. Again for transparency, I do think a masters does help a lot in getting a foot in the door, but it's not absolutely essential. Many pharma companies and pharma-adjacent technical consultancies run graduate training programmes with BSc entry requirements.

If he is interested in academic research (at universities or public research institutes) then I agree with your friends: he will need a PhD if he wants to progress to group leader, the pay is low and the contracts are fixed term (3-5 years at a time). This is a bit hyperbolic but I would actually only recommend it if you could help him get on the property ladder and possibly with child care costs in the future, because he certainly wouldn't be able to afford it for a good ten years out of university if he stays in publicly funded academic research.

I would also caution that progression very much depends on networking, you need to like giving talks, going to conferences, and in general sociable people do have an easier time with that (at least in the life sciences; I don't know about physical sciences). I think there used to be a stereotype of the lone genius / scientist about, but that really is just a myth.

In summary I would only recommend academic research if he really burns for it, and even then I would probably try to get out after the PhD.

By contrast, I think industry can be better-paid and there are also management roles in finance or in regulation / licensing (admission of new drugs etc.) that you can progress to out of the lab. These can be very lucrative and secure, but I don't know how you get these (maybe @JohnnyAndTheTaxDemand has some info). The graduate schemes mentioned sound like they would be a very good / safe way in.

Is he interested in pharmacy? I think the pharmacy degree is very similar to biochemistry and lots of pharmacy graduates actually end up doing research in the pharmaceutical industry (so it's not just your local chemist). Correct me if I am wrong @JohnnyAndTheTaxDemand but I think in industry, graduates of both these degrees can end up in the same kinds of jobs, but pharmacy may offer additional roles in hospitals, if that is of interest.

Finally, he could of course use the degree to get on any generic graduate scheme, if he decides lab work is not for him after all. There are also master conversion courses for computing, data science, psychology, law (does this still exist?) and some others, if he decides to change career into one of those directions later. Though that is a comparatively expensive choice (another year or two at university).

Maybe you said it and I missed it, but what were his A-level subjects? Is he interested in non-science degrees as well?

@SoftIce A levels were biology, chemistry and maths. He is keen to do something science based both at uni and in a job. Generic grad schemes in finance or management consultancy wont suit him for a number of reasons. When you mention pharmacy do you mean pharmacology? Could he not do those roles with a biochemistry degree?

@FreezingAsUsual I think that he could do pharmacology roles with a biochemistry degree, yes. I actually meant pharmacy. I think you can do pharmacology roles with a pharmacy degree too, but you can also do the more "traditional" pharmacy stuff. But if he loves biochemistry, then the point is moot.

Further to my comments on academic research, I wanted to post this picture as well, just something to keep in mind:
https://occamstypewriter.org/athenedonald/2014/02/08/thinking-about-the-pipeline/

Does he not want to pursue the maths then? I keep banging the drum on here for data science, but that's because I think it offers an interesting, stable and well-paid career. Plus you can work from home, which might suit him. I made the switch from science to data science myself (via a second undergrad degree) and I wish I had done it ten years previously to be honest. Although at that time, I did love science, so...

PS. On the left hand side of that picture aren't all science graduates. Just those with a PhD...!

Husband’s degree was in Biochemistry and Physiology. And yes he found that to get into research he needed both his PhD and his stint in post doctoral research. He ended up making good money researching and discovering new drugs in the pharmaceutical industry but without the PhD, he would probably have been restricted to lab technician level jobs.

He did prefer sciemce to maths hence the biochemistry. But thank you for the suggestion, I will float the idea of data sciemce. WFH would be a huge benefit I think, and worth exploring for that reason

I did a Biology degree and this is what I do now:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/regulatory-affairs-officer/

I don’t have a PhD and neither do most of the people that I work with.

DGD got a first in he biochemistry degree and finished her MRes about 18 months ago.It took her a few months to get a job with a pharmaceutical company but quite a few of her fellow MRes students are still looking.

Two people I know with top biochemistry degrees then topped up to do medicine and are now doctors. Would that be of interest?

Interesting article and diagram. I’m a bit confused by it though - there doesn’t seem to be an outcome of “careers in science”? There is continuing research to ultimate senior level, non-university research, or careers outside science altogether.

I’m pretty sure we employ plenty of scientists in science roles? I’m in one of them. Energy industry, pharmaceutical industry, engineering, product testing, science teaching (still science). They’re not all research roles in industry - they’re applying their knowledge to industry work. The diagram, and I think the article, appears to not recognise any of that as a career in science? The article talks about how there’s a bias to dismiss anything outside of research as not worthwhile, which I can relate to from my uni experience, but then fails to mention all the non-research science options itself. They’re not all “science adjacent using your chemistry degree to work in law in an energy firm”.

Biochemistry degrees were always very useful. Haven't worked in a science environment for about 12 years, but when I did I probably knew more Biochemists than anything other biology specialism .

DD1 did biomed at uni non Russell Group (one of your ex Polys!), then did a Masters and a PhD. She is now working as a senior postdoc at Columbia University in New York having done two years at Harvard in Boston first. She loves working in academia but it’s hard, long hours, writing research papers, attending conferences etc. as someone upthread pointed out and subject to funding.

He actually got into medicine and is now looking at other options.The workload, lots of memorising, and the clinical side didn't appeal. Liked the science aspects hence now looking at biochemistry.