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What education is needed to get job working for a pharmaceutical company or doing lab work?


nec209

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I really like to go to collage and take biology and chemistry that is related to the human body and medicine. Yes understanding the human body, disease, conditions and illness. What makes body do the things it does and how to come up with cures.

 

I hear there are three education types.

 

A PHD a 10 years of collage the the highest you can get on a subject.

A master degree a 5 years of collage on a subject could be biology and chemistry.

A Bachelor or major degree a two to three years of collage on a subject could be biology and chemistry.

 

How does this tie into medicine? And jobs working for a pharmaceutical company or doing lab work? And doing scientific studies and experiments? Love to do scientific studies and experiments on different things.

 

What other subjects other than biology and chemistry is needed and biology and chemistry that is related to the human body.

 

 

And can you get master degree and get job ( in lab work,pharmaceutical company or hospital) well you work on a PHD?

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I hear there are three education types.

 

A PHD a 10 years of collage the the highest you can get on a subject.

A master degree a 5 years of collage on a subject could be biology and chemistry.

A Bachelor or major degree a two to three years of collage on a subject could be biology and chemistry.

 

There are actually many more tracks dependent on what your end goal is - there are trade school certificates for laboratory technicians, 2 year associate degrees in medical laboratory science, 4 year bachelor of science degrees and double majors which can take longer than 4 years, just to name a few undergraduate options in the US.

 

If you then decide to add postgraduate education, there's an equally large array of options; 6 month to one year postgraduate certificates, 2 year masters degrees, and 5-6 year PhD programs to name a few.

 

How does this tie into medicine? And jobs working for a pharmaceutical company or doing lab work? And doing scientific studies and experiments? Love to do scientific studies and experiments on different things.

 

There's no simple answer. A lab technician with nothing more than high school and a trade certificate can get a job in a medical laboratory. Many PhD graduates can't find jobs.

 

If you're happier doing routine lab work than trying to solve novel problems and devise your own experiments, or you're after a job you can clock out of at the end of the day and not take home, or job security and a stable income is important to you, I wouldn't waste the time on grad school.

 

If you really love to work independently rather than complete routine tasks and aren't as worried about long hours and a steady income, grad school is probably a good fit.

 

What other subjects other than biology and chemistry is needed and biology and chemistry that is related to the human body.

 

It's very dependent on where you want to go to college - and usually good grades matter more than the specific subjects you took in high school. A solid fundamental understanding of biology and chemistry would be helpful. I'd also strongly suggest computer science and statistics/mathematics - in fact those two over and above advanced chemistry.

 

And can you get master degree and get job ( in lab work,pharmaceutical company or hospital) well you work on a PHD?

 

Generally, no. Being a PhD student is a full time undertaking. If you're concerned about earning a living while getting a PhD, most students get a stipend whilst studying. Some, like I did get a research fellowship, others undertake teaching fellowships and teach while they study, and a few are independently wealthy before they start.

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And can you get master degree and get job ( in lab work,pharmaceutical company or hospital) well you work on a PHD?

 

 

Arete addressed all the points already, but for this, there is sometimes a rare option that the company hires you at master's level with the expectation that you get a PhD. This will be sponsored by the company and is often a joint project with an university. However, I would not count on it as these are typically special cases..

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I want to learn about the human body,disease, conditions,illness and biology and chemistry that is related to the human body.

 

So if I take lab sciance that sounds different? And may not understand the above? May be pharmaceutical company or hospital sounds more my thing if lab work is different.

 

 


It's very dependent on where you want to go to college - and usually good grades matter more than the specific subjects you took in high school. A solid fundamental understanding of biology and chemistry would be helpful. I'd also strongly suggest computer science and statistics/mathematics - in fact those two over and above advanced chemistry.

 

 

There is lot of statistics/mathematics and computer science in lab work? But not working for a pharmaceutical company or hospital?

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I want to learn about the human body,disease, conditions,illness and biology and chemistry that is related to the human body.

 

So if I take lab sciance that sounds different? And may not understand the above? May be pharmaceutical company or hospital sounds more my thing if lab work is different.

 

Biomedical science involves lab work independent of the facility it is being done in. The issue is not whether or not you like wet bench work, it's whether or not routine lab work is enough to be fulfilling for you, or do you want to be coming up with new research.

 

Additionally, any non clinical biomedical role in a hospital is likely to involve a lot of lab work.

 

 

There is lot of statistics/mathematics and computer science in lab work? But not working for a pharmaceutical company or hospital?

 

You expressed interest in postgraduate study, in particular a PhD. Mathematics is extensively used to explain biological processes, and statistics is extensively used to analyze biological data. You will have to use both intensively if you undertake postgraduate research, so I would strongly advise taking some undergraduate courses in them if you wish to go on to postgraduate study.

 

Biology is increasingly using large datasets that require specialized computational analysis. As a result, biologists - including biomedical scientists are required to be able to use Unix based systems and write their own software. Again, some exposure to this at the undergraduate level would be useful to anyone going on to postgraduate study.

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Biomedical science involves lab work independent of the facility it is being done in. The issue is not whether or not you like wet bench work, it's whether or not routine lab work is enough to be fulfilling for you, or do you want to be coming up with new research.

 

Additionally, any non clinical biomedical role in a hospital is likely to involve a lot of lab work.

 

 

 

You expressed interest in postgraduate study, in particular a PhD. Mathematics is extensively used to explain biological processes, and statistics is extensively used to analyze biological data. You will have to use both intensively if you undertake postgraduate research, so I would strongly advise taking some undergraduate courses in them if you wish to go on to postgraduate study.

 

Biology is increasingly using large datasets that require specialized computational analysis. As a result, biologists - including biomedical scientists are required to be able to use Unix based systems and write their own software. Again, some exposure to this at the undergraduate level would be useful to anyone going on to postgraduate study.

 

What I'm trying to get at is lab sciance different? Meaning people that do lab work would not study human body,disease, conditions,illness and such?

 

 

It like dooctor vs a dentist or eye doctor. It is different. Where a dentist or eye doctor would not be my thing.

 

If lab sciance laerns how to mix solutions ,get this outcome than analyze it!!! Well to me that sounds different than doing sleep study or study on Alzheimer's people or cancer people.

 

Or using a computer model to come up with a drug or test a drug.

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What I'm trying to get at is lab sciance different?

 

No, lab work is simply a tool that biomedical scientists extensively use to do science.

 

 

Meaning people that do lab work would not study human body,disease, conditions,illness and such?

 

People who study biomedical science extensively use laboratory work to conduct studies, but not everyone who does labwork is a biomedical scientist.

 

It like dooctor vs a dentist or eye doctor. It is different. Where a dentist or eye doctor would not be my thing.

 

Not really. It's more like "do doctors, nurses and orderlies all have to see patients?" All of them to one extent or another generally do, but some do other things as well. If you want to do biomedical science, you will more than likely have to do some form of lab work. It's more a matter of how much you want to do things other than routine lab work, vs how much time you want to spend in school and how much you value a stable job.

 

If lab sciance laerns how to mix solutions ,get this outcome than analyze it!!! Well to me that sounds different than doing sleep study or study on Alzheimer's people or cancer people.

 

Sleep science, Alzheimer's and cancer research all extensively involve lab work - cancer work to a HUGE extent. It seems a bit like you're trying to separate clinical trials from wet bench lab work when in reality the two are intrinsically tied together. Nevertheless you need statistics and computer skills to evaluate clinical trial data, so the distinction is kind of moot to the initial point.

 

In the end, take the advice you how will and best of luck in your career choices.

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Not really. It's more like "do doctors, nurses and orderlies all have to see patients?" All of them to one extent or another generally do, but some do other things as well. If you want to do biomedical science, you will more than likely have to do some form of lab work. It's more a matter of how much you want to do things other than routine lab work, vs how much time you want to spend in school and how much you value a stable job.

 

 

Okay so I would have to take biomedical and lab science and that is it? What do you mean by value a stable job? Is the job more stable in lab work than say biomedical?

 

What kind of computer skills is needed.

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Okay so I would have to take biomedical and lab science and that is it?

 

Biomedical and "lab" science are not different fields. Biomedical science is a field, lab work is a tool. If you want to work in biomedical science, there are a number of previously described pathways dependent on your goals - see post 2.

 

 

What do you mean by value a stable job? Is the job more stable in lab work than say biomedical?

 

 

If you're happier doing routine lab work than trying to solve novel problems and devise your own experiments, or you're after a job you can clock out of at the end of the day and not take home, or job security and a stable income is important to you, I wouldn't waste the time on grad school.

 

 

 

What kind of computer skills is needed.

 

biomedical scientists are required to be able to use Unix based systems and write their own software. Again, some exposure to this at the undergraduate level would be useful to anyone going on to postgraduate study.

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If you're happier doing routine lab work than trying to solve novel problems and devise your own experiments, or you're after a job you can clock out of at the end of the day and not take home, or job security and a stable income is important to you, I wouldn't waste the time on grad school.

 

 

None of that explain job security.

 

If there is lot of people getting into doing routine lab work or trying to solve novel problems, it may be very hard to get job and if you get job to keep the job.

 

you're after a job you can clock out of at the end of the day and not take home

 

 

 

What do you mean by that? There are Biomedical jobs that pay for the work you done than the time you put in and other Biomedical jobs that pay for the time you put in?

 

job security and a stable income is important to you,

 

 

For what? Can you explain this better.

 

biomedical scientists are required to be able to use Unix based systems and write their own software. Again, some exposure to this at the undergraduate level would be useful to anyone going on to postgraduate study.

 

So I would have to learn programming? Do you need a computer science degree?

Edited by nec209
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