Seeking academic direction

[PhilC]

Hello, i want to start college classes soon, but i dont feel that i have enough insight on the subjects im interested in to make an informed decision about the courses i should be going after. My interests are in genetics, evolution, and molecular biology. Someday, i'd like to be doing research in these areas to help make progress towards treatments for genetic disorders and other diseases.

 

I'm planning on going to a graduate school once i have a better bearing on what exactly i want to be doing, but for now i am looking at associate degrees given at my community college, but i am not sure which one will give me a good foundation in the areas i am interested in. There are AS degrees in chemistry, biology, mathematics/physics. There is also one AAS degree in Molecular Biotechnology, but it indicates that i shouldn't take that if i am planning on transferring to a graduate school, which i am. The problem im having is that i have read that molecular biologists need to know alot of math, physics, biology, and chemistry, and i don't know which program would give me the foundation that i need in order to find a nitch in such a big field. Also, i've been reading a bit about bioinformatics, and i've seen alot of research opportunities for people with experience in that field, and it makes me wonder if i shouldnt be taking some programming courses as well.

 

Any input is greatly appreciated, hopefully after a while i'll have some stimulating conversation to offer

 

Thank you!

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

If I understand you correctly, are you suggesting you want to go to graduate school after just getting an AS?

 

Most graduate schools would much rather you have a bachelor's degree before applying.

 

But as to your main question: I think what you'll find is that those degree programs have specific course requirements that are very similar for the first semester or two. That's the way most degrees are: you take the basics of chemistry, biology, etc. your first semester or two, then branch into major-specific things. Thus what you may be able to do is look up the course requirements for your possible degrees, verify this is true, and go the first semester taking classes to see what interests you the most. You see which classes you enjoy more and model what you'll do next based on that.

[CharonY]

The single most important bit of advice is not to focus too much on the courses per se. In reality you will most likely already be a grad student before realizing what benefits you most. In many if not all cases there is no clear trajectory in which you can project where you will end up and what precisely you will need for a given project. A good foundation in all the basics is helpful, of course, but chances are, you will have forgotten a lot once you come to the point where you actually seriously need it. Having a good basis makes it easier to catch up, though.

Finally the most important bit is to realize that grad school is not an end to itself. You will ask yourself where do you want to be in the end? Academia? Why? Or industry? Why? What other alternative? The PhD can be an entry ticket for something, but unless you just study pro arte, you should be sure that you are moving in the right direction.

[PhilC]

Thank you for the wisdom guys, i may just be trying to plan ahead farther than is practical for where im at. I was thinking if there is one area that ends up being relied upon more than the others, i would go for the associates in that area, as a way to get a leg up for whats ahead. But, it makes sense to jump into the basics and then adjust which associates i go for once i get a better grasp on them all. That lack of a clear trajectory is the scary part, especially for someone like me who is obsessive about planning ahead.

In the last post i mentioned how i read that AAS degrees shouldnt be taken if i plan to transfer to a graduate school, i meant to say transfer to a university, where i'd get a bachelors and so forth. Sorry for the confusion.

 

Thanks again guys!

[SergeP]

Hi, I see that PhilC received very helpful information on his future plans and was wondering if others could offer direction for me too.

My long term goal is to genetically manipulate organisms. I plan on going for a masters once I have my bachelor in molecular biology and genetics so I can begin researching. I'm going into my first year of university in the fall, so I was wondering what the people who have experience at these forums thought I should do. I'm just a little unsure of myself and am wondering if maybe biotechnology would be a better way to get to my long term goal of working in a lab playing with the genes of organisms.

Thanks for any help.

[CharonY]

If you really want to do lab work in the bioengneering area you could try to either get a technician job after either bachelor or, probably more preferable, a masters. The big question, however, is where you want to work. While genetic manipulation is all nice and good most of the time you will also need e.g. solid fermentation or similar techniques. In the end it is important to inform yourself about what work you want to do and plan your curricula appropriately.

Edited December 6, 2009 by CharonY