A Career In Biotechnology

A career in Biotechnology is very challenging and exciting. All those who are aspiring to be a biotechnologist, here’s a glimpse of what this career is about.

First and foremost, it is an integration of engineering and technology to the life sciences. Things that make it interesting:
Biotechnologists use biological substances to perform specific processes or for manufacturing. For example, biotechnologists are responsible for the production of drugs, hormones, foods and converting waste products.
If you are mulling to get into biotechnology, the first question to ask yourself is which one of the three broad classes you are interested in: medical, agricultural or industrial biotechnology. That will in a way help in deciding the nature of your education. If you are thinking about getting into medical biotechnology with a specialisation in vaccine production, a solid background in immunology would be a must, and if agro-biotechnology is something you are looking forward to, extensive training in botany would be a precondition.
There are many similar specialisations in both the above fields like recombinant DNA technologies, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, etc. Therefore, one needs a basic biology education to have a firm grounding in the fundamental principles of biotechnology. The second important issue that needs to be considered is the kind of job in your selected field you would like to perform since it would determine the number of years you would want to invest in your education. A senior research scientist in a university or biotech company, on an average, dedicates 4-6 years to obtain a Ph.D. followed by some years of post-doctoral experience. And a research associate/technician has to invest 3-4 year in Bachelor’s and maybe 2-3 year Master’s in a degree program.

Now that the basic requirements of a career in biotechnology have been discussed, the question now is how to take it forward. In other words, how can you go that extra mile so as to stand out from all the other hundreds of candidates who have the same basic education as you do?
All-round education:
Biotechnologists are supposed to integrate various technologies and should be proficient in many different subjects apart from their own specializations. Therefore, a biotechnologist should have a basic background in biology and chemistry, an aptitude for math and certain computer skills. And of course, some knowledge of physics and engineering would definitely be an added asset. What else! If one combines it with some management skills, undoubtedly more demand in the job market is assured. Basically in this field, the more you know the wider career path you follow.
Networking:
The significance of networking throughout one’s career cannot be stated. The traditional view that a scientist is an island of knowledge himself and needs nothing besides test-tubes for company is a complete fallacy. The fact is that as biotechnologists are completely dependent on their peer group to collaborate on that all-important, grant-worthy project or to help get that next job or even to evaluate our research findings so as to publish them.
Internships or Summer jobs:
Internships and summer jobs might be the single most important step one needs to undertake to jumpstart your biotechnology career. Apparently, there are some professors at university and research institute labs that allow some students short term summer projects. The demand for these positions is very high and is mostly voluntary in nature and therefore one may or may not get paid for it. Besides these, there are some biotech companies who offer summer internships but they are rarer and they usually do pay a stipend to trainees.
Membership in professional organizations:
Undoubtedly, there are various advantages of becoming a member of a professional biotech organization. First of all, it can help one in the most important task of networking since it provides opportunity to meet other fellow members as one had to attend some of the meetings and conferences arranged by the organization. Secondly, you will get a periodic newsletter that advertises jobs, available grants, date and registration information of conferences, workshops, etc. Thirdly, one can get an easy access to a lot of updates on industry, business news and partnership opportunities.
So, one cannot say that Biotechnology offers just a research and technology kind of environment to its trainees. In fact, it can create a pleasant working environment; one that involves sharing with others and collborating to achieve a great goal.

Sukhpreet Kaur writes on behalf of Shiksha.com is a portal that connects education seeker with education provider. Shiksha.com provides information about over 70,000 colleges and courses ,professional courses, scholarships and admission notifications. Shiksha.com has wide information over foreign education , test preparations etc . The site is a boon for Medical, Engineering, MBA , and other aspirants who are looking to study abroad. Its education forums enable its users to seek opinion of students, alumni and faculty of colleges and schools through College Groups and School Groups.