Breaking into Biomed/Eng.

[Jetgirl]

Anyone here work in the biomed/bioengineering or associated fields?

I have a degree in psychology (neuropsych/pharmokinetics) but no laboratory experience.

I'd like to get into a laboratory field, but I can't seem to get a break. I would start as a lab slave, washing cages and such, but can't find a lab where that's not a dead end.

I know I'm capable of learning anything they need me to know quickly, and work with the equipment with minimal training, but no one will give me a chance.

Any suggestions?

 

[Deamiter]

I have to admit that I know very little about the bioengineering field but I would think that you could start in one of two routes. First, you would go back to school (at a grad school) and start taking related classes. In that case, it is very true that your undergrad degree is very unimportant, though you will need to have a basis in biology before you take advanced classes. That would be the route for a full career in bioengineering and it'd probably take you three years to complete (you'd probably be able to get the sort of low-level job you're looking for after a year or so).

Otherwise, you could train at a community college to be a lab technician. However, with a cheap two-year degree, you certainly wouldn't be looking at a career -- it'd be a dead end which doesn't sound like your thing.

Unfortunately, I think it would be unlikely for you to get a job with no experience and no formal education. If I were in your situation, I would start school in bioengineering and then sell myself aggressively as a future scientist. These labs often look for long-term employees that the can catch in university, and though lab technicians can be paid less, it's often to the lab's advantage to hire university students with less lab experience as those students will be MUCH more flexable and intelligent even in the repetative jobs.

 

[Jetgirl]

Thanks for the reply!


Unfortunatly for me, going back to school in any capacity is not a finacially suitable decision. I mean, I could, but I like my 0 debt status.

I already have a four year degree though, I'm just a little frusterated that it doesn't seem to count for anything now that I'm not in school.

Eh, but I just applied to the FBI, so maybe something will come of it.

 

[Deamiter]

I don't think your degree counts for NOTHING, it's just that a psychology degree is seen as quite a bit softer than other scientific degrees in terms of lab work. Zero debt is VERY admirable, but you should consider that the system in this country provides essentially free money to anybody attending schools. Assuming you are getting a degree in a field you are interested in, you should EASILY be able to pay off any debts you accrue in a couple more years. Furthermore, with a bit of planning, you should even be able to pay back the loans within the six month period so you have absolutely no interest to pay. Debt isn't positive, but free money to increase your earning potential is CERTAINLY a good thing!

 

[Jetgirl]

I don't think your degree counts for NOTHING, it's just that a psychology degree is seen as quite a bit softer than other scientific degrees in terms of lab work. Zero debt is VERY admirable, but you should consider that the system in this country provides essentially free money to anybody attending schools. Assuming you are getting a degree in a field you are interested in, you should EASILY be able to pay off any debts you accrue in a couple more years. Furthermore, with a bit of planning, you should even be able to pay back the loans within the six month period so you have absolutely no interest to pay. Debt isn't positive, but free money to increase your earning potential is CERTAINLY a good thing!

Actually, I've looked into it, and when returning for a second undergraduate degree you are elegible for essentially zilch in grants/government funds. I also have the slight problem that in respect to gov. funds I am still considered a dependant minor (my birthday is twelve days short of the cut-off grrrr) and have to deal with this thing called "assumption of family contribution" even though the day I get any money from my folks we could all try out for Hell's hockey team. So next year I might be able to apply for financial aid, but they really don't like people getting second degrees for some reason.

Don't mean to sound so entirely negetive, but I've gone through it once before. Thought I had this great degree and would get a great job and ended up with a nasty surprise.

 

[Deamiter]

Oh certainly you're not going to be able to go back for an undergrad degree, but what you find in graduate schools is that your undergrad degree doesn't matter much. At this point you should look at a masters rather than another bachelor's degree. Honestly, the reason they don't like you getting a second degree is that nobody does it because it's a waste of time. Once you have a bachelor's in ANYTHING, you can get into a master's program, though it'd take some research to see exactly where you could go to easily transition from psych to biochem.

 

[dojuice]

I'm 17 and a freshman in college at UCLA and my major(s) are bioengineering and biochemistry. I obviously don't have any experience in the actual industry, but I know just from talking to college counselors that internships are always a great way to getting into the industry, even if you're starting at a low level. Internships usually don't pay, so you would probably have to get another job on the side, but i know a lot of people who have been hired by the company that they interned for. Just a suggestion.

 

[Inner City Blues]

I majored in biomedical engineering for undergrad and now doing graduate work at Columbia for a masters and hopefully a PhD. later. You'll definitely need to go back to school, but first you have to ask yourself, what field you're interested in.

You have to know what discipline and focus you're interest in. Are you interested biomechanics (i.e. prosthetic devices, orthapedic devices), cell/tissue engineering (i.e. nanoresearch, genetic/microbiological engineering), or are you interested in biomedical imaging (i.e. MRI, X-Ray, CT research). You have to establish what your interest is in.

I was in the cell/tissue engineering track and switched to the imaging track later and the skills you need differ for each group. But you do need some basics, biology, physics, calculus, differential equations, and some basic computer language ability.

So I guess the first thing to ask is, what field are you interested in? You can start to tailor a curriculum for yourself, it will definitely decrease the number of useless classes you may take if you return to school.

 

[Jetgirl]

I majored in biomedical engineering for undergrad and now doing graduate work at Columbia for a masters and hopefully a PhD. later. You'll definitely need to go back to school, but first you have to ask yourself, what field you're interested in.

You have to know what discipline and focus you're interest in. Are you interested biomechanics (i.e. prosthetic devices, orthapedic devices), cell/tissue engineering (i.e. nanoresearch, genetic/microbiological engineering), or are you interested in biomedical imaging (i.e. MRI, X-Ray, CT research). You have to establish what your interest is in.

I was in the cell/tissue engineering track and switched to the imaging track later and the skills you need differ for each group. But you do need some basics, biology, physics, calculus, differential equations, and some basic computer language ability.

So I guess the first thing to ask is, what field are you interested in? You can start to tailor a curriculum for yourself, it will definitely decrease the number of useless classes you may take if you return to school.

Thanks for the input. I'd probably be interested in cell/tissue engineering and/or drug discovery.

 

[Inner City Blues]

Thanks for the input. I'd probably be interested in cell/tissue engineering and/or drug discovery.

Well are you sure you want to do biomedical engineering then? There's also the field of pharmacy. Are you leaning towards drug discovery as in finding a drug to do x?

 

[chilehed]

Nothing to add here, I just wanted to beat AV's necropost record.

 

[AV1611VET]

Nothing to add here, I just wanted to beat AV's necropost record.