Biology Advising | Alternative Careers

Alternative Careers

If you have decided against medical or other professional health schools, or graduate school and a traditional research or teaching job in the sciences, then you might want to consider a non-traditional career in the sciences. For most of these careers, a broad interest in the sciences is a prerequisite. Here we list just some of the options that are available. For more information about exploring these careers, check out the following books:

Nontraditional Careers in Science by Karen Young Kreeger
Jump Start Your Career in BioScience by Chandra B. Louise

Both of these books, among others, are available in HS 107.

So you like to write

So you like computers and math

So you like management or developing new ideas

So you like to work with children or young adults

So you like drawing or photography

So you like to write:

Science Writer

The best sign that you might enjoy science writing is that you love to know all about many aspects of science, can quickly learn the basics about many topics and can describe complex subjects in clear, exciting prose. Science writers are hired by newspapers, magazines, and journals and for web site development. Many science writers are freelance authors and so need to have some “business skills” as well as writing skills. While some science writers have also completed a degree in journalism, many do not. A good site for you to explore is the National Association of Science Writers web site. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has a fellowship for students interested in becoming a science writer.

A site for those of you interested in environmental journalism is the Society of Environmental Journalists. If you are interested in writing about medical topics, check out the American Medical Writers Association. For those of you more interested in conveying technical information, visit the Society for Technical Communication.

So you like computers and math:

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is an increasingly popular career. People in this profession help make sense of the vast quantities of information from the human genome project and other gene sequencing projects. Bioinformatics combines computer science, library science as well as the biological sciences to help catalog and make genetic information available to researchers, pharmacy companies and the biotech industry. There are several Master's programs in bioinformatics around the country. One of the newest programs is at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Check out their web site for information on bioinformatics and salary and career outlooks for this field.

So you like management or developing new ideas:

If you are interested in management or helping to developing technology to be available to the public, you might want to consider the “new” Master of Science degrees that have been supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. While some of these degrees are for bioinformatics, others are for applied biosciences, environmental monitoring: remote sensing and spatial information management, biomedical informatics, and more. Many of these programs are described at http://www.ScienceMasters.com. In addition, there is a new program sponsored by the Keck Graduate Institute. The web site is www.kgi.edu.

So you like to work with children or young adults:

Science education might be the place for you. If you have ever wanted to work in a science and technology museum or a zoo, you should check out the Association of Science-Technology Centers web site at http://www.astc.org and the American Association of Museums at www.aam-us.org. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association at http://www.aza.org has a wonderful page on all aspects of zoo careers. Often environmental or conservation societies hire environmental educators. Working at the Natural History Center here in Missoula is a great way to get on the job experience for these types of careers. If you want to teach science or biology to middle school or high school students, consider our teacher preparation options in biology. The National Science Teachers Association has a web site at http://www.nsta.org and the National Association of Biology Teachers have their web site at http://www.nabt.org.

So you like drawing or photography:

You might want to consider science illustration or medical illustration as a career. University of California at Santa Cruz has a one year graduate program that is described at http://natsci.ucsc.edu/scicom/SciIllus.html. If you are interested in medical illustration, plan to get some additional training. The web site for the Association of Medical Illustrators (http://Medical-Illustrators.org/) and under “Profession” it includes some of the schools that currently offer training for this career.