Jobs for the Major

Jobs for the Major

How this major affects a job search

The best part about being a scientist is that there's almost always a career waiting for you. The world always needs more scientists. In our constant push forward as a technological society, we look to these guys to come up with new ways of solving our problems, from understanding how memories are encoded to curing Taco Bell tummy aches.

Unfortunately, some of these solutions come with new problems of their own…but it's nothing another fistful of scientists can't solve. When in doubt, Shmoop always recommends more scientists.

You'll have a few clear-cut paths right out of college: the private sector, teaching, or working for the government. It all depends where your interests are. The biggest constraint you're likely to face is your location. Certain industries tend to thrive in specific areas, so as long as you are ready to move for your work, you'll have no trouble getting any sort of job you want.

Common Career Fields

Toxicology: Hey, like the Britney Spears album, right? No, not right. Toxicologists study things that kill people and do their best to prevent that from happening.

Wait, maybe we were right…

Whether working for a private company in some new kind of research, or with the Environmental Protection Agency, Toxicologists do some pretty serious humanitarian work. They're all about curing people who have been poisoned. Folks love not being poisoned.

U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps: Yep, that Navy. The one with all the jets and boats and stuff. What does the Navy need with a bunch of bookworm biochemists, you may ask? Well, it turns out traveling all over the world presents some unique challenges. One is fuel for all those ships, and finding a renewable resource would be handy. Also, there are diseases all over the world that could use cures. Naval biochemists are working on both. So if you like ships, uniforms, and the U.S. military, this might be a good fit.

Forensic Scientist: Maybe your true skill is putting on your sunglasses while making truly terrible puns, or maybe you really like Batman and want to use science like he did. Your dreams of ruthlessly punching bad guys in the face with science may be slightly out of reach, but you can figuratively punch them in face by getting them caught. Forensic scientists do more or less what they do on TV, albeit in less expensive clothes…and less simmering sexual tension.

Science Writer: You don't technically need this specific degree to be a science writer, but it doesn't hurt. Unfortunately, you only write about real things, This is science, after all. You're not going to be writing about aliens, or robots, or...well, actually, you might. You never know what'll happen in the future. What you write will appear in the media, or in certain scientific journals or trade publications. If you like biochemistry and like writing, this is an excellent job. In your spare time, you might even help pen the next hit movie.

Research Scientist: Love learning? Or do you just love discovering things that literally no one else on the planet knows? That's the life of a research scientist. They ask the big questions like, "How do I cure cancer?" "Can I make this water potable?" "What is that terrible smell?" (It's you, Dr. Nasty. It's always you.) This is science for the sake of science, for goodness sake.

Health and Safety Inspector: Ever worked a job with a piranha pool? A pit filled with broken glass? Restrooms that were constantly on fire? Probably not, and you have a Health and Safety Inspector to thank for it.

A Health and Safety Inspector's job is to make sure that all safety regulations are being met, and no one is using asbestos as a coffee filter. A biochemistry degree isn't required, but it is handy. Plus, there's always the chance you might want to get out of the lab. This is another great way to make a positive difference in the lives of complete strangers.

Except for getting rid of that piranha pool. We like that too much to let it go.

Biomedical Scientist: How do you really know that the needle being rudely jabbed into your arm is going to prevent you from getting the flu? On that note, why did we ever stop using leeches? They seemed to work fine for hundreds of years. Well, we'll tell you how and why. Science. Once our good ol' pal science got brought into the mix, people got a lot better at finding out how to treat the things that ail you.

Biomedical Scientists are the ones who take scientific principle and apply it to medical treatment. They take their knowledge of the microscopic world, along with the hip haps of your innards, and use it to keep you healthy. That mystery juice they inject you with before flu season is often weakened or dead flu cells that stimulate your body to build up its defenses against them. We've come quite a ways since the olden days, and it all started from someone doubting that the leeches were helping.

Current unemployment of the major

11.0%

Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college

50%

Stats obtained from this source.