Full Careers
career shift?
Hi, I am sofware consultant and of late I have been reading a lot on the developments in Bioinformatics. I believe that quantitative biology is the future science of 21st centuary. I started applying for a masters program but I find it tough to get into a "good" university with my current credentials. I don't want to do just-another-masters program, because I know what it is like to do "just anything". I sort of want some advise from people who are already in this field to advise on whether the buzz around the modern biology is in deed real and the industry is going to experiance better growth than what IT currently has. Is it a good thing to make a carrer shift that I am planning to make (with a good paying job already in handm but one which I don't enjoy) ?
Public Comments
- Yes bioinformatics is a useful field. One of the problems with biologists (myself included), is we have poor computer backgrounds. In contrast, physicists program their own computer programs, while biologists rely heavily on commercial software. That's where bioinformatics are useful. At the moment, right NOW, it's easy to get a job in bioinformatics if that's what you're worried about. Can't say what it will be like in 5 years though; I suspect demand will be good for at least 10 years. Just to spark your interest more, I remember learning of a stat that 10 years ago, there were something like 12 papers on bioinformatics; now, there's 10's of thousands published every year. If you're having trouble looking in the US, check out U of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It's top notch and you'll probably save a few bucks too. Don't forget to contact professors/supervisors/industry leaders directly. You might be able to avoid years of university, and go an industry-education route.
