Sunday, August 19, 2007

Exploring Careers in Biotechnology

Choosing a career is a very exciting, yet challenging task. There are many different fields that a person can choose from when deciding how they would like to spend most of their time in life. It is essential to select a career that offers you the ability to maximize the unique talents and abilities that you have. Sometimes, people who are researching career paths must take a step back to see what the future holds. For many of these individuals, a career in biotechnology seems to be the answer. Here, we will explore careers in the field of biotechnology so that you can better understand exactly what this career consists of, and the opportunities you may experience as a result of choosing this career.

When you pursue a career in biotechnology, you will be entering the branch of science that is responsible for taking basic living things, such as cells, and generating new items to benefit the quality of life for humans. The products that you will be taking part in creating may be various items in the pharmaceutical field, environmental products, items that can assist in various aspects of the agricultural field, as well as items that are diagnostic in nature. This career uses both science and technology in order to create items that will benefit society as a whole.

When working in biotechnology, you have the opportunity to choose from a wide assortment of exciting jobs. The following outlines some basic jobs that one may select from in the biotechnology field:

Administrative Positions in Biotechnology

Human Resources
Administrator of Patents
Recruiter

Research Positions in Biotechnology

Laboratory Personnel - These particular positions involve performing an assortment of tasks that are directly related to experiments that are occurring in the research department.
Research Specialists - This specialist works closely with others in order to establish important scientific data on the experiment being conducted.
Breeder in Plants - These specialists focus on taking various parts of plants and similar molecular setups and using them in order to create new and unique forms of life.

Information Positions in Biotechnology
Marketing Positions - This person is responsible for evaluating trends in the competitive market and promoting products in such a manner that will establish long term clients.
Programmers - Develops computer programs in order to conduct and track various procedures and operations within the biotechnology field.
Sales - This position is just as it states; a person who promotes the sales of products that are created within the biotechnological field.

Quality Positions in Biotechnology

Quality Control Specialists – This person will focus on reviewing materials used in various experiments to ensure that the proper level of quality is maintained for maximum results.
Technician - This job requires an individual to ensure that all jobs are worked on and completed by means of meeting all legal and regulatory standards as outlined for that particular task.
Engineer - This job requires one to ensure that a job or experiment is completed to finish while maintaining a high level of quality.

Clinical Positions in Biotechnology

Clinical Administrator - this job requires that all data is collected, preserved, and entered about tasks in the clinical part of the biotechnology career.
Coordinator - Establishes tasks as outlined on the basis of scientific process.
Technical Writer - Writes and edits operations, clinical studies, manuals, and similar documents.

When choosing to pursue one of the above mentioned careers in biotechnology, or any of the others not listed as examples here, it is important to understand what type of education is required. In order for this to be properly determined, it is important for you to conduct a search on the particular job in the field that interests you. You may do this by performing an internet search, or by contacting a company that you are interested in being hired with. Normally, you will require at least a two year college education with course work and laboratory experience in the job that you choose. Science and math courses are two essential keys in the education of a biotechnological science major.

There are many different wages offered for jobs in the biotechnology field. These wages are determined by many different things. The first is the education that is required to perform a particular job. The second depends on various job environments. The third depends on if the company is privately owned, or if the government owns the biotechnology company that you choose to work for. Basic jobs in biotechnology that require little education and training must pay at least the standard minimum wage in the particular state that it operates. The highest paid positions in the biotechnology field can offer hundreds of thousands of dollars each year.

Top Biotechnology Companies

Amgen - United States

Biogen Idec - United States

Gilead Sciences - United States

AEterna Zentaris - Canada

QLT - Canada

Bioniche Life Sciences - Canada

ZymoGenetics - United States

Unigene Laboratories - United States

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