Career ideas for kid interested in bio, chem, environmental...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the part of the STEM frenzy that no one ever explains to striving parents and kids. The S science part of stem pays crap, unless your kid gets into medical school. And the quality of life for most of the jobs is pretty miserable too.

This is what I haven’t told my kid who is OK in math and physics, not so great in chem where there’d be more jobs. Likes bio, but does not realize there’s probably not much of a job market for him with just a BS in bio. Who knows where he’ll wind up.

Why on earth would you not tell your kid this?

[Anonymous]

I have a BS in biology and also didn't enjoy the lab that much. I got a MS in epidemiology and was able to do field research in a few different foreign countries and also worked for a non- profit. I made very little money doing this, but it was fun and interesting work. I eventually got a job as an analyst in the IC, where I spent the bulk of my career.

[Anonymous]

My kid wants to major in science so she can "work with animals" (but not become a vet). I have been very mild on sharing my concerns (about jobs and pay) because they say to let your kid make their own path.

Still, I think she does not know where this path leads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the part of the STEM frenzy that no one ever explains to striving parents and kids. The S science part of stem pays crap, unless your kid gets into medical school. And the quality of life for most of the jobs is pretty miserable too.

This is what I haven’t told my kid who is OK in math and physics, not so great in chem where there’d be more jobs. Likes bio, but does not realize there’s probably not much of a job market for him with just a BS in bio. Who knows where he’ll wind up.

Why on earth would you not tell your kid this?

Bc he’s an indifferent student and at this moment engaging in learning is more important to me than the job he’ll wind up with. He’s been checking out salary ranges, so he’s getting there on his own. Me yapping about low wages will not have the same impact as his finding that on his own. Which he is doing.

[Anonymous]

Patent Examiner.

He will eventually be able to work from home full-time from anywhere in the U.S. He could also go to law school nights like many Examiners and become an Intellectual property lawyer or a Patent Board of Appeals judge.

Environmental sciences will be trickier, but chem and bio (with emphasis in cell, genetics, etc.---not life science).

[Anonymous]

hydrologist

[Anonymous]

The real question is why did DC hate their research internship?

HS students have basically no skills. If a parent with little science savvy, forces DC to do an internship in HS, it can do more harm than good.

After a BS, with more skills, DC will be able to find a job with a better fit.

[Anonymous]

OP here. DC was really excited about the experiment and its goals, but quickly realized that the work itself was pretty tedious. Measure this, mix with that, and if you make a mistake, you need to discard everything and start over. DC is also very social but found the lab isolating. As I said, science is not my area, so I wasn’t able to advise, but it did seem likely to me that this environment might be pretty typical for lab work. If you disagree, please share. No one was pushing DC at all, except for always suggesting that research is a likely path for those interested in science.

[Anonymous]

I’m the poster whose bio kid didn’t like benchwork, but who has been happy in ecological and evolutionary biology labs/internships. Ec and ev’s fieldwork is often in literally in a field, so it seems to attract lots of outdoorsy types (DC has kayaked, gone spelunking, and done lots of hiking and a fair amount of wading in fieldwork classes). But DC has also done lots of quantitative work, working on modeling in a very sociable lab that mostly stays indoors (except for the twice daily lab espresso breaks).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. DC was really excited about the experiment and its goals, but quickly realized that the work itself was pretty tedious. Measure this, mix with that, and if you make a mistake, you need to discard everything and start over. DC is also very social but found the lab isolating. As I said, science is not my area, so I wasn’t able to advise, but it did seem likely to me that this environment might be pretty typical for lab work. If you disagree, please share. No one was pushing DC at all, except for always suggesting that research is a likely path for those interested in science.

Of course it was tedious - they were a high school intern! Even a lot of college internships and even entry level jobs are like that.

[Anonymous]

Do an internship with a brewery.

[Anonymous]

I’m the poster whose bio kid didn’t like benchwork, but who has been happy in ecological and evolutionary biology labs/internships. Ec and ev’s fieldwork is often in literally in a field, so it seems to attract lots of outdoorsy types (DC has kayaked, gone spelunking, and done lots of hiking and a fair amount of wading in fieldwork classes). But DC has also done lots of quantitative work, working on modeling in a very sociable lab that mostly stays indoors (except for the twice daily lab espresso breaks).

NP. This sounds like something my kid (in HS) would like. How does one get started with volunteering or eventually interning in this kind of field? Which employers do this kind of thing? (I am obviously not in a science-related field!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I’m the poster whose bio kid didn’t like benchwork, but who has been happy in ecological and evolutionary biology labs/internships. Ec and ev’s fieldwork is often in literally in a field, so it seems to attract lots of outdoorsy types (DC has kayaked, gone spelunking, and done lots of hiking and a fair amount of wading in fieldwork classes). But DC has also done lots of quantitative work, working on modeling in a very sociable lab that mostly stays indoors (except for the twice daily lab espresso breaks).

NP. This sounds like something my kid (in HS) would like. How does one get started with volunteering or eventually interning in this kind of field? Which employers do this kind of thing? (I am obviously not in a science-related field!)

What classes led to the quant work? My kid would like this combo. Mud, math and mammals (hoping he’ll branch out) are the sweet spot.

[Anonymous]

Don’t know about HS internships, but SERC in MD https://serc.si.edu/interns-fellows and MBL (Woods Hole, MA) https://www.mbl.edu/education/undergraduate-programs/ have summer internships for college students.

UWisc LaCrosse has a summer quantitative bio program https://www.uwlax.edu/mathematics/activities/reu/ that I think is offered annually, Northwestern has one this summer.
https://www.quantitativebiology.northwestern.edu/opportunities/undergraduate-summer-research/ Again, both for college students.

My kid went to college with just Calc BC and a post-AP stats course. No coding background. Took quant bio

[Anonymous]

And a couple of CS courses as a freshman.