Why do biology degrees have such low earnings at the 3 yr post-grad mark?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, what does your kid want to do with the Biology degree?

Her degree will be conservation biology. She's very seriously interested in birds. (Has been for years) She's not a stellar student, so we are just happy she found something she likes and is going to college (she suffers from a lot of self doubt).

It is a huge success that she is (a) in college , and (b) so far is transitioning well. We are taking a sigh of relief.

Now, I'm just starting to wonder where this could lead. Of course, time will tell how grades work out. But, I like to have options in mind for where this could go, or what it would take to get a job as ____.

[Anonymous]

Op here again.

I don't mean to say that she has to work with birds. It may be the case that the types if jobs available are more desk jobs and birds are more of a hobby for her.

Does EPA have jobs for people with BS in Biology? Fish/wildlife service? She definitely would not want to be a high school teacher. Too introverted for that. I even wonder about her getting a paralegal certif. after college and working ar DOJ Enviro Resources division as a paralegal.

I could see her doing research in the field (she will likely spend a semester at the Smithsonian Mason Institute in Front Royal).

Just seems strange to me that the rewuirements for a biology are not fluffy...and yet the salaries are abysmal.

[Anonymous]

I have a PhD in biomedical science and make $53K as a postdoc with almost 5 years post-PhD lab experience. PhD students make under 30K. I think our lab techs make around $40K.

PI makes 230K and works less than 30 hours a week, and most of that is spent on Twitter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD in biomedical science and make $53K as a postdoc with almost 5 years post-PhD lab experience. PhD students make under 30K. I think our lab techs make around $40K.

PI makes 230K and works less than 30 hours a week, and most of that is spent on Twitter.

Are you sure about that? I’m married to a PI and she works 70? 80? hours per week. She has some flexibility during the day if the kids need something at school or an appt but once the kids go to sleep she’s up til midnight, works every Saturday and Sunday, and is at minimum sending emails every day we’re on vacation. I’d guess none of her grad students or post docs know how much she works, and that’s to say nothing of all the extra side stuff, like being a standing member of an NIH study section or grant reviews for several foundations. We know a lot of PIs and they work a lot of hours. It takes a lot of effort to get to the salary you mentioned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here again.

I don't mean to say that she has to work with birds. It may be the case that the types if jobs available are more desk jobs and birds are more of a hobby for her.

Does EPA have jobs for people with BS in Biology? Fish/wildlife service? She definitely would not want to be a high school teacher. Too introverted for that. I even wonder about her getting a paralegal certif. after college and working ar DOJ Enviro Resources division as a paralegal.

I could see her doing research in the field (she will likely spend a semester at the Smithsonian Mason Institute in Front Royal).

Just seems strange to me that the rewuirements for a biology are not fluffy...and yet the salaries are abysmal.

In the same boat as you. Our daughter has always loved biology and is going for a BS in it. She is pairing it (so far) with a BA in Japanese. She has zero interest in pre-med/dental and would love to go into research. She knows the good spots will be very competitive. We shall see. She is considering getting her master's outside the US should there not be a compelling spot here.

Getting a Ph.D. and ending up in research is her goal right now, but then she has not even yet decided which direction within biology she wants to take, though plants look like a likely winner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used my biology degree to get into biomedical sales. The money was much better there than in a lab. If I could do it over again, I would not have study biology.

Just curious. What field of study would you have chosen instead?

It turned out my favorite courses were in the government dept, but I felt I was too far down the rabbit hole to make a change. I found bio interesting, but I pursued it b/c I felt that's what was expected of me. All throughout HS, my school had a big push to get women into science and I had a natural aptitude. I didn't even consider anything else. Funny enough, my friend studied chem for the same reason and later abandoned it, as well. I knew I didn't want to be a doctor and I realized in college that I'd never be happy sitting in a lab. I was too young and immature (and maybe scared) to say I didn't want that path, so I just kept moving forward.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what does your kid want to do with the Biology degree?

Her degree will be conservation biology. She's very seriously interested in birds. (Has been for years) She's not a stellar student, so we are just happy she found something she likes and is going to college (she suffers from a lot of self doubt).

It is a huge success that she is (a) in college , and (b) so far is transitioning well. We are taking a sigh of relief.

Now, I'm just starting to wonder where this could lead. Of course, time will tell how grades work out. But, I like to have options in mind for where this could go, or what it would take to get a job as ____.

Zoology?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what does your kid want to do with the Biology degree?

Her degree will be conservation biology. She's very seriously interested in birds. (Has been for years) She's not a stellar student, so we are just happy she found something she likes and is going to college (she suffers from a lot of self doubt).

It is a huge success that she is (a) in college , and (b) so far is transitioning well. We are taking a sigh of relief.

Now, I'm just starting to wonder where this could lead. Of course, time will tell how grades work out. But, I like to have options in mind for where this could go, or what it would take to get a job as ____.

My daughter is also interested in conservation, likely to major in environmental science with a focus in biology (either having that as a minor or double major). She thinks she might want to get a PhD but at minimum will need a masters. Some of the places we see students in the programs interning are non-profit or consulting firms that focus on land restoration. Here's a podcast that was about careers in restoration: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81NTg4ZjY0NC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw/episode/NmE0YWNiNGItYjdmMy00MzY5LTkzZDctOGI0YTE2NjI5OWIz?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahgKEwio9v2skYP6AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQygE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know there are some who are probably in med school -- but it seems every chart I've seen showing the earnings has them at about $34K three years after graduating with a bachelors degree. That is just so painfully low! Yes, I have a kid pursuing a biology degree.

What's the career outlook for someone who isn't pursuing med school? What are all these low-paying jobs?

much more meaningful to look at a Bio major 15 years post grad.

if they go to Med School, they will not be earning much after 3 years, but will be doing fantastically well 15 years post graduation
If they are in grad school, 3 years post BS, they will getting their stipend or whatever, but 15 years post graduation will be either faculty or working in an industy and making a good salary
i have a bio degree friend who then went to Law school and now does patent law, same situation (although after law school, so 4 years post BS, she went inot Big Law with a huge salary)

for some majors, its just not that meaningful to think about their situation 3 years post graduation. they are playing a longer game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know there are some who are probably in med school -- but it seems every chart I've seen showing the earnings has them at about $34K three years after graduating with a bachelors degree. That is just so painfully low! Yes, I have a kid pursuing a biology degree.

What's the career outlook for someone who isn't pursuing med school? What are all these low-paying jobs?

much more meaningful to look at a Bio major 15 years post grad.

if they go to Med School, they will not be earning much after 3 years, but will be doing fantastically well 15 years post graduation
If they are in grad school, 3 years post BS, they will getting their stipend or whatever, but 15 years post graduation will be either faculty or working in an industy and making a good salary
i have a bio degree friend who then went to Law school and now does patent law, same situation (although after law school, so 4 years post BS, she went inot Big Law with a huge salary)

for some majors, its just not that meaningful to think about their situation 3 years post graduation. they are playing a longer game.

People who leverage bio to go into Big Law or get into med school are rare enough that the fifteen year salary of bio majors won't shift much if you account for them.