Science degree

[Anonymous]

My kid is thinking of doing this. If he doesn't get into med school, what can he do?

[Anonymous]

Patent law, teaching, R&D, government jobs, policy analyst.

Depends on what kind of science, whether he goes to grad school, what his grades look like, whether he emerges with strong quantitative skills, what kinds of internships he does. College major often doesn’t dictate/limit job opportunities.

[Anonymous]

Environmental technician, lab researcher, other research (literally so much out there), forensic investigator, pharmacist, geneticist, professor, meteorologist, careers in the fields of automotive technology, bioinformatics, the list goes on and on and on.

And that doesn't even touch on engineering or computer science-type degrees.

Heck, you can even go to law school. I know someone who was a chemical engineering major that later went to law school and now represents big engineering companies in cases, pulling on his undergrad knowledge. You can do practically anything.

[Anonymous]

It might be interesting to ask your son this question and see what he says.

[Anonymous]

Librarian - school, university, public, private archive, museum, research centers, corporations. Library/information science can also lead to data management positions. Quite a bit of demand, particularly when it comes to people with backgrounds in the sciences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It might be interesting to ask your son this question and see what he says.

This. OP, your question is only slightly better than meaningless as you currently have it defined. A physics degree vs. a biology degree leave you with job prospects that are only tangentially more similar than a physics degree vs and English degree.

[Anonymous]

Anything?

I got an MBA and now do something that has nothing to do with my BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It might be interesting to ask your son this question and see what he says.

He is the one asking me.
He mentioned pharmacy. Other than that he doesn't know what to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anything?

I got an MBA and now do something that has nothing to do with my BS.

Exactly.

I have a BA in philosophy. Not apparently useful. But I picked up a lot of very marketable skills that I apply in my PhD quant job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It might be interesting to ask your son this question and see what he says.

This. OP, your question is only slightly better than meaningless as you currently have it defined. A physics degree vs. a biology degree leave you with job prospects that are only tangentially more similar than a physics degree vs and English degree.

He is thinking of Life science degree.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It might be interesting to ask your son this question and see what he says.

He is the one asking me.
He mentioned pharmacy. Other than that he doesn't know what to do.

Have him check out career services at his university (if he’s there now or when he gets there). My daughter touched base with that office as a first year student and it has been a really good source of information and internship opportunities. Also they encourage kids to think ahead/plan their futures. When I was in college I had minimal, if any, interaction with these advisors and no contact until I was almost finished with my coursework. But I see how early input influences my daughter’s decisionmaking about courses and sequencing.

[Anonymous]

My husband got a BA in Geography, and is now a tenured professor (obviously got his PhD). That's an option.

[Anonymous]

So all you parents would be fine with this?

[Anonymous]

It's a dark side of the stem Hysteria. The reality is that most stem jobs are not particularly interesting or high-paying. The science degree can easily end up with a dead-end job.

[Anonymous]

We don't know the school, your kid, his grades or interests or abilities. We just answered the question you asked re what kinds of jobs people with science degrees can get if they don't go to med school.

FWIW, my attitude is kid picks his or her own major. My daughter (second year of college) will probably be a bio major. She is currently thinking she wants to get a PhD. Thus far, she's doing what she needs to get there, but she's also developing skills (quantitative, writing, presentation) that would be useful in other fields. She has various Plan Bs (museum work, science writing, HS teaching). So, basically, I see my role as keeping an eye on the process (is she being realistic, doing what's necessary to succeed) rather than questioning the objective.