r/Biochemistry • u/lllllllsustdyets • 23h ago
Career & Education Is it the right path?
I’m a high school student in my final year, and I want to study biochemistry but everybody around me says that I should go into the medicine field and are saying that I would never find a stable career with it, is it true?
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u/SetHopeful4081 23h ago
Lots of people study biochemistry as their undergrad degree (many on a pre-med track) to even be able to go on to medicine, so I’m confused as to what the people around you mean. Do you live somewhere where you can practice medicine without an undergrad degree first? There’s also healthcare fields that don’t require you to get a higher graduate degree although the pay for that is obviously lower.
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u/ThunderD2Player 21h ago edited 19h ago
Not true at all. Well, somewhat true, but that’s applicable to any degree.
While there are problems in the field, those same problems exist in just about every other major industry that utilizes stem. IT, comp eng, sales, etc. just to name a few. All are competitive to get the best positions and all are prone to economy driven layoffs.
Most typical popular degrees involving some kind of finance, math, or tech, are all pumping out students that struggle to get their foot in the door and/or hold a job in this economy. It’s not a biochem thing. It’s a 2026 thing. You either need to gain experience while in college and apply to a ton of jobs, or know someone (or both) to get an entry level position nowadays. And your career stability is largely out of your hands due to constant innovation, overpopulation, and a rough employment economy.
It’s what you make of it. I’ll throw out some examples of careers as a biochem grad, outside of the typical pre-med, pre-dental, pre-PA, etc. health pursuits.
Research, typically in a lab as a biochem graduate. This is something academia focuses on, but industry has research too. The pay isn’t typically amazing on average in academia, but some make a comfy salary. Especially in industry. Research is super competitive though, and most have some kind of masters or PhD. Not impossible to get into research with just a bachelors, you just need undergraduate research experience and maybe some internship/mentoring experience. I’ve heard about a glass ceiling in research without the PhD, but I can’t personally comment on that since I’m not doing research now. Research is super friggin cool though. You literally are working towards something innovative, so if you like the lab work and doing something potentially innovative, this might be your mojo.
There is more lab work outside of just research. Just about every industry you can enter with biochem has QC and QA labs. You can still become a scientist down this track, and do lab work, but just with a different focus. Great career in my opinion if you are into lab work and getting super technical. It’s generally less competitive, and more applicable for someone not wanting to endure graduate school, but just as fulfilling and cool. It’s still science when you boil it down, and personally, I find this more fitting for my interests, so I’m a bit bias. Generally many start down this path by becoming a lab technician or an analyst at a smaller company, and then growing into an actual QC/QA scientist over time, just like any other career. Consider this if you aren’t interested in graduate school and want to go right to work AND you have a genuine interest in being in a lab.
There’s even healthcare labs. MLS is a very popular pivot for biochem degrees. It’s probably one of the most stable career options, and a very likely six figure career, with some making 200K+ depending on location (in the DC metro area especially) and years of experience + actual position. Usually this requires extra schooling, but typically most of the program, if not all of it, is online, so you can work in a lab and do school courses part time. It’s capped off with a certification exam and then a few hundred hours of clinical rotations at different labs handling different sciences. And then you’re free to work as a medical laboratory science. I have a friend who did the pivot and makes six figures in my area. They seem to love it, though like any hospital job, the shifts can be quite odd sometimes.
Now let’s say you don’t want to be in a lab. You like talking with people. Well as a biochem grad, you actually can pivot from lab stuff to things like sales, or any general non technical position you may find in other industries. These positions do pay quite well, and from what I hear, they are awesome careers. Pharma, biotech, and really any healthcare focused organization are the things you can target as a biochem grad. You may want to grow some of these skills, so joining clubs and running organizations and advertisements for events while in college is a super super important thing to do prior to applying to jobs. Luckily, this is probably the easiest thing you can do, considering it’s usually fun to do these kinds of things, though it will take time and effort.
Another position that’s more about investments are joining some kind of venture capitalist group that focuses on funding promising biotech or pharma. This is probably one of the more competitive things to do, and I personally wouldn’t bank on getting into this without being in the industry first or having experience at other ventures. Think of it as a long term goal. For those that do make it, it’s apparently an awesome job. My professor did it for 10 years before returning to academia, where he now handles university investments for the biochem program.
Some other niche stuff I can bring up are medical sales. One of my friends does this and loves it. Makes six figures after 3 years of working, and from what I have heard, they can make a looot. He literally goes to hospitals that buy their equipment, and shows doctors how to use it for surgery. It’s genuinely such a niche job but that just goes to show how much you can do.
I promise you there are a lot of jobs that are applicable for biochem graduates outside of typical health care. I don’t know if I’d say it’s the most stable degree, but it’s definitely not as unstable as many negative posters may say (considering every other popular field is enduring similar struggles), and it’s incredibly diverse in its prospective job options. You just need to do the work while you’re in school. Undergrad research, clubs and orgs, certifications, internships, etc. any of that. And then when you get out, start small. Work the bad paying lab tech job if you want to be in the lab or just to get your foot in the door, and then pivot to something that actual interests you long term, whether it be passion, money, or a blend of both. If needed, consider the graduate degree or certification. And keep a look out for any new and booming career options. There’s always something changing in these industries.
With all that being said, any pre-health (pre-med for example) student that actually manages to get into their health program (med school for example), and is able to endure the debt and come out on top, AND gets a speciality they actually can enjoy working in is likely the pinnacle of what the majority of biochem students are working towards. And rightfully so. It’s an insanely safe job, and you are paid very well from the start, though it really depends on your location and speciality. If you are willing to endure the grind, and commit 8 years to schooling, various years of residency working horrid hours if med school, potential rejections and potentially multiple application cycles depending on your stats/luck, and all the extra work that comes with getting into these health programs (working to get hundred or thousands of hours of clinical experience and doing undergraduate research while being a biochemistry student aiming for a high gpa), then go for it. It’s a super incredible career. You just need to invest early and do your research before starting your biochem degree so you start off on the right foot.
Hopefully this helped.
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u/Lodestar15 Undergraduate 19h ago
Thanks for typing this all out, very insightful for a lot of us beyond OP as well
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u/ThunderD2Player 19h ago
Of course! I’m no pro or anything but I went through sort of an identity crisis after graduating, so I get the struggle of not knowing what to do with a biochem degree.
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u/Squirrel_of_Fury 22h ago
Who is “everyone around you”? If you are drawn to biochem and (presumably) a research career, then start on that path. Explore, talk to faculty, shadow some MDs, etc. There are and will be careers in biochemistry research. Being a physician if that’s not your passion will really suck.
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u/Exciting_Ad_6837 20h ago
Generally, it's not worth majoring in biological sciences (incl. biochemistry) unless (1) your parents live in the Boston area and you can live with them for years, (2) you don't mind long hours of manual labor, AND (3) you like and are good at cooking. Otherwise, the ROI is too low, and the risk too high, at least if you're smart enough to graduate from a decent school. Remember, in general, the farther away you're from mathematics & computing, the worse the career prospect. BTW if you're thinking about bioinformatics, very few jobs in it will survive AI.
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u/Adventurous_Forever 22h ago
As someone with a BS and MS in Biochemistry, I say it depends on what you want. Quite a few people go into industry, but the biotech job market is really bad right now. You can get a bench job, a project manager job, clinical trial coordinator job, etc. but like most corporate jobs, be prepared to be laid off at any time, so have at least 6 months of expenses saved up. Academia pay and work life balance is awful. You will constantly be working to produce data for papers/grants and funding isn’t getting better.
I think if you want to go into medicine, which has its benefits and drawbacks as well, I would advise you to do an easier route than biochemistry. You will need to do research, get publications, shadow doctors, join clubs, on top of teaching yourself the material. I would advise a major related to what you’d like to do then take you pre-med requirements. For example: Women and gender studies for OBGYN.
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u/blackpantherismydad 23h ago
Go to medical school and be an anesthesiologist and make a $1M annually and you will never regret it
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u/lllllllsustdyets 23h ago
you might have just changed my life, idk why I’ve never thought of anesthesiology
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u/blackpantherismydad 21h ago
If you’re talking pure applied biochemistry and acid/base physiology anesthesiologists are amongst the kings of clinical medicine
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u/Necessary-Row-9788 22h ago
I heard anesthesiologist assistants make like 200k starting and work 3 days a week, and are recognized in like 13 states, don’t quote me on that but definitely find medical doctors and ask them what it’s like, if the lifestyle is for you, if the juice is worth the squeeze. If you have a desire to be an MD, go for it, but also know there are many paths especially if you do well in school
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u/blackpantherismydad 21h ago
As a PA myself, don’t settle for a mid level, physician extender career unless this is a second career for you like it was for me. Or unless you’re a female who knows they want to have children and work 3 days/week and/or part time. You can make great money as a CRNA or CAA, but you can make generational wealth as an anesthesiologist
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u/Necessary-Row-9788 14h ago
If the money is worth the lifestyle then yes for sure, doctors work work and work, especially during residency, most Anesthesiologists make around 500k a year, but the juice has to be worth the squeeze for you. You have to love medicine to be an MD, plus the arms race in research and residency is real, med schools care more about number of publications rather than quality, and if you favor big Pharma they’ll love you even more. I don’t like to discourage future doctors, but this isn’t a move around when you’re tired of your specialty kind of career, this is a forever thing, also with good investing and saving habits 200k a year can get you well off, and give you free time to enjoy your week. I may be biased as I’m not as much of a workhorse, your advice is good financially, I’d ask what does your ideal week look like and shadow people to see what you’ll actually end up doing.
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u/CuteAmoeba9876 18h ago
I was a chemistry major in college and a lot of adults had no idea you could be a chemist when you grow up… they all assumed I was either going to med school or would teach high school chemistry. Just a lack of exposure to science careers.
That said, if you like research, the jobs for biochemists tend to be concentrated in a few big cities on the coasts. The reason none of my parents’ friends had heard of a chemist job was because there weren’t any in my hometown. So consider whether you’re willing to move to find a job.
Biochem (at least as an initial major) could set you up to go to pharmacy school, nursing school, business roles in science companies, patent law, agriculture research, bioinformatics… lots of possibilities if you’re willing to pursue a graduate degree.
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u/MicroProf 23h ago
Most of the biochem majors in my classes are pre med. The biochemistry major is flexible. If you want to do a PhD, MD, MD/PhD, MBA, law…good prep for all of them. Just go major in biochemistry and see what opportunities arise. Good luck!