Other Science Careers

I enjoy sciences but I don’t know what I want to do for a career. Why should I major in BCMB?

Is BCMB an employable degree choice?

Most of our alumni enter careers in laboratory sciences or medicine but many also enter nontraditional careers, most with excellent employment projections. Compared to an average growth rate of 14%, some of the fastest growing jobs and their projected growth rates include occupational therapy (33%), market research analysts and marketing specialists (41%), physical therapists (39%), health educators (37%), medical scientists (36%), veterinarians(36%), biochemists/biophysicists (31%), physician assistants (30%), and nurses (25%). (Bureau of Labor Statistics data). Drake's BCMB program has alumni in all of these fields.

How can one program accommodate so many possibilities?

Drake’s BCMB program is customizable to help you prepare for your choices among this wide array of careers. Both our B.A. and B.S. degree programs include a core set of courses in biochemistry, cell, and molecular biology. You then choose advanced courses in the sciences and career-related areas to optimize your career preparation. This introduces a great deal of flexibility into your curriculum that allows you to build your resume to optimize your individual professional pursuits.

Why it is important to choose a major in the College of Arts and Sciences over a more dedicated, professional program?

All of these careers require training in the liberal arts. Coursework that trains you to write and speak well is essential in any career whether you’re interacting with the public or with other scientists in your laboratory. Coursework that gives you a broader perspective of cultures will also carry you a long way when interacting in an increasingly global work environment. By choosing a curriculum that is well balanced to include your career-specific courses will help you enter and advance your science career and give you more flexibility in the careers you can pursue.