What are the future employment prospects of studying biotechnology? What jobs can I take?

Analysis of the postgraduate entrance examination and employment situation of biology majors

Outlets: four major employment channels

Compared with popular majors such as computers and electronics or traditional majors such as chemical engineering and machinery , the employment situation of biology majors is not optimistic, but as a potential major with rapid development, the prospects of biology majors are still very exciting. Recognize the situation clearly, find the right position, plan ahead, make a long-term plan for your future, and create better conditions to meet future challenges. Generally speaking, there are four main employment channels for graduates majoring in biology:

Path 1: Enterprises and institutions in industry, medicine, food, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery, environmental protection, gardening and other industries and R&D personnel or technicians in administrative departments

This direction can be divided into the following categories from high to low according to salary and working environment:

1. Multinational companies or larger organisms Technical support from foreign technology companies. Such as Procter & Gamble, Mars, Unilever, B?hler, etc. This type of company mainly recruits master's and doctoral students from prestigious universities. The salary is very good, the benefits are generous, the training mechanism is also very complete, and the experience of working in a large company can also provide a higher platform for personal development in the future. This type of unit can be said to be the best way out for biology majors. The competition is very fierce and has high requirements for English proficiency, especially speaking.

2. Civil servants or inspectors of public institutions. In 2007, among the majors applied for national civil servants, there was no one specifically recruiting biology majors. If you apply for civil servant positions that are not restricted to majors, you can only challenge the "one-in-a-hundred" recruitment odds. Once graduates are hired by public institutions, their salaries are generally above 2,000 yuan. Relevant public institutions mainly include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), evidence centers, food inspection offices, etc., but there is less demand for personnel in related positions. Taking Beijing as an example, only a dozen people are recruited every year, and they are mainly local students. This type of position requires a long time to prepare for the exam, and also requires a long period of interviews, reviews, etc. after the exam, and the number of recruits is small and the competition is fierce. However, this type of position does not have high requirements for professional knowledge, and the job is stable, the work intensity is not high, and the benefits and various guarantees are relatively good. It is the first choice for girls majoring in biology.

3. Biotechnology service companies or non-institutional scientific research units. Biotechnology service companies such as Shanghai Sangon, Beijing Aoke, Shenergy Gaming, Beijing Boao, Sanbo Yuanzhi, etc. These companies generally focus on primer synthesis, sequencing and other businesses, and their technical personnel mainly operate sequencers and synthesizers. , the work is cumbersome, the technical content is low, and overtime is often required. The salary for master's degree graduates is between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan. Scientific research units such as BGI and Peking University Life Science and Technology Park have relatively high requirements for professional foundations, and the hard and boring research and development work is not something ordinary people can endure. If you want to "get ahead" in the field of biotechnology, you might as well give it a try, because in such a working environment you can learn some techniques and develop good scientific research capabilities. But when graduates first start working, their salary is average. If they can obtain research results, they will receive certain commissions and rewards.

4. Technical personnel of wineries, biopharmaceutical factories and other enterprises. At present, many private enterprises in society, such as those that produce xylitol, alcohol and other products, also recruit students majoring in biology. Most of the positions are technicians, and the work is relatively hard. However, the remuneration for this type of position is relatively good, such as at Changyu, Tsingtao Brewery, and Wuliangye. The remuneration is relatively high. Master's degree graduates can get a monthly salary of about 3,000 yuan when they first start working. After two years of work, they can basically become a technical backbone.

In addition, graduates majoring in biology, especially microbiology, can also set their sights on some biopharmaceutical factories and vaccine companies. Nowadays, there are many foreign-funded and hospital-affiliated pharmaceutical factories in society, and vaccine companies Quite a few. Generally, graduate students will have more opportunities than undergraduate students, and their salary will be higher than that of undergraduate students. Before the interview, you should be fully prepared for the background, products and professional knowledge of the company you are applying for, so that you will have a greater chance of success.

Channel 2: Teachers in colleges, technical secondary schools and other teaching units

Since the current colleges and universities are developing in the direction of comprehensive universities, there is also a demand for biology teachers in colleges and universities. increased. However, colleges and universities have higher requirements for academic qualifications. It is difficult for graduates with a master's degree to enter colleges and universities in first-tier cities or key universities. Generally, various departments of universities may have certain quotas for staying in school, so you can give it a try.

In addition to colleges and universities, graduates can set their sights on junior high schools and high schools.

Because of the reform of the college entrance examination, biology courses play a relatively important role in the "3+X" model. Whether in junior high school or high school, biology has been promoted to the same important status as physics, chemistry and other subjects. In this way, middle schools have more opportunities for biology teachers. Greater demand. It is understood that the annual income of teachers in key middle schools in developed areas is as high as 60,000 yuan, while the annual income of teachers in ordinary schools in less developed areas is 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, and schools can also provide various insurances. For graduates who intend to engage in the teaching profession, it is recommended to obtain a Mandarin proficiency certificate and a teacher qualification certificate, and participate in more teaching practices during school. Don’t think that becoming a middle school teacher after graduating with a master’s degree is overqualified. Many middle school teachers have returned to school to continue recharging their skills after working for several years. As a graduate student, as long as your expressive ability and professional skills are good, you still have certain advantages when applying for the position of a middle school teacher.

Path 3: Continuing further studies or going abroad

Many people choose to study this major out of their love for biology rather than for utilitarian purposes, and they are not willing to give up their studies when they graduate. Learn to join other industries. To become an elite in the field of biology, one must have strong scientific research capabilities, so many of them choose to take the postgraduate entrance examination. When they graduate from graduate school, taking the Ph.D. examination or going abroad becomes their way to continue their studies.

Generally speaking, if it is not a cross-professional program, it is easier for master's and doctoral students in the same major to take the exam. At the same time, choosing a good tutor can also provide a good foundation for further study in the future. Since the research directions of different tutors are very different, this will also have a certain impact on students' future further study or employment directions. Therefore, before candidates apply for graduate school, they may wish to refer to the employment prospects of the graduate students led by their tutors. Condition.

There is a saying among biology students: "Studying biology will either go abroad or gamble in the future." Although it is a joke, it points out another important way out for biology graduates. . It will be easier for biology majors to apply for scholarships for postgraduate studies in foreign universities than for other majors. If you are not sure, you should be prepared to pay for it at your own expense. Relatively speaking, it is easier for biology majors to find employment abroad than in China, but compared with other foreign majors such as computers and electronics, there is still a certain gap in income.

Channel 4: Switch to sales, management and other industries

The threshold for sales and management positions is relatively low, and communication skills, patience and perseverance are essential qualities. Compared with other professions, sales and management have broader room for growth. For graduates majoring in biology, entering a company that produces biological agents, biological equipment and other products to do sales and management can be said to be a useful opportunity for learning. It is recommended that graduate students pay more attention to market research, planning (including planning report writing), sales skills, etc. while in school.

Controversy: Is biology employment a cold wave or a warm wave?

Trust: The 21st century is the century of biology, and biology majors have broad employment prospects.

In the second half of the 20th century, breakthrough progress was made in the field of biology, especially in molecular biology, which revolutionized the position of biology in the natural sciences. It is foreseeable that in the near future, life science will become the leading discipline of natural science. Some people even predict that the 21st century will be the century of biology. Indeed, life science has played a huge role in promoting natural science, no less than physics in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The famous American magazine "Science" ranked the top ten scientific achievements in each year from 1995 to 2002, and biological scientific and technological achievements accounted for half of them for six consecutive years. Today, solutions to increasingly serious social problems such as population, environment, food, resources, and health also rely on advances in biology and biotechnology. It can be said that biology major has penetrated into all fields of human production and life, and biology majors have broad employment prospects.

Opposition: The industrialization of domestic biology still has a long way to go, and the employment prospects of biology majors are worrying.

Although the widespread application and rapid development of biology is an inevitable trend, compared with the IT industry, the industrialization of my country's biotechnology industry still has a long way to go. Pharmaceuticals, health care and other related The industry is not developed enough to absorb too many graduates. With the expansion of enrollment in domestic colleges and universities, in addition to the establishment of biology departments in comprehensive universities and normal colleges, many second-tier colleges and universities have also opened biology departments. The number of students enrolled has increased significantly, and the competition for employment is naturally fierce.

The most suitable industry for biology graduates is the biotechnology industry, and the brilliant achievements of today's biotechnology are mainly reflected in the cutting-edge level, which requires a high level of talent. Looking at the recruitment advertisements of well-known domestic biological companies, it is not difficult to find that most of them require graduates to have a master's or doctoral degree. The major matching rate for biology undergraduate graduates is low, so most undergraduates choose to take postgraduate entrance examinations to continue their studies. Take a university in the south as an example. Among the 31 people in the school's 2003 biotechnology class, only 3 were engaged in professional jobs, 18 took the postgraduate entrance examination, and the other 10 were transferred to sales or other industries. Relevant statistics show that the national average postgraduate entrance examination rate for biology-related majors has reached 38.76%, and some majors have exceeded 50%, which is much higher than other majors.

Outlook: The dawn of biology

Although the current employment situation in biology in my country is not optimistic, if you can plan your future in advance, you can also make great achievements in the field of biology Fists and kicks.

In recent years, the global bioindustry has developed rapidly. A number of emerging industries such as biomanufacturing, bioenergy, and bioenvironmental protection are rapidly taking shape. Correspondingly, my country's emphasis and investment in the bio-industry are also increasing year by year. The national "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" regards the development of the bio-industry as a strategic industry. The goal is that by 2020, the added value of the national bio-industry will exceed 2 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 4% of GDP, becoming a pillar industry in the high-tech field and a national key industry. The leading industry of the economy. In 2007, my country's biological industry continued to develop rapidly, with total industry revenue exceeding 700 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24%.

With the rapid development of the biological industry, I believe that the demand for biological professionals will surge in the near future, and graduate students majoring in biology will have great potential.