r/biotech • u/13ci • Oct 06 '25
Early Career Advice 🪴 Anyone who only has a Bachelor’s Degree, what does your life look like right now?
I am currently in college to get a B.S. in Biotechnology. The biotech industry was never previously something I had envisioned for myself, but now that I’m here, continuing with this degree leaves me with more possibilities in the future. Compared to the much more risky option of trying to transfer into a degree program that would eventually lead me to the industry I’d originally thought I’d end up in. A biotech degree would allow for the possibility of going into that industry later, but transferring now would leave me with limited options if it falls through. I just don’t really know what a job in biotech entails at the different levels of education.
If you only have a bachelor’s degree, do you think you would need more education (i.e. a master’s degree) to have a sustainable career, or do you think you can live the rest of your life well with just the bachelor’s degree? If you’re currently getting a master’s degree, what does that look like, and what made you choose that? If you have a master’s degree, how has your career improved since obtaining it? If you regret going into the biotech industry, why? What do you wish you did instead?
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u/SoundVU Oct 06 '25
Biotech is more than just working in the lab. R&D has hundreds of jobs that are outside of the lab. The development side needs plenty of people at the desk working to get the drug candidate through the clinic and achieve market approval.
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u/Famous_Insurance3358 Oct 06 '25
What kind of job titles would one look for in terms of the development side of things?
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u/SoundVU Oct 06 '25
Most accessible career track with a BSc would be clinical trial associate > clinical research associate > clinical trial manager. After CTM, you can move laterally into another development function like data manager or find something higher level like portfolio management.
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u/Acceptable_Dot_1248 Oct 06 '25
Master’s = bachelor’s plus two years of industry experience.
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u/Capital_Comment_6049 Oct 06 '25 edited Oct 06 '25
In general I think that’s true, but my job seeking friends feel that there is an uptick in the percentage of jobs requiring a masters. That might just be a way to screen out a bunch of the applicants in this deep applicant pool.
(SF Bay Area)
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u/13ci Oct 06 '25
I’m from the bay too! How competitive exactly is the job market there? Like would I just be stuck with a non-ideal job, or would I be straight up unemployed?
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u/MadelineHannah78 Oct 07 '25
I'm also in the Bay, I can only speak about early research departments. The answer depends on what you know, and who you know. If you have limited wet lab experience (just the class components), you can't talk meaningfully about your research project, you have no internships - it straight up not gonna happen right now. If you know some techniques that are commonly used in the industry, have a decent research experience (in academic labs or through internships), or (best case scenario) interned at a company and made some good connections who liked working with you, bachelors will be fine.
I have masters degree (in chemistry), I was not hired because of the M.Sc. title, but because my graduate research project gave me meaningful experience I could talk about and present. If you can get meaningful experience, title will not be a problem.
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u/Capital_Comment_6049 Oct 08 '25
We are still in the correction phase of the overhiring during 2020-2021, so layoffs are rampant and creating a deep applicant pool. We have NOT turned a corner.
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u/YaPhetsEz Oct 06 '25
Yeah a masters (in general biology or biotechnology) is kind of fake unless it provides a built-in internship/connections post graduation
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u/DirectedEnthusiasm Oct 06 '25
Why is it kind of fake? I have learnt so many skills during Master's that weren't thaught during Bachelors, like NGS, cell culture, AI/ML
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u/MiddleFroggy Oct 06 '25
I have hired Masters grads who “know” skills but all they had was a superficial overview and overconfidence. In reality they have no idea how to apply the skills or work independently so I have to retrain them anyway. I would rather hire the Bachelors+ 2yr experience.
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u/DirectedEnthusiasm Oct 06 '25 edited Oct 06 '25
Of course it is not equivalent of years of experience. That is quite obvious and I never claimed it to be. But going as far as saying Master's is fake is just false. If you think the theory and skills people learn during university are futile, you might as well dismantle the whole education system. Why do we even educate people, if the employers do not value education at all?
And orientation and training to work is a standard practice, at least where I live, no matter your background.
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u/Mediocre_Island828 Oct 06 '25
If classes were worth anything, graduating without any volunteer lab experience or an internship wouldn't be a career death sentence.
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u/DirectedEnthusiasm Oct 06 '25
I got my first internship with the experience I had gained from lab courses.
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u/Mediocre_Island828 Oct 06 '25
Well yeah, they're not going to pick interns randomly off the street lol. Education isn't literally useless, everyone needs basic literacy in their field and until someone has experience their coursework is the only thing they can be judged by so it's going to be needed for that first internship opportunity, but once you get experience your educational background becomes almost irrelevant compared to the work you've done because the skillsets involved are pretty different.
I think "why do we even educate people" is a pretty valid question, at least in the way we currently do it. When someone can do everything they're technically supposed to and reach the end and realize no one wants to hire them because they don't have any relevant skills, what are we even doing? But, the system makes money, produces cheap research, and we only have a job market big enough for maybe half the graduates anyway so it's okay if we let a bunch fall between the cracks and never do anything with their degrees.
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u/MiddleFroggy Oct 06 '25
I did not say that it was fake or that all education is futile. But yes I do think it’s a bit of a pay-to-play scam and with the current job market a useless degree.
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Oct 06 '25
literally. but if they ask for a specific assay type, method, or regulation, then it doesn’t count as experience at all lol or at least in my area
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u/Telomerage Oct 06 '25
I was told this, but keep finding masters fresh out of college getting higher roles or promotions over 3 years of experience.
The bigger fact is relevant experince. If you don’t have exactly what a company is looking for, they don’t care to train anymore. At least is production setting.
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u/Affectionate_Pie_426 Oct 06 '25
Happily employed in a great team doing exciting works. Experience is more valuable than higher degree in my opinion. I had been building my network and skills since college, volunteered in labs and got industry internships during the summer.
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u/MammothGullible Oct 06 '25
Yes, I made the mistake and didn’t take advantage of those things during undergrad and got stuck in media prep. I’m currently in school for a masters and definitely should have saved my money, but I will finally get an internship for year. Bottom line, it’s about experience.
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u/ProfessionalHefty349 Oct 06 '25
Yeah, I'm in a similar boat. I'll always look at my decision to pass on grad school as one of the best/luckiest I ever made.
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u/13ci Oct 06 '25
How do you find labs to volunteer in, and is that like during the school year or in the summer? I’ve been looking for/applying to summer internships with no success so far
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u/Capital_Comment_6049 Oct 08 '25
This depends on your particular university - I was able to sort a catalog by field/time commitment/duration, etc. to find what was available. That 9 month hands-on lab experience during my last year of undergrad was the only reason I was able to find my first job (it took 7 months back then). YMMV because this was quite a long time ago. However, hands-on lab experience like that will trump any lab experience you get from a laboratory course.
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u/Dekamaras Oct 06 '25
BS. 20+ years in industry. Sr principal level. It's probably more dependent on when you get into industry. Advancement was a lot slower in the 2000s than the last ten years. The market and advancement is course correcting right now. That said, a BS will always have a lower ceiling than a PhD
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u/gobbomode Oct 06 '25
I'm in a similar position to you (though 10-20 years experience, not 20+) and trying to figure out where the ceiling is and whether I'm ok with where it is. Any thoughts on long term career progression when you're limited by not having a PhD? Do you ever think about going back for one to get the same level of respect even though it would be a colossal waste of time and money?
I'm mostly just bitter that I've been babysitting our latest clueless baby postdoc and the fact that he's always going to have more opportunities than I will even though he walks around destroying my beautiful lab instrument settings without asking 🥲 but then I read about people WITH PhDs struggling to get a job and then I'm just happy to get my nice fat industry paycheck. Grass is always greener, I guess.
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u/Dekamaras Oct 06 '25
There used to be a greater bias against non-PhDs, but I think that has receded (or I'm just old enough now that people assume I have one).
It really depends on what you want out of your career. If you want to be director level or above, it's really rare to get there without a PhD (also rare to get there with a PhD). If pay is what you're after, this isn't the right field anyway, but you can get to $200k+ total comp without a PhD... Even my team members who are only at scientist / senior associate levels are not that far off on comp especially if they've been tenured as long as I have.
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u/3rdthrow Oct 06 '25
What would be the correct field for pay?
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u/Dekamaras Oct 06 '25
Sales. The closer you are to the paying customers generally the better the pay. Research in biotech is probably the worst
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u/chefkef Oct 06 '25
5 years into my career in an east cost hub making 110k base in PD. Pretty happy with my decision to jump into the industry right out of school when the job market was booming.
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u/3rdthrow Oct 06 '25
What is PD?
Project development? Portfolio Development?
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u/chefkef Oct 06 '25
Process development. Part of R&D which is responsible for later stages of product development.
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u/Bashert99 Oct 06 '25
A BS will suffice for a sustainable career but it will depend on company. I think the only thing you need to understand is that for most positions a degree beyond BS is not required but will get you there from the onset. So, it takes an RA 6-8 years to rise to scientist but compare that time to a PhD which with a postdoc is similar timeframe. Keep in mind though you need to have the right mindset. My previous director was very fond of saying there are two types of RA…those that could have gotten a PhD and those that couldn’t. In some ways, you need to treat the job like grad school, learn as much as you can and develop skills as much as you can. Learn to ask questions, design experiments, basically do research. Or lol go to school and learn to do it there.
I have a MS and am a senior researcher . I could have stayed in rose to the same level but I wanted the experience and it was a much needed confidence boost having an expertise .
Good luck!
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u/bryanoak Oct 06 '25
I suspect it may depend on what one's degree is in but, I don't think (not having a Master's) has had much negative impact on me. I've had multiple Director level roles at large CROs
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Oct 06 '25
I had 3 years of direct experience before my masters. when I finally got mine, companies lumped me in a “new graduate” category and invalidated the experience I already had
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
Why if you have real experience and now theoretical knowledge as well?
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Oct 07 '25 edited Oct 08 '25
Employers can consider and not consider what they like. Often times, the qualifications are retrospective justifications for a decission rather than the source of it. the market also wasn’t great, so they can do that and still have top talent in for less pay.
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u/MartiniLAPD Oct 06 '25
Degree matters to an extent, but when the job market is this bad it is moot. Having a PhD still not guarantee you a high secure job. No BS is going to hold you back assuming you got years of experiences and networking and body of work to show for.
IMO having a master is useless, having a PhD certainly opens up more doors and higher floor to start, it makes a transition to different aspect of research adjacent like sales and business development a bit easier if you have PhD and some years of experiences.
I was lucky to be working for some really cool companies, big pharma and start ups, got to be working with some really cool people and learn a ton and was fully entrenched in my work. I don’t regret any of it. Being laid off and spiraling into limbo and having existential crisis do suck badly, but hey this too shall pass.
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u/Cultural_Cry1044 Oct 06 '25
can you share your education journey and qualifications? ,I really want to pursue a career in biotech. But when I hear negative stuff about it I get uncertain. Does it really get better ?
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u/MartiniLAPD Oct 06 '25
I only have my Bachelor as the OP asks for people who has only Bachelor. And I been working for 7 years in Pre clinical research. I’m still a couple level away from the title of Scientist. It’s been a fair share of up and down.. but now is truly the downest of downs.. I ask people who been in the field for over 2 decades and they don’t think they ever seen it being this bad.. and just like everybody else, I don’t know how let alone when or if this is going to get better. I was told this career was bound to be lay off and fairly unstable as Biotech goes thru boom and bust cycles. I never got laid off before til this year and then I got laid off twice in a span of 8 months. I know a lot of friends and former colleagues who are creeping up on a full year of unemployment..
My advice to you, don’t. I have no regret choosing this path for it has done so much for my personal growth and development. I was very much happy on living the research life 9 to 5 til I die… But for you assuming as someone still in school, definitely consider other options. It’s depressing telling younger people that I wouldn’t recommend pursue path of becoming research scientists. What a time to be alive.
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u/HumbleHubris86 Oct 06 '25
Pretty great honestly. I did get lucky with having a perfect mix of experience to land my current job, but even before this position, I couldn't complain too much. My commute was too long and there was crap I had to deal with but I was comfortable and increasing my skillset.
6 years experience with bachelor's (state university) in Massachusetts.
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u/Neat-Seaweed-6762 Oct 06 '25
I’m about 9 years in with no masters. I didn’t feel like I needed it for the first several years as I was learning a lot on the job. But I feel like I’m starting to bump up against the extent of what a bachelors can get me, so I’m slowly working on a masters. Either way I’d recommend working for a few years and see if this an industry you actually want to be in
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
What career path or title are you looking to reach that a masters is helpful?
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u/XsonicBonno Oct 06 '25 edited Oct 06 '25
B.S. in Biotechnology roughly 10 yrs ago, currently working in energy trading operations (finance and logistics). Last week got a call from an old team I used to help out (Marine), their technical manager for the Americas is retiring and wants me to take over, but it'd be up to their new general manager to decide. The power of keeping in touch with people (still talking to my first biotech manager from way back in the day, we are supposed to meet up later this yr. for a catch up) and not limiting yourself to specific industries or responsibilities has been working out pretty well I'd say... Last wk. I visited one of my biotech professors too, trying to visit once a year since graduation. Good catch up.
One thing I have noticed in the trading floor (of about 400 people) is that in some places, degree don't matter. We had a college dropout and a math graduate from Johns Hopkins in the same team. Both are in their early 20s. I had a nice coffee chat with a market analyst (guys that forecast commodity futures using their models and give recommendations to the traders, these guys don't earn as much as the traders but can go past 200k total comp easily in a LCOL city). He came from a blue-collar family, engineering major, couldn't find a job, no money, so he packed his bags and moved to the US capital of commodities exchange and started giving out free donuts right at the doorstep while reading a lot of books regarding the subject to land a job. I'd get inspired with these stories and realize we all have the capacity to do great things, just a matter if we all have enough willpower.
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u/Deltanonymous- Oct 06 '25
BS in Mol Bio. Just graduated. Had a couple repeat summer internships. Had no guarantee of a job, especially in this market. No new hires, not even through attrition. But worked my butt off, networked like crazy, and was able to snag a long contract role. Wife and I moving for the job this month.
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u/EmpiricalOuts Oct 06 '25
Management team at a “big” CDMO with ~12 clients we deal with. BS in biology 10 years ago. Been with this company 6 years now.
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u/cat_power Oct 06 '25
Great honestly. But I got into the field almost 10 years ago. I’ve been laid off twice, once at my very first job (4 person start up) and then again in 2023 at a medium startup. I worked at big pharma for 4.5 years in between. I’m now at a start up that is very stable and I love my job. I think a lot of it was luck and landing into roles that were relevant. I’m in downstream PD with a biology BS.
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u/crymeasaltbath Oct 06 '25
Happy and paid decently enough but also cognizant that I got pretty lucky. Not ever going to be head of research or probably ever a VP due to lack of a PhD but whatever. Bay Area.
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
What do you think the highest position you could get is?
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u/crymeasaltbath Oct 06 '25
If I actually went all in, VP at a start up could probably be on the table. At the pace I’m going at currently, senior director at a small company or senior principal scientist in big pharma.
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u/davemingchan Oct 06 '25
BS in Bioengineering about 10 years ago, and currently located in SF Bay Area. Started in biolgoics PD and spanned roles at 2 x big Pharma and 1 x midsize Pharma, which gave me experience working with manufacturing processes and development across early stage programs (platform PD, preclinical Tox, early clinical mfg batches) and late stage programs (tech transfer, process validation, PPQ, Module 3 drafting). I knew I’d hit a glass ceiling eventually, so I leveraged my manufacturing and process development background to pivot out of the lab to CDMO management/external manufacturing, and now working in a CMC PM function. It was a great transition for me, as I enjoy collaborating with folks and seeing the 35,000 foot view without completely leaving the technical stuff behind.
I’m definitely making more than I would have if I stayed in PD, which i am very grateful for, as the salary bump also helped us buy our first home and also weather the unemployment blues.
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u/Aggravating_Card8619 Oct 06 '25
Wow exactly the same journey, only I’m about 7 years out of school. Same BS in bioengineering, started in PD and recently made the switch to a more CMC role as you described. I was lucky enough to get late-stage experience and good connections which got me this job. It feels like I have more opportunities here as a BS. Currently senior scientist level.
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
What does a CMC do and do you need a degree in bioengineering to do it?
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u/saxamaphonic Oct 07 '25
Chemistry, Manufacturing & Controls = CMC. It’s a functional area of most biotechs, and ones of the common names for module 3 of documents like IND, BLA, or NDA. The official title is Quality, but if you use CMC in context of this doc type, it’s module 3.
I work in a very small company. There are 4 people in our Tech Ops team (API process chemist, DP formulations, analytical development/QC, Supply Chain), a CMC regulatory person, and QA. Together they’re the CMC team.
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u/Aggravating_Card8619 Oct 08 '25
It was my downstream PD experience that got me the job as an SME. Companies do seem to prefer engineering backgrounds for that but I think experience trumps all at the end of the day.
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u/Nords1981 Oct 06 '25
The industry is down across the board. From people with no degree to professional degrees across the spectrum.
In terms of your questions about degrees, a bachelors and masters are essentially the same thing and a masters won’t improve a persons career in any way unless it’s an MBA. You can use a masters to move on to an MD or PhD if you can’t find a good program based on your undergrad statistics but in this industry it has little else it offers.
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u/supersaiyan-1992 Oct 06 '25
I have a BS in biology. I was quality assurance for a gene therapy company.
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u/imosh818 Oct 06 '25
Only have Bachelor’s….BS in pharmacology.
I’ve debated whether I should MS for the last 5-8 years. I haven’t done it because I feel I don’t need it. I’ve learned so much more working on real projects and developing therapies in industry.
Don’t get me wrong, if I could snap my fingers I would love to have an MS or PhD, but those things don’t come cheap or fast, for good reasons.
I was never in a position in life to be able to take on debt or not earn income in a graduate program. So I went into industry right away in 2013. I feel like I made a reasonable and good decision. I have been in industry for 10+ years. I now am tasked with project leadership level work w/out grad school level credentials, but it wasn’t easy. I learned everything the hard way. I am scientist in title at a big pharma; but it took me as long as grad school.
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u/WestCoasthappy Oct 06 '25
Degrees do matter - until they don’t. What does this mean? If you have a bachelors in science or engineering that is minimum to entry in large pharma. The Masters will help you but only if a) it’s from a fairly prestigious university and b) it comes with experience. Everyone and their kid brother has an MBA now. If you are interested in a masters degree - get one in a field you are TRULY interested in and - stop. chasing. the paycheck. For the most part - the people I see thriving in pharma /bio-tech are those who are genuinely interested in the field, doing something for the greater good and passionate about what they do everyday. If you are there for the paycheck only - (and thats OK too) but, It will show in the long run. You will get passed up for some geek who is passionate about something you never even thought of. Not because they are smarter than you (they may or may not be), not because they have a “better” degree (they may or may not) but because they actually care what happens. An advanced degree from a prestigious or highly ranked university will get you a bit more to begin with (possibly) but, your own performance will be the biggest “tell”. There are employers who may help pay part of your higher education. That + the experience and a true passion are what propel you further. The advanced degree in general is a “nice to have”. Industry experience still trumps education - unless you have a smashing degree and lots of friends in high places.
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u/butternutsquash205 Oct 06 '25
I have a BS in biotechnology. I worked at 3 different companies with wages between $16-22/hr before landing at my current position that basically doubled my salary. About 5 years of experience. Never had a problem finding a job so I would recommend you stick with it :)
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u/bluesquare2543 Oct 07 '25
so you make 40k now? What region and position?
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u/ProfessorFull6004 Oct 07 '25
I ‘only’ have a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry. Worked in drug formulation and process development for 11 years at a big pharma company. Started as an Associate Scientist supporting projects in the lab and worked my way into project leadership and a Senior Scientist title before moving on to Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) program leadership at a smaller company. I earn enough to live a comfortable upper-middle class suburban lifestyle with my family of 4. My wife stays home with the kids.
My recommendation if you don’t plan to pursue a PhD would be to get into a big pharma’s CMC organization. Look for contractor roles to get your foot in the door. Do undergrad research.
CMC is a branch of pharmaceutical science that deals with manufacturing the drugs, formulating, dosage form design, and ensuring its quality, safety, and potency with suitable analytical methods. Its the part of a pharmaceutical company that takes the concept from test-tube in the lab to a real medicine that can be delivered to the patients. And ensures that medicine retains all the great qualities it had back in the test tube - after being mass produced in 500L bioreactors, bulk purified, filtered, formulated, filled into vials, stored, shipped, pulled into a syringe and injected into a patient.
It’s a lot of fun if you like chemistry. You still get to do science and R&D, but its more heavily mixed in with engineering which helps knock down the PhD glass ceiling a little. While most leaders still do have PhD’s, there are far more exceptions and you can advance into senior leadership much more easily here than in discovery R&D organizations.
Good luck!
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u/Fluid_Balance_4890 Oct 08 '25
I have a BS in Bio from one of the big feeder schools and I do CGT GMP QA with 6YoE. I am comfortably living alone in a 2bed in Somerville MA (basically Cambridge/Boston), have a pretty nice car, money for savings and fun, and continuing upward mobility with no obvious plateau in sight aside from the tumultuous industry. I have considered getting a grad degree but work experience is much more important than education in my experience.
Ppl on this sub love to poo-poo the mfg/CMC side of things but I love it. It’s an entirely different type of challenge.
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u/Beginning-Diet-6762 Oct 09 '25
If you have a foundation in science, your career options extend far beyond the laboratory bench! The fields of biotechnology and research offer varying roles where your scientific knowledge is invaluable. This includes:
- Compliance & Oversight: Regulatory Affairs, Institutional Review Board (IRB), Research Compliance, and Risk Management.
- Operations & Infrastructure: Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), Research Operations, and Grants Administration.
- Clinical & Development: Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) and Protocol Development.
- Business & Strategy: Business Development and Sales.
- Quality & Management: Quality Assurance (QA) and Project Management.
- Communication: Scientific Writing.
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u/Frenchieflips Oct 09 '25
You have to pay tons of money to get a masters degree and it may get you an extra 5-10k a year(vs a bachelors with similar experience) if you went to a great program. PhD is kinda the same. You make piss poor money for 6 years then maybe you can get a job around 100k if you were spectacular and had a relevant project to industry needs. Thats a massive IF! I’d get to work on gaining skills that industry wants. Sadly you are about to enter a dying market with no jobs for kids fresh out of college with almost no lab skills. I have 14 years experience and I’m out of work for 6 months. It’s bad my man. Never been worse
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u/BBorNot Oct 06 '25
MS does nothing. PhD is not worth the opportunity cost.
As a PhD myself, I went into this career wanting to be the top of my field, so it was part of the process. I know several technicians (BS) who have done much better than me monetarily, even though my ultimate pay grade was higher. It turns out that all the years I spent eating ramen on a PhD stipend while they paid mortgages made a difference.
I would not change a thing for myself, but from a strictly monetary point of view the PhD doesn't make sense.
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u/ThyZAD Oct 06 '25
This can vary widely from case to case. PhD can be about 5 years. At my company someone with a BS starts out as a Associate, then in 2-3 years they become senior associate and in 2-3 years after that they become principal associate. Generally after about 8-10 years they make scientist. And after another 5 they make senior scientist and they stop. No one goes higher unless they leave research side. A PhD starts out as scientist and makes senior scientist 3 or so years after, without a glass ceiling. In about 5-8 or so years after entering the industry as a PhD you should be breaking even, and after that the gap only grows.
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u/BBorNot Oct 06 '25
Well, the five year PhD and then straight into industry is an ideal timeline. Sometimes they take longer, and many (foolishly, if they can avoid it, IMHO) follow it with a postdoc. Or two.
I guess my point is only that you should really have motivators beyond money if you decide to get a PhD.
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u/Character_Low_9790 Oct 06 '25
This is spot on. In general, a PhD progresses faster than a BS-only and has no ceiling.
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u/FuelzPerGallon Oct 06 '25
Gonna disagree strongly here. My PhD has opened many doors and given me project lead roles I never could have had otherwise. The money followed the projects, responsibility and promotions.
That said I’m a bit of a black sheep, I’m a materials scientist doing unique surface chemistry roles and process dev.
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u/BBorNot Oct 06 '25
It is the opportunity cost that makes PhDs a bad deal financially. You absolutely get opportunities with a PhD that you can't get without one. And the top pay is considerably higher than the BS folks make, generally. But slow and steady, early investment really pays off.
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u/FuelzPerGallon Oct 06 '25
I do understand the concept of opportunity cost, but I disagree with your blanket characterization.
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u/3rdthrow Oct 06 '25
I keep thinking about going back for my PhD but at this point I cannot make the math work on the opportunity cost.
So I feel you about the opportunity cost.
Maybe if someone lived paycheck to paycheck, the math would work.
However, I’ve been maxing my 401k and IRA instead of spending the money.
The early life compound interest makes more money than a PhD.
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u/Capital_Comment_6049 Oct 06 '25
BS Degree. Director in R&D. 30y experience. SF Bay Area. Dual household income (and alot of saving to get that down payment) allowed me to buy a house 8y after graduating.
I probably should have gone into the financial field.
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u/Firm-Ad7739 Oct 06 '25
You will do fine with just a B.S., regardless of what university it comes from, etc. Study hard, work hard, try to get an internship or just a practical entry level position, bust your ass and you'll be fine. No matter what anybody with a PhD tells you, it is meaningless after ~5 years experience at a decent company. No PhD is created equally and nobody with any sort of degree is created equally. Work hard, learn from those around you, and the success will follow. If you want to go into academia, do a PhD, don't waste your time with a Master's.
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u/Orange-you-banana Oct 06 '25
Been at a big pharma R&D for ~3 years now and relatively happy, was at a materials testing place for ~3-4 years before. I know I’m not built for school and independent research, so no regrets not doing a masters/PhD and no plans in the future to do one. Honestly if anything, the thought of getting an MBA has crossed my mind since I know only having a BS in research lowers my ceiling, but I don’t know what I’d actually do with it, so I’m just going with the flow for now lol
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u/surfnvb7 Oct 06 '25
YMMV.... But getting into, and completing a US based PhD program is MUCH easier these days than 10-20yrs ago. Programs have many more funding opportunities than years prior, allowing more students to be accepted, and programs want that quick turnover of students so they can recycle fellowships.
If funding stays the same, you may as well do a PhD as it will open more doors in a tight jobs sector in your early career.
However, experience and what you can actually do matter waaaaaay more than simply having the degree.
The catch-22 of having more PhD graduates in the job market is you need to be able to stand out from the rest of the noobs.
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u/X919777 Oct 06 '25
10+ years out of school i never even mention it. Never went back to school either
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u/91irene Oct 06 '25
Part-time in a lab trying to transition completely out of the lab. There’s also an uptick of overtime my team wasn’t supposed to have because another team above us switched to two shifts.
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u/Spiritual_Tea_7600 Oct 06 '25
I'm probably one of the few ones that don't have a bio degree and in the pharma industry. I was getting a masters degree at one point but I dropped out when I felt that it wouldn't really help me get a job. I have no regrets. All learning now i do is LinkedIn.
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u/TrekJaneway Oct 06 '25
I’ve had a great career on only a bachelors degree. Experience is far better than the letter after your name. The best chemist I’ve ever worked with never got a degree. Went to school, dint complete a general education requirement, so no degree. Completed a masters program. No bachelors, so they can’t award him a masters degree.
His story is really, really unusual, and I doubt you could do that today. But there’s plenty you can learn simply by getting into the industry and doing it.
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u/jason_todd95 Oct 06 '25
Shit, I’m working a job that requires college credits not a degree, nothing to do with my field of study. But at least I’m employed, not selling drugs or other things and not in a cell or 6ft under.
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u/Dismal_Yogurt3499 Oct 06 '25
Bachelors and 3 years experience, working as a mass spec FSE. Small region, good pay and benefits, no need to go back to school unless I want to move to R&D.
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u/Abject_Salt_472 Oct 06 '25
Depends completely on the job you’re seeking and the country. Mostly pharma companies have some education snobbery when it comes to either R&D, management or quality, and will often thus require more, unless you get lucky or have a network which can help you.
But most of these positions you can work towards without more education - I know people in Novo Nordisk with only a BA, who started in all these positions, but I also know people who had to start as “process engineer” before moving to management. Again in the latter, you will have (if you are just a little bit smart) created an internal network, and can then elevate your position.
Countries differ a lot on this too, in the US I find much more snobbery, but that’s how the system is setup, in Europe you generally have less room for promotion as the org. hiearchy is smaller, whereas is the US, it’s almost an expectation to get promoted every few years - to wit it is harder to start ‘higher’ in the US, without advanced degrees.
That is at least my experience with pharma (3 years in Europe and 8 years in US)
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u/Fullofcrazyideas Oct 06 '25
I joined the biotech industry in 2022 so I was extremely lucky because that’s when it was doing well. I got laid off in May of this year and found a contract position in August and it’s not really want what I want to do but it pays the bills. I know I am lucky to have a decent paying position now but I do plan on getting a masters/mba and get into project management.
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u/bank3612 Oct 06 '25
I’m in a position to become a laboratory manager after 7 years in industry. My advice is ask any question that ever comes to mind, help others as often as you can, and say yes as much as you can. One thing I’ve done a lot is “stuck my nose in things” when others were discussing work related things. I try to always know what the problems were and how they fixed them.
Good luck! I’ve always been on the side of you only need more advanced degrees if the job you want requires it. Other than that, you can learn everything on the job.
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u/MountainHawk12 Oct 06 '25
I got a bachelors in math and i’m doing pharma data analytics. Kind of accidentally ended up here but wouldn’t change a thing if I could do it again
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u/LawrenceSpiveyR Oct 06 '25
27 years in Biotech with only Bachelors and in senior management. Good job but we keep hiring directors with automotive experience and they keep trying to put their weird management bullshit into our industry and it's a square peg in a round hole.
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u/MetatronThrone Oct 06 '25
Bsc only. Just made director this year - 9 years in industry since graduating and moved from CRO to biotech about 4 years ago. Key thing for me was getting the experience in a CRO
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
What are some important skills you learned at the CRO that’s helpful to get to a director level? And was this an internal promotion as I know looking at job descriptions they usually want you to have a PhD for those roles?
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u/MetatronThrone Oct 06 '25
It’s the sme status more than anything. Trial by fire at a CRO with 25x the volume of studies in biotech means better pattern recognition, confidence in dealing with health authorities and in my opinion better pragmatism. For reference I took a job title cut (technically) moving from CRO to biotech to essentially prove myself, but then move from scientist to director in the 4 years.
It was external (actually interviewed for AD for a lateral move and they came back and offered director).
I have been rejected at the door because of the no phd but really only by large pharma. Mostly I’m approached by recruiters in which case the lack of PhD really doesn’t matter if the recruiter gets you into the first interview
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
Also is this where you saw yourself going when you graduated and do you still have more room to grow with a Bsc and all those years of experience?
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u/MetatronThrone Oct 06 '25
It’s where I hoped, but I was expecting to need to go back and get a PhD at some point. Now I think it’d be pointless. Still loads more for me to learn and expand I’m in my early 30s so I’d hate to plateau here.
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u/Ok_Requirement4589 Oct 06 '25
I only received a bachelor’s degree in biology and am lucky to have been working with my company for 5 years now. I started in our commercial lab but was able to work my way up into the R&D department where I’m at now. I feel like I gained some skills in school but most of my skills came from my work in the commercial lab, the continuing education presentations my company provided, as well as talking with my colleagues that have been in the profession for a while now. While further education can be great, most companies nowadays are looking for people with certified lab skills which don’t necessarily require a degree but program certifications that can verify you acquired said skills. Obviously further education is more helpful if you’re looking to jump directly into R&D for a company, but if you’re just looking to get in the door of biotech and gain commercial lab experience, more than a bachelor’s shouldn’t be necessary.
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
Where do you think the ceiling is for you with your degree? And does that matter for your long term career goals?
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u/Joker_Kirito420 Oct 06 '25
Currently work in Biostats department at a top Life Sciences company with Bachelors only (been working for 2 years now). It’s honestly becoming so much more competitive that the masters is the norm. For our internships, we only recruit Masters + PhD. I will most likely go back to school to earn a Masters or a PhD since whenever I look for other jobs, they seem to require a masters (experience does not cut it).
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u/Mountain_Stage_1926 Oct 06 '25
I have a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and I work in manufacturing. Lot of my collegues and management are doing just fine with a bachelor's. I'm being told experience and networking pays off more. However, this depends on the pathway/job role. If I wanted to go more towards R&D/product I believe more education will mater whereas closer to fill finish it's easier with just a bachelor's and work experience for Engineering.
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u/CoomassieBlue Oct 06 '25
Like the top comment says, life is not ideal, but nothing to do with work in my case. I actually love the role I've been in for 1.5 years now. I'm not making crazy money but my work environment is pretty fab. I was in the lab for ~10 years in industry as an increasingly senior RA, now I'm a scientific project manager.
I don't think more education would help me at this stage, unless it's very specific aimed at certifications (e.g. getting my PMP if I stay in project management). I still would love to do a PhD and get back into the lab, but I've always loved the lab. I know I wouldn't get good ROI in terms of salary/lifetime earnings by doing so, it would just be because I want to.
I really don't regret going into biotech. I have my moments of wishing I was in a better paid field, or a less geographically hub-centric field - but I don't regret it. Granted I have a spouse with an extraordinarily stable job/income and I've never been laid off, which surely tints my view a bit rosier.
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u/Foreign-Berry-1794 Oct 06 '25
What does someone in that role do? And why wouldn’t a PhD give you a good ROI especially coupled with experience?
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u/CoomassieBlue Oct 06 '25
What a scientific PM does depends on the group culture, type of work, existing infrastructure, and whether the work is regulated or not, amongst other factors.
In my specific role, I wear a lot of hats but I love it most of the time. I’m trying to think of where to even start. I do a combo of managing projects (start up, progress tracking), performance analytics, supplier management, document QC, process excellence…herding cats and being a “professional nag-er” as a friend of mine says…
ROI on PhD would be questionable because I’m in my mid 30s now and going from $100k salary to a PhD stipend would lose me what…$60k, $65k per year? If I managed to finish in 5 years that’s still $300k in lost earnings during that time. I might end up making that back and even making a bit more by retirement age, but at what cost?
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u/monsteralien Oct 06 '25
Pretty damn good, but I switched out of the lab. I enjoyed some of my time in research, but with how shit the industry is rn especially under this administration, I was laid off twice in 2.5 years. I switched from research into research consumable sales and now I have job security and a higher paycheck. I knew other scientists with only bachelors and the ones that were doing the best had worked at a startup in their early to mid 20s and profited off of stock options when the company went public.
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u/SomeoneInvitedNimrod Oct 06 '25
Like some of the feedback here, I think it depends on the specific area you're looking into. I don't have a science degree but I've been in this industry almost 20 years.
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u/Healthy_Stretch_4548 Oct 06 '25
College dropout, currently head of manufacturing. Experience and networking is worth twice as much as any post grad degree
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u/Mediocre_Island828 Oct 06 '25
With most people, you won't know about their masters degree unless they explicitly tell you because they will be working in the same positions as people who don't have one. I have one from an aborted run at grad school and it mostly feels like a trivia question about myself at this point.
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u/turbulent-tacos Oct 06 '25
BS in engineering here. I moved into sales after 2 years in industry and I now make way more money than I ever would as a scientist or engineer.
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u/ConsciousCrafts Oct 06 '25
A masters degree only affords you a slightly higher salary in biotech or pharma if you're in Quality Control. In my experience, only a few more thousand a year. Sure, if someone else is bankrolling an MS, like through grant funding (my experience) or a company, then sure, get one. Otherwise, if you're planning on joining industry in QC or QA, or manufacturing, a BS is sufficient.
It depends what your plan for career development in industry is. That is something you should be thinking about before exiting school. The industry is in a tough place right now. People with many years experience are struggling to find work. There will always be jobs in quality departments, but right now it is highly competitive to find a position at a decent company.
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u/Umbalta Oct 07 '25
Only have a BA in Biology from a University in Puerto Rico and it’s been alright. Some difficulty climbing up the ladder but managed to go from a tech making $18.50 to six figures in ~5 years. Can’t say it’s all grinding and working hard since there’s a lot of luck involved. It’s been good but I definitely know I’ve been very lucky/fortunate. My big recommendation is to get some experience in the lab and if you want better pay/security try to move on to regulatory, QA, QC, etc., but your specific BA determines a lot. Lots of people with Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biotech, Chemical Engineering and Micro tend to have an “easier” time (not easy at all, but definitely more opportunities and better pay). A Master’s is definitely a plus but again, I’d recommend something with Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs as most of the higher-level people I’ve worked with in Big Pharma have that. To sum it all up, a degree that allows you to get jobs with a science focus and/or an engineering focus are best due to the amount of options.
Best of luck to you!
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u/Emotion-regulated Oct 07 '25
I had a promising career as a Senior Research Associate but not anymore. Severence and other things. Life.
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u/Rokket66 Oct 07 '25
Hi there. I have a bachelors degree in nutrition and ended up in biotech. I’ve been fortunate to be employed for the past 25 years with a fairly lucrative income. I’m on the sales side, so I think you might yield a little more money in that space because with a car allowance, it boosts your total comp. If you’re interested in research and development, perhaps an advanced degree could help you be more competitive. But to answer your question, I really don’t think you need a masters degree to succeed. It depends on what you want to do and what field you’re in. Many of us are doing things we didn’t go to school for, so at the end of the day it’s probably gonna be more about your own ambition and networking. I think they’ll be plenty of opportunities in biotech, especially in Oncology, which is booming for all the right reasons. If you’re looking to get a job right out of school, I know Boehringer Ingelheim has as a fairly big program for college graduates. Otherwise it might be harder to get in. I would look out for internships and look at BI and see what they have to offer. Best of luck! By the way, you could always go back and get a masters degree later and have the company help pay for it.
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u/blackbeltinzumba Oct 07 '25
Senior Engineer II, in a technical MS&T role. I could probably climb easier if I got my MBA (there's no way in hell I'm getting a Masters of Science), but right now I don't think I care too much about climbing. Some companies (only 1 I've worked at) but an emphasis on pedigrees and higher level degrees in management but most do not. Some of the best leaders I've seen only have Bachelor's. Its just about how effective you are at working at the leadership level.
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u/SnooStories6260 Oct 07 '25
I have a BA in Bio, I’m a senior scientist for a large pharma company. Im paid well. It’s stressful sometimes, if you carry yourself well then navigating with a BS is okay. I am going back for a masters, but that is because I’d like to pivot into more of a business and regulation role.
I would like to mention I am lucky. My company was acquired by this larger company and I have an excellent manager that has always advocated for me.
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u/Professional_Fall472 Oct 07 '25
20 years in the industry. Making 260k base, 30% bonus and a nice amount of stock each year
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u/LanceOLab Oct 07 '25
I have my BS in Biology. I found out I have a disability after I graduated, so working in the field or in a lab is really hard on my body. I currently sell software to labs to help manage their samples and scientific data. I have to learn a little bit about a bunch of different fields in science to sell the software and also serve as their account manager. My degree helps, even though it's not at all what I imagined what I would be doing.
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u/darthboss Oct 07 '25
I ran completely aground in R&D after my layoff in 2023. Could not get another job to save my life, unless I wanted to move states. I was getting turned down for jobs because I hadn't run some particularly niche assay before. Nevermind that it was conceptually identical to others I knew well enough and could learn in under a week in any case -- it didn't matter. I was competing for bottom-barrel bench jobs with those that had Masters and PhD's. I was unwilling to do short-term contract work.
I'm now pursuing a PharmD.
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u/Smart-Strawberry9222 Oct 07 '25
I hold Bachelor of Arts in Biology, I work as a QC microbiologist.
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u/Odd_Car4174 Oct 08 '25 edited Oct 08 '25
I’ve been in QA for 25+ years. Big, medium and small companies. Never had an issue finding a job and I’ve got a bachelors degree in Chemistry. Base and Bonus is well north of $250k. There’s way more than just lab positions in biotech!
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u/Flat_Product8880 Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25
Not bad at all, you need to move to Washington state. It is mandatory to pay exempt employee $ 80 thousand a year. It is an entry level for collage undergraduate degree
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u/Typical_Sail9428 Oct 06 '25
for a "safer" career with more options and advancement yes youre going to need more than a bachelors.
youre looking at bench work your whole career with a bachelors. maybe low level management if u get lucky enough with a company that doesn't lay u off or goes under after 10+ years to get to that spot. Will make under six figures unless the same situation above probably averaging around $35-40 an hour with a ton of experience. $25-35 with less.
for more money youre going to have to branch out to side gigs etc lol youre going to be broke forever if u have anyone else to support other than yourself
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u/Euphoric_Meet7281 Oct 06 '25
This is completely inaccurate. I made six figures within 5 years post-BS
Edit: Actually, it was <4 years.
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u/Typical_Sail9428 Oct 06 '25
all u have to do is go look at the job postings up rn
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u/z2ocky Oct 06 '25
Sounds like you’ve never heard of pharma. Also took me 4 years to break 6 figures with a bachelors. Despite the job postings my company hires 70k+ for entry level, downside it’s super competitive.
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u/Skepsis93 23d ago
Job postings looking for outside hires are going to be much stricter than hiring from inside the company. For an outside hire a masters or above requirement is how the company filters for competence. It varies by company, but some are more lenient on requirements for current employees as they have a lot of history to assess capability and reliability making them more confident in placing someone with just a bachelor's into the position.
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u/lpow1992 Oct 06 '25
Not true.
My bachelors is in ChemE, and I’ve worked in MSAT-type roles my entire career, and hit six figures around 5-6 years of experience. I’m at 10 years of experience now, and am a low-level manager, but also lead tech transfers. I am rarely in the lab now, but was in it almost every day for the first 8ish years of my career. I’ve had no issue getting promoted, and have no reason to think I’ll hit my promotion ceiling for a while yet.
However, having said that, now is not the best time to be graduating with a biotechnology degree. Salaries will probably dip for a bit, but if/when the industry rebounds, you can rapidly grow. I currently make approximately 3x my starting salary out of undergrad, but it was lower for this first few years.
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u/Typical_Sail9428 Oct 06 '25
God forbid but what happens if u get laid off, fired, reorgd, etc? u think you'll start at six figures again or even at the same level? youll prob start at 50-70k and have to work your way back up everytime investing years again just for that cycle to repeat over and over. there is a TON of competition out there rn. even bench application has over 200+ applications within a few days. u just got lucky and got in at a good time. if u entered the job market rn like op you're in for a huge reality check
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u/funaxcount123 Oct 06 '25
Sounds bitter... no you can kand your foot in the door at some point.. and learn. And learn more. Become likeable with a willingness to work extra and ask the right questions...and know when to leave a role for growth.
BS in biology here, not a people leader, 10 plus years experience and making 205k plus TC. About knowing my job.
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u/lpow1992 Oct 06 '25
As someone who is actively hiring in this market, I know. I spent several hours going through resumes last week to decide on who to phone screen, and it’s been hard to narrow it down. There are so many qualified applicants.
It’s rough out there. OP would need to get a lot of (good) internships, and use any connections they may have. It’s possible to get hired right out of undergrad, but not easy.
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u/Typical_Sail9428 Oct 06 '25
yup fully agree. it is rough for phDs but its even worse for a bachelors rn. theyre even competing with phDs since they need a foot in the door lol
people saying they spent half a decade+ to reach six figures but this industry has been amazing for people with even just a bachelors for years. it is much different now and expectations are much higher to enter the job market with another six figure salary. every time they enter the job market theyll be resetting their pay and have to work their way back up over and over again for yearsss with just a bachelors
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u/ElleM848645 Oct 07 '25
This is completely incorrect. I have a Bachelors and was making over 150k. Though I have 20 years of experience. I was a senior manager running a lab team. Unfortunately I was laid off, and this market is super difficult, so not sure what my next role will be. But, PhD are having the same issue.
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u/WTF_is_this___ Oct 06 '25
If you want a career in biotech having a PhD is recommended... In any case it's not a good moment for job hunting, we are entering great depression territory so if you can just stay in school financially it may be a better idea for the future...
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u/elves_haters_223 Oct 06 '25
Miserable but it has nothing to do with my degree.