Bioinformatics at UC Santa Cruz | FerrariChat

Bioinformatics at UC Santa Cruz

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by enzoz, Nov 24, 2003.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. enzoz

    enzoz Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    162
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    Rob
    #1 enzoz, Nov 24, 2003
    What does everybody think of the B.S. they offer in this major? Obviously it preps you for grad school or "a career in the fast-paced pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries."

    From what I hear biotech and biomedical work is very good for those that excel in quantitive reasoning and the pysical sciences. That and it makes actual money.

    Can anybody help out somebody that is considering this as a major? Anybody in the field? What are the economics like? How far will a B.S. get you? Will I use computer science, math, or chem the most? Is it ALL lab work? What type of companies are there to work for? And most important for me, can I have a career in this and live in Southern California? What's the job market there for this? I know the east coast is having a little biotech boom but what about the west?

    Thanks. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Evolved

    Evolved F1 Veteran

    Nov 5, 2003
    8,700
    #2 Evolved, Nov 24, 2003
    It's hard as hell but it is very very good stuff.

    Buy or get a book out of the library on it. I read bioinformatics for dummies just becasue I thought a "dummies" book on such a complex topic would be fun to have on the shelf. All in all I was very happy with the book.

    It is definately an intersting topic to study.

    If you are a computer science oriented person I think this is the course of study to go into. It adds focus to the vast and ill defined field of computer science to your education.
     
  3. bkaird1

    bkaird1 Karting

    Nov 7, 2003
    138
    Atlanta, Georgia
    Full Name:
    Brad
    #3 bkaird1, Nov 24, 2003
    I'm a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering; I'm not familiar with their program though. Do you know what bioinformatics is??

    California certainly has a big biotech market. As far as what you will be doing, I suppose it depends on the program but the people I know in bioinformatics are rarely in the lab. They do a lot of data processing and programming (all related to biology and medicine). I would suggest emailing one of the professors at the school and ask them to tell you specifically about their program because the field is so vast and each program is alittle different. They should also be able to tell you about what graduates of the program typically do after graduation.
     
  4. enzoz

    enzoz Karting

    Nov 2, 2003
    162
    SF Bay Area
    Full Name:
    Rob
    #4 enzoz, Nov 24, 2003
    I'll get a copy of bioinformatics for dummies myself. It probably barely scratches the surface but I just need a better idea. And I will email a professor for sure.

    Data processing and programming is probably up my ally more than lab work although I enjoy both, that's why I was so curious because I have a feeling I'd enjoy it over lab work.

    bkaird1, congrats on your acedemics! Hope all goes well with the PhD.
     
  5. bkaird1

    bkaird1 Karting

    Nov 7, 2003
    138
    Atlanta, Georgia
    Full Name:
    Brad
    #5 bkaird1, Nov 24, 2003
    Thanks enzoz, so do I. Feel free to ask any questions. While my specialty is certainly not bioinformatics, I did do a project involving it during undergrad(basically a Java program to design DNA probes). Anyway, good luck and I hope it works out for you.
     

Share This Page