Additional Information
If you're still in high school, take at least one year of biology, chemistry
and physics, along with algebra, geometry and trigonometry.
English courses that emphasize writing skills are highly recommended. Scientists
must be able to communicate their results clearly and accurately.
The best way to prepare for a career in biochemistry is to get a bachelor's
degree in this area. However, you can get similar training if you get a degree
in chemistry and choose courses in biology, biochemistry and molecular genetics.
You could also get a degree in biology and take chemistry, physics and mathematics
courses.
A bachelor's degree in biochemistry or a related discipline is the minimum
requirement for any work in the field. Many biochemists, especially those
at universities and research facilities, have PhDs.
"There's definitely lots of opportunities at the bachelor's and master's
level as well," says biochemist Jan Rainey. "As with any science, the level
of originality you can bring to your position depends on how high your training
is, so most of the positions at bachelor's and master's levels might be a
little more routine -- more lab technician or that sort of supporting level
orientation -- whereas once you're at the PhD level then jobs tend to be more
along the lines of designing your own projects and having more high level
independence of your work."
Biochemist Penny Beuning also sees people with bachelor's degrees in biochemistry
getting jobs.
"I'm in Boston [and] there are so many biotech companies here that hire
bachelor's level people all the time," says Beuning. "They do lots of things...
They'll do things like purify proteins and develop assays (tests used for
analysis).
"[If] a company has some protein they think is involved in a disease but
they don't know, maybe that person is going to try to figure out a way to
make the protein in a way... that is suitable for experiments to test their
ideas," Beuning says.
A master's degree or doctoral degree can be required for employment as
a research biochemist with universities, government or private firms.
Biochemists in academic positions have normally completed a post-doctoral
fellowship, especially if research is a large part of their job. Five years
is a typical length of time for such a fellowship. They are usually completed
at a university but sometimes in industry or at a government lab.