If you’re fascinated by science, especially biology and genetics, then you may have an interest in pursuing a career as a biotech engineer. With the amount of advances in medical fields over the past decade, it’s no surprise that there is an ever-increasing demand for trained bio-tech engineers.
Read on as I provide you with some helpful tips on how to become a biotech engineer and what exactly it entails.
Bio tech engineers find employment across many different industries including biotechnology (producing pharmaceuticals like Insulin), diagnostics (testing for diseases) and food engineering (to improve the quality of products).
Here’s a list of some of the careers you can expect to see in the biotech industry:
Biotechnologist (biotechnology companies)
Cell biologist (research and development)
Genetic engineer (drug manufacturing or DNA research)
Systems biologist (diagnostic company, studying genetic diseases)
Biochemist (pharmaceutical companies, researching treatments)
Microbiologist (disease diagnostics and research) (microbiology is the study of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and algae.)
For most people these might not sound like typical engineering careers. But if you’re passionate about learning about biology then these careers will appeal to you.
Here’s a short overview on some of the things you will have to learn to become a biotech engineer:
Genetics (DNA, Genes, Chromosomes)
Biology (Cell biology, Developmental biology and physiology)
Chemistry (Analytical and organic chemistry)
Mathematics (Algebra and calculus) (Calculus is essential if you want to work as a research scientist or biomedical engineer.) (Bio-engineers should have an extensive understanding of how cells function which requires math.)
Computer Science (Bio-engineers may also need to know about computer programming for creating computational models of biological interactions. It’s similar to programming computers in a software engineering role.)
While these don’t sound like typical engineering careers, you may find these careers appealing to you. But before you move on, think about the following questions:
Am I passionate about science? Do I want to be self motivated and educated? The more self-motivated you are the more likely you will be successful. Are there skills that I have that can relate back to this career (i.e.: biology, chemistry, maths)? Would I be happy working as someone else’s underling rather than leading my own team? Do I want to work long hours and weekends ?
If the answer is no for any of these questions then forget about pursuing this career path.