Jobs with a BA Biology (Chicago: crime, credit, attorneys)

[manchesterUnited]

My wife has a BA in Biology from a good private college, but she's struggled to find a decent paying job in Chicago. She's worked in laboratory research positions at a couple large schools in Chicago, but the pay is very mediocre. Think $12-15/hour.

I know that's not horrible pay, but for the degree she has, and the level of work she performs (complex laboratory procedures) it seems like she should make more. Especially considering that other bachelors degrees (e.g., engineering, business) start at much higher salaries. Does anyone here know of laboratory jobs in Chicago that pay well? I can't seem to find any other than boring food-testing labs and medical technologist jobs that require certifications she doesn't have (and take a while to obtain). Or perhaps different jobs altogether that make sense with a degree in biology.

[chet everett]

Working for a University is not lucrative, if your wife is not taking advantage of benefits like tuition credit or something then she probably would do better in the private sector or even a better paying job for one the crime labs.

Traditional jobs that take advantage of knowledge of biology and testing in the Chicago region include work with one of the many pharmaceutical / hospital supply firms in the region. There is a big cluster in Lake Co, with Baxter, Abbot, Medline and others. Starting pay is not all that much better but there are opportunities for bonuses and advancement into other areas that are more lucrative. Chicago area has a pretty healthy number of jobs related to chemistry and biology -- the best path into those jobs is usually through the on-cmpaus placement office / recruiting. There are firms in the region, such as Nalco that specialize in chemicals for water treatment and such that routinely hire a large percentage of new grads from the better schools.

If she wants to pick up some additional education / certification there are range of medical technoligist jobs that pay more than she is making too -- generally a BA in Biology is just a starting point and if her college counselors did not tell her this they did a disservice to her. Engineers with Bachelors degrees are generally capable of much more revunue generation and they can pick-up the certifications / specialization in their first job(s) OR get advanced degree(s). Biology is too broad a field for that and the starting salaries suffer...

[ndfmnlf]

Has she looked into teaching in high school? Research labs look for people with masters or PHds. It's going to be tough to land a good paying position in research with just a bachelor's in biology. Another possiblity is working as a drug/sales rep for pharmaceutical companies.

BA in Biology (IMHO) is really intended as a launching pad for higher education, not as an end in itself. Most people I know (including myself) used it to get into med school.

[colinhayes]

Working at a university in a pure science? Expect to be poor, especially with only a BA. I made $9.50 an hour doing Physics research with my BS.

You cannot expect to find a well paying lab job with only a BA, labs wants PhDs. She can definitely find high school teaching positions and potentially private sector work, though.

[manchesterUnited]

Originally Posted by colinhayes

Working at a university in a pure science? Expect to be poor, especially with only a BA. I made $9.50 an hour doing Physics research with my BS.

You cannot expect to find a well paying lab job with only a BA, labs wants PhDs. She can definitely find high school teaching positions and potentially private sector work, though.

Labs do not just want PhDs. PhDs are generally the study leaders, but most of the employees do not have PhDs. The PhDs also make very little money.

What private sector work? All I've seen is food testing labs which looks pretty boring. Are there any biological labs downtown or anything?

[enator]

Don't forget the patent office. Pays well, and is greate experience to get into pharmacueticals. Or, if she qualifies to sit for the patent bar (most biology BA's do qualify you), and passes, she could go to law school and be a patent attorney. Huge amounts of money in that since patent attorneys w/ a focus in biology are scarce.

[linicx]

I found these in a quick search. I do not know if any are of value to your wife or not. She might like being a pharmae rep. http://www.topusajobs.com/cgi/search.cgi

This is a very good Illinois company to work for. H. D. Smith - and they do serve Chicago.

[bsbear]

I was a bio major myself and used it to get into med school. Unfortunately, Bio and pysch degrees are not money makers without any advance degrees or certifications.

Is she interested only in lab work?

Like others said, teaching high school bio is a good alternative. Schools are always short on science/math teachers.

Phd are actually underappreciated. For all their years of work they come out makin 70-90k and then need to prove themselves before moving up. however some people love having their own lab and they are ok with the income.

She could also go to med school, but that is a very rigorous route and bad lifestyle. Income potential great 100k-350k depending on specialty.

Physician assistant is a two year program that has good income potential 60-90k. VERY Good lifestyle too.

Pharmacist is a 4 year program. 80-110k potential. Good lifestyle, but the CHicago market is oversaturated and she will be a floater for years. Might even need to move to a different city.

Pharm rep used to be lucrative, but due to restriction set forth by congress (those hypocrites still allow theiir own lobbies) , they are getting laid off left and right.

Nursing is good alternative, but i rather be a physician assitant as they can actually prescribe meds and have better income potential.

[manchesterUnited]

Currently she is mostly interested in lab work, but she seems interested in moving into healthcare as well. Nursing and PA is something we've discussed, and I actually think she'd lean more towards nurse practitioner (probably starting with a BSN) instead of PA. Nurse practitioners have the advantage of being able to practice on their own, whereas PAs require a supervising physician.

Thanks for the feedback so far! Some of the ideas I hadn't thought of, though law and teaching aren't up her alley.

[surlycue]

Argonne in DuPage Cty?