What science degree?

sendos

sendos

sendos

Associate
Joined
21 Aug 2006
Posts
119
Right im pretty stuck here, im not sure what degree to choose. I orginally choose to do a economics degree but i've been pursuaded by my teachers/parents that science is what i should be doing. The problem im having is what area of science apart from medicine leads to the highest paying jobs?

I'll have A's in both chemistry and biology at a-level so im not really restricted to a specific area of science.

thanks.
 
The one that will lead to the highest paying jobs is the one you'll enjoy the most. If you have no passion for a subject, you'll probably have less chances of getting a decent job from it.
 
sendos said:
i've been pursuaded by my teachers/parents that science is what i should be doing.
Click to expand...

Just to make sure, if that isn't something you personally want to persue, do not do it. It may result in higher pay, but you must choose what you personally want to do. If you want to do the economics degree then do it.
 
Chemistry/Pharmacology - Jobs in pharmaceutical companies can be very rewarding.

Generic chem/bio degree - Medical sales?

If you've got good a-levels, have you thought about applying to a University offering a 'Natural Sciences' degree (such as Cambridge) which gives you a good background in science of all sorts as well as a 2nd/3rd year specialisation, and will hold you in very good stead amongst employers.
 
I'd choose to do a degree you want to do. If you don't really enjoy a subject you'll struggle to get motivation.

If you do a science degree at a good univeristy and get a 2.1 or 1st you'll be able to apply for all sorts of graduate programmes that don't require specialist degrees. For example most of my friends who have degrees in Physics/Chemistry/Maths/Engineering etc are applying for jobs in investment banking.
 
Slinwagh said:
Bio chemistry ?
Click to expand...

One of our carpenters here at work has a bio-chemistry degree. According to him, the bio-chem jobs available to him after he graduated were so badly paid that he gave up and went into carpentry instead.

My sister in law (in the US) has a bio-engineering degree......but works as a sports-bar waitress because, with the tips, it pays more than the jobs she could have got in her field.

Please understand that I have no personal experience of that field, or the jobs/salaries, i'm just merely relating the two instances above.
 
i'm a scientist and to be honest - you will not make a lot of money being a scientist unless you are very very lucky.

my advice is for you to not do a science degree - all that will happen is that you will be working for a person who did a mickey mouse degree, knows nothing about science but will tell you what to do and earns a lot more - this is the reality of science in this country - it may change in the future but i doubt it.

if you want to earn money then do law, medicine or get into the financial sector as soon as possible and work your way up.

i work in a university and all the lecturers and professors agree with me - there is no future in science.
 
Only one person has said this so far so it bears repeating..

Uni isnt like school - Seriously, its not! If you dont enjoy your subject, its very unlikely you'll put the work in to do well in it. So choose something you enjoy, and worry about jobs after you've done it.

I started my degree in pure physics, but switched to natural science after a year to get a little more perspective. (I've ended up specialising in two areas, Astrophysics and the Philosophy of Science - who'd have thought!) This is coming from someone who wanted to study Physics at uni since I was about 14.. at least I thought I did. I cant imagine making it past the first year in a subject you didnt enjoy at all.

If you want to talk about money, though..

Dont do economics. Unless Durham's opinion is different to the rest of the world, if you want to get into banking, investments etc then the best degrees are either pure science or maths. Economics just looks like a joke course in comparison. Everyone I've spoken to at uni (staff as well as students) about this over the years have said the same things.

If you want to do science, I can recommend a Natural Science course. It lets you pick an interesting range of modules and keeps your options open. However, there aren't many places that do them (maybe 10 - the ucas site would tell you easily enough) and they generally have higher entry requirements than normal courses. (For example, in Durham the requirement for Physics is AAB, for NatSci it's AAA as theres more demand.)

Hope that helps a little
 
Hmmm, doing a science degree just because you have been told it was yield the highest salary is a somewhat disappointing outlook on a degree, as calnen said, you really should choose a degree which you're interested in, otherwise you may find you won't do quite so well as you should have done. If you like economics, do economics. I notice you will have good A-Levels which show you have a great understanding and, indeed, an interest in the subject.

Personally, if you like both subjects, BioChem could be in your interest or alternatively, like myself either Pharmacology or Neuroscience.
 
Physics is best in my opinion - with a physics degree you can go on to any career a maths or engineering grad can, also IT, business or financial consulting as well as continuing to with pure science. It's a 'fundamental' subject, teaches as about about "how to think" as quantum mechanics so a physics guy can apply themselves to many more areas than many other subjects. I did computational physics masters (so this post is blatantly bias!) and haven't regretted it at all.

Also fewer people are doing physics these days so your skills will be scarcer and therefore more valuable.
 
My brother has just started a Forensic and crime scene science degree, how about something like that?


aardvark said:
there is no future in science
Click to expand...

Thats a pretty crazy thing to say?

What do you think is helping the world move forwards... science...
There are countless things that science has helped and is still helping.
 
It doesn't suprise me that a lot of people don't study science, usually the lessons at high school are boring with hardly any practicals.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom