Biological & Medical Scientist by Alyssa Galero

One of the reasons why our population is starting to shrink slowly is because of diseases. Do not worry because that is why we have Biological and Medical Scientists! These people are sometimes called Biomedical Scientists as well. They are here trying their best to help find about our world's diseases. They also help find out how and what we can do to help stop these diseases from happening. 

First of all, biological and medical scientists are determined to find the causes of our world's diseases (Austin 2010, 1). They also study the viruses and bacteria that causes these diseases to know how to stop them. They do not only find the causes of diseases, but they also learn about problems in life cycles (Anonymous A 2011, 1).   Normally, Biomedical Scientists would work on diseases our world is facing now, like cancer, AIDS, diabetes, etc. Not only do they investigate diseases, but also blood related topics like blood transfusions, when blood is given to you through an IV, and also screen cervical smears, a smear of cellular material taken from the cervix of the uterus for any signs of cancer (also known as a pap smear) (Duncan, 2010 1).

Biological and Medical Scientists work in various locations, mostly because their research is done outside of their laboratories. For example, a Zoologist would go out into the Savannah or Desert to research on animals located in those areas and their environments. As a usual working day, biological and medical scientists gather up and research on the disease topic. They research on the causes and effects of their topic disease and discuss them as a group. Biological Scientists and Medical Scientists work in a "Research - Development" pattern (Anonymous A 2011, 2).

If you want to be prepared to be a Biological and Medical scientist you should take courses like biology and chemistry. You should also take mathematics, computer sciences, and physics because undergraduate majors of sciences study those as well. People who want to major in environmental sciences would take classes that benefit that major, so they would take environmental sciences and current legislation & regulations (Anonymous A, [6]). You not only have to be an academically prepared scientist, but also an effective scientist. To help with this you have to be able to accomplish tasks no matter how hard they are. You also must also know why an illness has been in effect and know how to help treat it. You must have a Master's Degree. But if you have a PhD you can have a more effective job (Fuller, 2011 2, 3, 6).

Most colleges provide training that can help this major, especially the UC's (Dixon 2011, 1, 2). For example, the University of California Irvine has classes for this major. The annual total cost for this college is roughly about $13,000 if you live in California. If you live outside of the state, then it would be about $36,000 (Anonymous C 2011, 1). If you were to go to a more popular college like Stanford then the cost for one year there would be around $40,000. It wouldn't matter if you lived in or out of the state because it would be the same (Anonymous D 2011, 1).


The salary of a biological and medical scientist is a sparingly decent amount for someone who were to live in a small family. The average salary for a Medical Scientist in 2010 was around $84,000 a year (Austin 2011, 4).  Depending on where you worked, the salaries might have changed. For example, if a medical scientist worked in a pharmacy company, then they would probably be getting about $88,000. However, for a medical scientist that worked in a hospital, they would probably be getting about $74,000. The lowest a biomedical scientist could earn is roughly less than $42,000 annually. The highest and most experienced workers would get more than $143,000 yearly (Page 2011, 1). Biological Scientist however, make a lower wage than Medical Scientists. As an average of all Biological Scientists, they make about $35.75 an hour. Their lowest wage will be at about $19 an hour, and their highest at around $53 an hour (Locsin 2011, 1, 2, 3, 4).

The outlook for this job are very good considering the fact that the medical field is very large. It has been said that this particular job will grow at most 40% in the decade of 2008 through 2018. The reason why this profession will grow is because the Biotechnology Industry is said to be expanding as well causing the medical field to expand. In the future, Biomedical Scientists should get these high salaries because of their service (Huds 2011, 5).

Biological and Medical Scientists have had some new technologies for the past few years, but they are still very high tech. They work with computers and microscopes for visual evaluations. They also work with automated equipment and other hi-tech instruments for their research and observations (Duncan, 2010, 2). Other than that, the rest of the procedures and strategies have stayed the same.

The occupation of a Biological and Medical Scientist would be a great job for people who are willing to help find the causes of diseases and probably even help cure some diseases. If you are a person who is also trying to get away from the Nurse, Doctor, or Surgeon job, but still wanting to be in the medical field, then maybe this is a job for you. Because of these people who are here to help research with diseases, everyday we are learning how to be a cleaner, healthier, and "disease - free" environment.

After this research on this particular occupation, there have been quite a lot of pros for me if I wanted to be a Biological and Medical Scientist. One of the pro's is that Biological and Medical Scientists get payed a sparingly good amount of money. Another pro for me is that if I can't be able to be a Nurse or Doctor for my future job because of any reason, I can go switch to learning majors that are toward this occupation. The third pro of this occupation for me is that almost every college has majors that can help with this occupation. Another pro is that if I work as a Biological and Medical Scientist I can help save lives with our information, and I like to help people in every way possible. People say that a Biomedical Scientist can be a good job for people who are normally quiet and shy. I am normally that kind of person so maybe this occupation will be a suitable career for me.  A different pro is that if I were to work as a Biomedical Scientist I would still be working in the medical field just like most of my family. Another pro is that maybe one day if I'm experienced enough, I will be one of the people finding the cure for one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. 

Not only has there been pros for me, but there have been many cons as well. One example of a con for me is that the price for going to college is quite expensive if I want to go to a good college. The reason they have a more expensive education is because they have to work in laboratories for their education since their career is mostly taking place inside a laboratory. Another con is that I don't have the personality of being an effective Biomedical Scientist. I am usually a very unorganized person so maybe this job might be a challenging career for me unless I get my act up and start being organized. A third con for me is that maybe my family members would be disappointed in me. Most of my family members usually tell me to be a Doctor or a Nurse because they think it is the best job. Another con for me is that I am not very good with technology, and probably will never be good with technology. A fifth con for this occupation is that I could be physically harmed during research. If I work as a Biological and Medical Scientist, I will most likely be exposed to harmful diseases and / or substances involving with research. If that is part of being a Biomedical Scientist then the risk of becoming sick will be higher. The last con for me is that I have heard that being a Biological and Medical Scientist can be a very stressful job. I usually accept those kind of jobs, but I do not like being in a lot of stress.

1. Anonymous A. 2011.  Biological and Medical Scientists Career Information.
http://www.schoolsoup.com/careers/career_info.php?career_id=43

2. Anonymous C, 2011. University of California: Irvine Cost and Financial Aid.
http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3887&profileId=2

3. Anonymous D. 2011.  Stanford University Cost and Financial Aid.
http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=3387&profileId=2

4. Austin. 2011.  Biomedical Science Job Description.
http://www.gambassa.com/Projects/StepsShow.aspx?projectiid=751

5. Dixon. 2011.  PhD Programs in Biological Sciences.
http://www.ehow.com/list_6586140_phd-programs-biological-sciences.html#ixzz1fXR9q4dr

6. Duncan, 2010. Biomedical Scientist: Job Description.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/biomedical_scientist_job_description.htm

7. Fuller, 2011. The Skills Needed to Be a Biomedical Scientist.
http://www.ehow.com/info_8479620_skills-needed-biomedical-scientist.html#ixzz1fXLNUWLO

8. Huds, 2011. The Average Salary of Biomedical Scientists.
http://www.ehow.com/info_7862015_average-salary-biomedical-scientists.html

9. Locsin, 2011. The Average Salary of a Biological Scientist.
http://www.ehow.com/info_7756490_average-salary-biological-scientist.html

10. Page, 2011. Biomedical Science Salaries.
http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8529441_biomedical-science-salaries.html