MadSci Network: Genetics
Query:

Re: What is the levels of genetists and what does each job consist of?

Date: Tue Apr 29 20:57:31 2008
Posted By: Alex Brands, Post-doc/Fellow, Biological ciences, Lehigh University
Area of science: Genetics
ID: 1208827632.Ge
Message:

Hi Erin,

First, the word you are looking for is Geneticist.

Someone who winds up as head of a biology research lab probably went through the following 
steps:

Got a college degree in biology or perhaps a field within biology (eg genetics, zoology, molecular 
biology).  They may have worked in a lab during college for class credit.  Some people work as a 
lab technician for a year or two before going to graduate school. Otherwise, they would go 
directly to graduate school to get a PhD (doctoral degree).  In biology, people who get a PhD 
usually do not get a masters degree along the way, they just go straight to a PhD.  At this level, 
the student must devise and complete a project that fits within the research area of the lab they 
are working in, which is run by a professor.

After that, they would probably get a position as a post-doctoral fellow (postdoc) in a university 
research lab.  A postdoc is more independent than a graduate student, and their project may not 
fit in as closely with the rest of the lab.  At this level, they are trying to establish themselves as an 
independent researcher, and also trying to build the foundations of a long term research project 
that they can use to establish their own lab.  

Sometimes a post-doctoral position is in an industrial research lab, that is, in a company that 
does research. 
In this case, their project fits within the company’s goal of creating some product or service that 
can be sold.  

From there they would either get a job as an assistant professor at a university, or get a job as a 
researcher/scientist at a company.  (Getting a job as an assistant professor directly after working 
as a postdoc in a company is tricky:  the company may be reluctant to let their employee bring 
your project with you to the university).  If the character in your story is really exceptional, they 
may skip the post-doctoral step, and get a job as assistant professor straight out of graduate 
school, but this is unusual.

If they go the university route, their first promotion would be to the level of associate professor, 
then to full professor.

I am not as familiar with all the levels in a company.  A new hire is simply called a Scientist, but 
big shots who are running labs are sometimes called “group leaders”.

Alex Brands
Lehigh University


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