Re: What do you need to do to become a Biochemist?

Hi Katy,

There are a lot of different ways that people can wind up in a given profession, but science professions like Biochemistry usually require a lot of focused education. I'm glad to see you asking questions like this, because it is good to have an idea of what the stages might be in your career path. When I was going through school, there was no one to clue me in as to what steps lay ahead, and I had to discover the path for myself; sometimes in surprising ways.

So to start, you would go to a college after you graduate from High School and major in a subject like Biochemistry or perhaps something related. In college, you study the basics of your field (in this case Biochemistry) and related fields (for example, Math and Calculus, Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, and Physical-Chemistry) as well as other topics that you might not immediately think you would need to know to be a Biochemist (things English, Logic and Rhetoric, and maybe a second or third language). You would also learn some of the basic lab techniques that Biochemists use in their work, and perhaps get some experience doing Biochemistry experiments.

After graduating from college with some sort of Bachelor's degree, would go to graduate school with the goal of obtaining an advanced degree (a Master's or Doctorate) in Biochemistry. In graduate school you would gain a very advanced understanding of Biochemistry, and (under the guidance of your graduate advisor) would carry out your own research into answering some sort of Biochemical question. You would also likely teach biochemistry to college-level students. In graduate school, you will rely upon all of the things that you learned in college, you will develop new skills for thinking critically about science in general, and Biochemistry in particular, and you will learn about writing grant proposals and publishing your work.

Some people decide that they want to get some experience working in a biochem laboratory after they graduate from college, and before they go to graduate school. If you were to do this, you would get a good understanding of some of the practical aspects and applications of Biochemistry along with the laboratory experience.

Once you have completed your program in graduate school (lets say you earned a Doctoral degree), you might choose to continue your education in the form of a Post-Doctoral Fellowship (post-doc). As a post-doc, you would carry out more independent research, get practical experience writing papers and grant proposals, and perhaps even direct the research of a graduate student or a college-level student. You would also be making contacts and establishing collaborations with other Biochemists around the world (which is why you might want to take a foreign language in college), and you might travel to conferences to talk about your work.

At this point, I would say that you had met your goal of being a Biochemist, but there will be more choices for you to make. Once you complete your post-doc training, you will have to figure out how you want to put your highly-honed Biochemist skills to best use. :) Some people want to be professors, some want to work for private institutes, or companies, or the government. It will be up to you.

Good luck with your report!

Steve Mack