Bioinformatics Career Scope & Job Prospects Analysis
Bioinformatics or computational biology is the use of information technology in the field of molecular biology or applying computer technology to biological research and management. Hereby computers are used to gather, store, analyze and merge biological information.
It is an emerging interdisciplinary research field and is progressively getting used to boost the standard of life. The ultimate goal of bioinformatics is to uncover the knowledge of biological data hidden in the mass and structure of sequence and develop clearer insight into the basic biology of organisms for using this information to reinforce the quality of life for the human race.
It has boundless importance in the present era when we are dealing with molecules in the range of nano to femtometers. The hereditary information of an organism is encoded within the DNA. Genomics, the study of an organism’s entire genome is developed to understand the basic molecule of life which is known as the code of life. DNA is the entity that directly controls the biological makeup of any living organism. Understanding the structure of DNA has created wonderful success over several genetic disorders. It is variations and errors in the genomic DNA
which ultimately outline the probability of developing diseases or resistance to the same disorders.Bioinformatics may have a profound impact in the lab as well as fields, ranging from, agriculture, biotechnology, human health, the environment, energy to advance medical analysis and development. It is getting used currently in the areas of molecular drugs to assist manufacture higher and a lot of customized medicines to prevent or cure diseases, it has environmental benefits in identifying waste cleanup microorganisms and in agriculture, it can be used for manufacturing high yield low maintenance crops. These are just a few of the numerous advantages bioinformatics can offer.
Bioinformatics Career Scope & Job Prospects
The career prospects in the field of bioinformatics have further increased since the merging of information technology has taken place with molecular biology. Job prospects are everywhere ranging from biotechnology, hospitals, pharmaceutical, and biomedical sciences, research institutions till industry. A few specific career areas that fall within the scope of bioinformatics include:
- Bio-analytics
- Clinical pharmacologist
- Computational chemist
- Database design and maintenance
- Proteomics
- Pharmacogenomics
- Pharmacology
- Sequence assembly
- Sequence analysis
- Informatics developer, etc.
Bioinformatics Career Scope & Job prospects have become widespread after the merging of the information technology sector has taken place with that of molecular biology. Job prospects are in all sectors of biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and biomedical sciences, in research institutions, hospitals, and industry.
The work involved in the specific career areas are Characterisation of proteins and their interactions (Proteomics), Comparing genetic data between and within species (Genomics), Drug design utilizing 3-D structure modeling and computational chemistry (Cheminformatics), Genomic analysis in an attempt to find drug targets (Pharmacogenomics), Prediction of the function of genes and proteins based on sequence and structural data, etc.
Bioinformatics Courses Available
A wide range of courses is available in Bioinformatics like :
- B.Sc. Bioinformatics
- B.Sc. Biotechnology and Bioinformatics
- M.Sc Bioinformatics
- B Tech Bioinformatics
- Advance Diploma in Bioinformatics
- Post Graduate Diploma in Bioinformatics
- Advance Post Graduate Diploma in Bioinformatics
- Advanced Bioinformatics (ABI)
- Certificate Course in Bioinformatics
- Diploma in Bioinformatics
- M.S. Bioinformatics
- M.Sc. Biotechnology and Bioinformatics
- M.Tech. Bioinformatics.
Let us take a few highest paying jobs around the globe, which one can apply for after pursuing a degree or course in bioinformatics.
– Postdoctoral Associate: Every Ph. D. student has a dream to pursue at least one postdoc in a developed country where he can find all the necessary facilities and get good publications. There are chances of getting one in countries like China, Korea, UK, USA, in universities which offer payscale in the range of $47,476-$55,308, with minimum qualifications including PhD in the appropriate area of specialization, with some basic knowledge of bioinformatics, computational biology and coding language with good publication records. Of course, one will have to clear other necessary requirements like GRE, TOEFL/IELTS, visa processing as well to get entry into these prestigious institutes. Not only this, certain institutes like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the USA, University of Maryland offer a sign-on bonus, health insurance, and a retirement plan as well. What else one can ask for!!
– Research Associate: It’s not the case that India is not providing sufficient opportunities to its valuable candidates. For those who want to serve their country, staying with their near and dear ones can find ample opportunities in universities, hospitals and research institutes in India as well. Again, a research associate post has minimum eligibility criteria of having a Ph. D. with the requisite experience of the related instruments, with good publications. One can earn at least Rs. 55000/- per month, alongside getting exposure and improving their curriculum vitae.
– Medical coding jobs: Those without a Ph. D. should not get disheartened, as there are numerous opportunities for them as well throughout India. Medical coding jobs require only up to 2 years of experience in the relevant discipline along with a postgraduate degree. These offer a decent salary ranging from INR 2,50,000 – 5,00,000 P.A. alongside handsome incentives. Other benefits include dayshift, food, cabs, etc.
– Assistant professor: For all those, who have completed Ph. D. degrees with utmost care and sincerity, in order to get settled as a Professor and earn huge respect in the society, choices are always open. Best universities throughout India are always offering Assistant Professor-Computational Biology/Bioinformatics. However, along with Ph. D., publications, research expertise, they also need NET/SET qualifications, which you can easily crack taking the support of BioTecNika. As you already know, they have already implemented 7th CPC which offers salaries in the range of Rs. 57,700-1,82,400 per month, depending on qualifications and experience. Not only this, these are government institutions bound by their rules and regulations, so reserved categories are given due consideration.
– Junior Research Fellow: For those who have freshly submitted their M. Sc. thesis and are interested in learning newer techniques related to their field, there are vast choices to become a JRF. The only requirements are 60% marks in their post-graduation. Some institutes, however, demand NET/SET as well. Here, alongside learning new techniques and getting a clear hand, one also gets the chance of earning up to 35000/- per month. Also, this will clear one’s mind to choose from his desires for pursuing the Ph. D. degree.
– Teaching in colleges: One can also take up teaching jobs in public institutions if you have a taste in teaching.
A fresher postgraduate joining a private sector pharmaceutical company is expected to get a salary within the range of Rs. 1,44,000 to Rs. 2,40,000 annually.Similarly, government lab employees can start on Rs. 9,000 along with government allowances.
One can find work in Pharmaceutical and Biotech firms wherever bioinformatics technologies are applied throughout the drug discovery methods. Firms like Accelrys, IBM Life Sciences Pubgene, Reliance, Satyam, Silicon Genetics, TCS, Tessella, Wipro, etc are recruiting bioinformatics candidates because it has made a considerable new market for IT infrastructure.
– Data Scientist- jobs require Talented and dynamic candidates who have completed a PhD or MSc in Bioinformatics, with a keen eye to detail, strong analytical skills, good communication and a desire to work in a team and solve challenging problems. These also demand expertise in languages like UNIX, command line Bioinformatics & Python, past experience in using large bioinformatics data-sets in a variety of formats, familiarity with SQL database and experience in data analysis and visualization. The best part being these are available in developed cities like Pune and Bengaluru, where IT parks are well developed and usually do not require the experience of more than 1-2 years.
– Associate Scientist: This is another highly paid job which requires qualifications like that of a data scientist viz. Masters in Bioinformatics, experience with Python, Hadoop, C, C++, SQL.
Now, don’t get disheartened with programming languages like C, C++, etc. Nowadays, anyone can have that knowledge via short online courses. So, we have seen there are unlimited opportunities in this field. These were only a few of the readily available options. Lot more similar opportunities can be observed and availed. So, have a clear vision, choose the correct path, focus in that direction, and for guidance, BioTecNika is always beside you.
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