Biostats career with non-biostats Masters

[bioburt]

I just got a masters degree in biotechnology and I'm kind of wishing I would have gotten a degree in biostatistics.  I have a fair amount of applied statistics experience from 6 years of work in the molecular diagnostics field.  I have a six sigma black belt.  I can use GUI statistical packages like minitab and statistica and I'm learning R.  I don't have the math and theory background that I'm pretty sure a biostats masters would provide.  Would my masters degree in biotechnology and my work experience be enough to make me competitive for a biostatistician position when I'm going to have to go up against full biostatistician masters?  

[Igotnothin]

Hi there,

 

I think it would be hard to compete with other applicants trained in biostats. They went through a 2-year program dedicated specifically to preparing them for industry, so they will know the software (one or more of SAS, SPSS, Stata, R), know how and why certain statistical tests should be used, understand the assumptions of the tests, the correct interpretation of statistical models, etc.

 

But you never know. If you see some job postings, maybe ones that are not labeled "biostatistician" but that require applied stats and interest you, you could send out some e-mails to see if you have a chance.

 

Good luck!