i just got my bs in bio and now i'm lost!

[Alangh08]

Hi, i just got my BS in Biology. I have to work to help my brothers and mother during my time working towards my degree. Unfortunately because of this i got a 3.2 gpa. This gpa really doesnt represent me, i was on top of the class and on occations even helped out people with higher gpas than me. The reason i got that was because i didnt have the time other students had, due to family problems and work. Other students just had it so much easier than me. Anyways, i need to do something with my degree, i really want to continue studying, i desire enetring into Physician assistant or physical therapy or something in the medical/ health field. I never prepared for this. When i started i wanted to continue doing research and lab work but i realized its not for me, i want to be on the medical field. I still love science tho. Im lost and i need to get a career to help me and my family! Took me 6 years to get this bs in biology, including an associates in science, i dont want to just throw it away! There are no jobs with this degree at my region btw. I have a lot of potential, i should be continuing my education! i defenitely have what it takes. I really love helping people and science. What can i do someone guide me! Im starting to get some depression...

Edited June 24, 2016 by Alangh08
addition

[juilletmercredi]

If you don't know what you want to do, you can't rush into a graduate degree. You need to devote the time to this to figure out what you want to do. It's great that you have it narrowed down to 'medical/health field', but there are lots of careers in that field.

Many jobs out there don't require a specific kind of degree. Some jobs will ask for one, but they'll hire a competent person who has the skills but not the major. What about healthcare administration? Surely there are hospitals, clinics, and doctor's offices where you live; look for some entry-level jobs in that field. You need an income and some work experience while you figure out what you want to do. That way you go into the right program. You don't want to spend 3 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get your DPT only to realize 2 years into your career that what you really wanted was...something else.

So my first piece of advice is that if you don't know what to do, renew that job search and work for a while.

The other thing you'll need to do is start getting the experience that you need to get into programs. Those are both programs that like to see some experience. PA programs usually require applicants to have between 500-1000 hours of direct clinical care experience (usually gained as an EMT, CNA, or nurse), but realistically speaking the most competitive applicants typically have between 2,000 and 4,000 hours, which is the equivalent of 1-2 years of full-time work in that area. Physical therapist programs usually require that you have experience shadowing a PT or OT, and at least one recommendation letter from a PT who can speak to your potential in the field. I chatted with a PT student at Columbia one time and she told me that she and a lot of her classmates had a BS in biology, but then went back to school and got an associate's degree to become a PT assistant, worked at that for a few years, and then applied to PT school. Because these fields are competitive, and especially because the PA degree always designed for mid-career health professionals to transition to a higher level of work, they look for experience as a distinguishing characteristic.

A first step, then, would be to get a credential that you'll need to get the experience. Becoming a PTA would be advantageous for both PT school and PA school (it'll give you the direct patient experience you need in either program). But of course, that's another two years full-time, and more if you go part-time. Becoming an EMT or a CNA is a much shorter course of study, but the pay's a lot lower. You may also need more years of experience because your GPA is lowish for professional health programs.

There are other options in medical care - both direct patient care and non. In the direct area, you could always stop at PTA or OTA - they make decent salaries and do direct clinical care. There's also the option of getting your bachelor's in nursing (BSN) and becoming a nurse. There are a lot of accelerated BSN programs that allow you to earn your BSN in a year to a year and a half; there are also direct entry MSN programs that allow you to get an RN/BSN and an MSN in 2.5-3 years. The nursing experience can help with getting into a PT program, but can also lead to a career as an RN or as a nurse practitioner, both of which have good salaries and flexibility. NPs also have a wide area of practice - they do primary care.

For some non-traditional takes on patient care, there are lots of options: medical physics, genetic counseling, respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, diagnostic sonographer, hospital social worker, licensed clinical social worker, hospital epidemiologist, registered dietitian, speech-language pathology, optometrist. With the exception of medical physics, these are all things you could do without much further prerequisite coursework - you'd have to get a further degree to do all of them, though (an MS in all of them except for diagnostic sonographer, which is usually a two-year ASN program, and optometrist, which is a four-year program leading to an OD). With medical physics you'd have to take at least 5-7 undergrad classes in physics to prepare, and then get an MS.

Check out this website: http://explorehealthcareers.org/en/careers/careers which will give you an idea of the careers available in health/medical care.

[Quantum Buckyball]

On 6/24/2016 at 6:19 AM, Alangh08 said:

Hi, i just got my BS in Biology. I have to work to help my brothers and mother during my time working towards my degree. Unfortunately because of this i got a 3.2 gpa. This gpa really doesnt represent me, i was on top of the class and on occations even helped out people with higher gpas than me. The reason i got that was because i didnt have the time other students had, due to family problems and work. Other students just had it so much easier than me. Anyways, i need to do something with my degree, i really want to continue studying, i desire enetring into Physician assistant or physical therapy or something in the medical/ health field. I never prepared for this. When i started i wanted to continue doing research and lab work but i realized its not for me, i want to be on the medical field. I still love science tho. Im lost and i need to get a career to help me and my family! Took me 6 years to get this bs in biology, including an associates in science, i dont want to just throw it away! There are no jobs with this degree at my region btw. I have a lot of potential, i should be continuing my education! i defenitely have what it takes. I really love helping people and science. What can i do someone guide me! Im starting to get some depression...

nursing