Advice on how to proceed (Math/Econ student)?

[Oscillation]

I will try to keep this as short as possible. I used to be a molecular biology student, but during my sophomore year I decided that I was no longer interested in the subject. The reason had nothing to do with the subject, and all to do with the fact that political/economic problems seemed to be much more important to me than molecular problems, given the state the world is in. I dropped out of my university (unforunately I have Fs on my transcript as a result of this) and then enrolled in another university and began to study economics and mathematics. I've now taken advanced courses (including graduate level) in these subjects and studied the academic economics literature extensively (at least, portions of it which are of particular interest to me) in preparation for an Econ PhD program. I have come to the conclusion that economics is pure pseudo-science (which I always knew), and that it will always be that way (which is what I didn't accept initially). Not only that, but I'm convinced that there is no viable way to even build a secure base of economic theory so that economists could ever speak with (non-confused) confidence about anything.

 

That's the preamble. I think that I would like to go into molecular biology, but the problem is that I think it may be too late. I will soon have enough credits at my university for a double degree, and as a result, it seems I've backed myself into a corner with regards to my undergraduate education. Having become well acquainted with academia, I'm aware of the "locally small" nature of research questions that I would actually address in molecular biology. I'm also aware that I would have much broader employment opportunities and chances to be an academic as an Econ PhD. I don't care - even if I can't go to a program that places more than 75% of its graduates in academia I would be okay, so long as I'm doing something I find interesting in science.

 

Is there any way forward for me? I have the first year courses in physics/chemistry/biology and the first semester of organic chemistry and a molecular biology course (went into detail about replication/translation/transcription), but nothing else in natural science. Are there masters programs that can take people with similar backgrounds onto an accelerated track? Preferably are there any good ones in Europe where tuition costs are low? Would having reference letters from math/econ people be the death bed of my application?

 

My research interests were in gene expression and epigenetics, and still are although I have a lot to learn. Any advice is appreciated.

 

Edit: I should probably add more information about myself. I go to a decent undergrad institution (Say Top 50) and have a high  (>3.75) GPA if you don't count my dropped semester and community college classes that I took. I understand if there's no hope for me, but I don't want to go into a field that I don't particularly like without at least figuring out what my prospects are in molecular biology. 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Oscillation

[jougami]

What are your long term goals? I would think getting a master's is doable with the basic biology background you have and your gpa, as long as you can explain your desire to switch fields. In a master's program you could join a lab and do research to see if that's the path you would like to pursue. 

[nenonine123]

If you are still in the middle of deciding what to do, I would highly recommend that you devote at least one summer to doing research in a biology lab before deciding on anything further. Don't worry about your academic background, one of the best part of biology research is that you really don't need much from your undergraduate courses, since whatever textbook knowledge you need will either be taught to you in first year grad courses or you will learn it on the go. I think you should really question yourself about whether this is what you want to do.

On 11/14/2017 at 4:11 PM, Oscillation said:

I have come to the conclusion that economics is pure pseudo-science (which I always knew), and that it will always be that way (which is what I didn't accept initially).

I'm worried after reading this, you are a university senior and you are making such grand claims regarding an area as broad as economics. Please try to keep an open mind, because a mentality like this will cause you a lot of dissatisfaction no matter which field you decide to go into. You don't think there are problems with methodology employed in biomedical research?