• Question from:Sam Kent

I'm at university in the UK and currently a 1st year biochemist. However, I have come to realise that I don't enjoy the chemistry side that much and would like to focus more on the biological side of the human body. After this year I will have the choice to change my degree pathway and opt into doing other life science courses.

The problem is that I am really unsure whether to stick with biochemistry, or transfer to do molecular biology and genetics. My passion is studying about cells, DNA, proteins, bacteria, microbes and especially viruses.

My university does not offer a microbiology degree so I can't choose that route (but I heard the pay is not great as a career). Instead, the biotechnology and molecular biology and genetics focus on the microbe part. My other is issue is that I am afraid of limiting myself later on in life when I choose a career. I heard that biochemists get paid more.

I would really like experts to help me out here.

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  • Barts and the London, London
  • Posts: 268

Hello Sam,

I was in a similar position a few years ago. I was a biochemist at York and realised at the end of my first year that I was not happy doing the amount of chemistry that we had to do as biochemists. However, at York the amount of pure chemistry drastically reduced in my second year as we started doing more biologically relevant chemistry to do with enzyme reactions, protein-protein interactions and the like.

I didn't end up switching in the end because in my final year I was allowed free choice of modules and so got to do things like immunology, epigenetics, virology and cancer biology.

In the long run I found that being a biochemist does increase your attractiveness to employers both in academia and industry because we have the best of both worlds. Can't comment on the pay though. My PhD project is mostly molecular biology and as a biochemist I'm very comfortable with my work and don't feel like I'm at a disadvantage. 

I think doing a degree in biotechnology or genetics can limit you in that employers may label you and hence may not appreciate the broad range of skills you may actually have.  With a degree in molecular biology again employers may just assume that you don't have biochemical skills or knowledge. Degrees in biochemistry are taught differently across universities in the UK so employers may not label you and hence may take a real good look at what skills and knowledge you actually have.

Just my two pence worth!