Careers in Biotechnology

Careers in Biotechnology, by Gina Frierman-Hunt and Julie Solberg, is a comprehensive guide to careers in the biotech field.

Bio-Link provided assistance in developing this book.

Designed as a guide for school counselors, the guide covers the types of jobs in biotech, the qualifications needed for those jobs, community college training programs, and gives some advice on job searching.

There are profiles of the top ten states with the number of companies and biotech (or bioscience) employees in each one. 

Each area includes a description of the jobs and the skills needed for that position.  There are also tables showing the degree requirements for each type of position.

Each of the job descriptions includes an estimate of entry-level wages and the salary that a more experienced person might earn. Some of the salary information seemed a little outof date.  If a publication date would have been included in the book, it would have helped put the information in context.

Instructors from an academic background will find the job titles helpful, since industry job titles can differ from those found in academia.  Boxes listing "other job titles" are a helpful feature.

Curriculum developers will find the book to be a good introduction.  Most of the specifics in terms of skills and knowldege are too vague to be useful for a community biotech instructor,  but these lists are well-suited for the book's intended audience of guidance counselors and high school students.