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Confusion between biochemistry, biomedical, neurological science and others
confused with: pay, employability, most fun, normal job sequence, what it consists off, and reputation of these courses and any other highly paid courses consisting of biology and chemistry only. The best universities for each course. Thankss 
Medicine? Guaranteed job
Biomed - job market is saturated I.e there are lots of biomed grads but not enough lab jobs in the nhs - you might have to go to a private lab
Also with biomed a placement year/sandwich year is highly highly recommended.
Job progression is you become a biomed scientist most likely. NHS scientist training programme is v competitive btw. Also make sure your course is accredited by the IBMS or whatever it's called. If it's not you might find yourself having to take extra modules once you've graduated.
Ever considered pharmacy?
Biomed - job market is saturated I.e there are lots of biomed grads but not enough lab jobs in the nhs - you might have to go to a private lab
Also with biomed a placement year/sandwich year is highly highly recommended.
Job progression is you become a biomed scientist most likely. NHS scientist training programme is v competitive btw. Also make sure your course is accredited by the IBMS or whatever it's called. If it's not you might find yourself having to take extra modules once you've graduated.
Ever considered pharmacy?
(edited 8 years ago)
I'll answer your question, but go do your own work and research it yourself ffs. They're very different degrees, and if you dont know the difference you haven't looked into it enough yet to be considering places to go study it. With that attitude, you won't hack any biochemistry / biomedical course, you aren't spoon fed. Its damn hard.
Anyway, to save the multiple down votes i'll shove you in the right direction atleast.
Biomed / biochem and neuroscience are all very respected courses. People will ask you what you study, you'll tell them biomed, and they'll go, oh jheeze that must be well tough. So you get the point.
Biomed = the research behind medicine. The people who conduct the cures for HIV and cancer and pretty much every other drug you can think of. Microbiologists, immunologists, haematologists, toxicologists, virologists, clinical biochemists are all potential careers directly relating to biomed. Aside from this its a well respected degree, and you learn many different transferable skills, maths, essay writing, statistical analysis. Significantly more biology than chemistry.
Biochem = similar to biomed, but with a more chemical basis. Less based on medical microbiology and immunology, more based on enzymes and how structure and function of proteins and the properties of amino acids give rise to how enzymes within the body actually perform their functions. Heavily based around clinical biochemistry, glycolysis, enzyme interactions, amino acids, lipids, also can encompass developmental biology in some unis too.
Neuroscience = study of the brain. Cross between psychology, developmental biology, and neurology. Can't say much more as I don't study it, and only know a few people who do. Less based on chemistry, more based on the psychology aspect of biology. Cognitive psychology, biological psychology etcetcetcetc. If you like psychology, but want to do a more well respected course with a more clinical scientific aspect, do neuroscience.
Other options include genetics, which is pretty self explanatory, straight biology, (if you get off on bugs / plants/ trees / photosynthesis / evolution its for you), and straight chemistry, which in my opinion would be suicide inducing, but hey ho if you love atomic chemistry, and chemistry A level and want more of that, bonding etc go for that. Both biology and chemistry are significantly less clinical. So if you want to do med, do biochem / biomed.
If you want a **** tonne of money though, dont go into science. Go into corporate banking / accountancy. Its less job satisfaction but you'll be paid more, work in a fancy office probably doing the same thing every day. But everyones outlook on what they want is different.
I go Sussex and love it. Don't go on league tables alone, i know people who did and then lived to strongly regret it. You probably won't take this advice, no one on TSR ever does. All people on here care about is oxbridge and russell group. But hey, go look at unis you like, then make your own decision.
Anyway, to save the multiple down votes i'll shove you in the right direction atleast.
Biomed / biochem and neuroscience are all very respected courses. People will ask you what you study, you'll tell them biomed, and they'll go, oh jheeze that must be well tough. So you get the point.
Biomed = the research behind medicine. The people who conduct the cures for HIV and cancer and pretty much every other drug you can think of. Microbiologists, immunologists, haematologists, toxicologists, virologists, clinical biochemists are all potential careers directly relating to biomed. Aside from this its a well respected degree, and you learn many different transferable skills, maths, essay writing, statistical analysis. Significantly more biology than chemistry.
Biochem = similar to biomed, but with a more chemical basis. Less based on medical microbiology and immunology, more based on enzymes and how structure and function of proteins and the properties of amino acids give rise to how enzymes within the body actually perform their functions. Heavily based around clinical biochemistry, glycolysis, enzyme interactions, amino acids, lipids, also can encompass developmental biology in some unis too.
Neuroscience = study of the brain. Cross between psychology, developmental biology, and neurology. Can't say much more as I don't study it, and only know a few people who do. Less based on chemistry, more based on the psychology aspect of biology. Cognitive psychology, biological psychology etcetcetcetc. If you like psychology, but want to do a more well respected course with a more clinical scientific aspect, do neuroscience.
Other options include genetics, which is pretty self explanatory, straight biology, (if you get off on bugs / plants/ trees / photosynthesis / evolution its for you), and straight chemistry, which in my opinion would be suicide inducing, but hey ho if you love atomic chemistry, and chemistry A level and want more of that, bonding etc go for that. Both biology and chemistry are significantly less clinical. So if you want to do med, do biochem / biomed.
If you want a **** tonne of money though, dont go into science. Go into corporate banking / accountancy. Its less job satisfaction but you'll be paid more, work in a fancy office probably doing the same thing every day. But everyones outlook on what they want is different.
I go Sussex and love it. Don't go on league tables alone, i know people who did and then lived to strongly regret it. You probably won't take this advice, no one on TSR ever does. All people on here care about is oxbridge and russell group. But hey, go look at unis you like, then make your own decision.
Original post by Brownclown
Medicine? Guaranteed job
Biomed - job market is saturated I.e there are lots of biomed grads but not enough lab jobs in the nhs - you might have to go to a private lab
Also with biomed a placement year/sandwich year is highly highly recommended.
Job progression is you become a biomed scientist most likely. NHS scientist training programme is v competitive btw. Also make sure your course is accredited by the IBMS or whatever it's called. If it's not you might find yourself having to take extra modules once you've graduated.
Ever considered pharmacy?
Biomed - job market is saturated I.e there are lots of biomed grads but not enough lab jobs in the nhs - you might have to go to a private lab
Also with biomed a placement year/sandwich year is highly highly recommended.
Job progression is you become a biomed scientist most likely. NHS scientist training programme is v competitive btw. Also make sure your course is accredited by the IBMS or whatever it's called. If it's not you might find yourself having to take extra modules once you've graduated.
Ever considered pharmacy?
The sandwich year is a very good idea too! As is pharmacy.
The only thing i'd question here is the IBMS accreditation.
It severely constricts what you can actually learn on your syllabus, and means the course you take is very lab heavy. It essentially pushes you into a career as a lab worker in a hospital. Thats fine if you want to do that, infact id recommend it, however if you want to go into actual medical research, you would be significantly better off not bothering with the IBMS accreditation. Not only will it open up the unis you can apply to, it will make your course a damn site more interesting when you're not learning how to stain cells and have modules dedicated to microscopy.
[QUOTE=King Boo;56650759]The sandwich year is a very good idea too! As is pharmacy.
The only thing i'd question here is the IBMS accreditation.
It severely constricts what you can actually learn on your syllabus, and means the course you take is very lab heavy. It essentially pushes you into a career as a lab worker in a hospital. Thats fine if you want to do that, infact id recommend it, however if you want to go into actual medical research, you would be significantly better off not bothering with the IBMS accreditation. Not only will it open up the unis you can apply to, it will make your course a damn site more interesting when you're not learning how to stain cells and have modules dedicated to microscopy.
Yh I agree with you actually - it's probably why quite a few good unis aren't accredited because it's so restrictive. I was just pointing out to OP that if they did want to be a scientist as opposed to the researcher than an accredited course saves them a bit of time and extra study.
Are you a biomed student? I might do biomed if I don't get the grades for medicine
The only thing i'd question here is the IBMS accreditation.
It severely constricts what you can actually learn on your syllabus, and means the course you take is very lab heavy. It essentially pushes you into a career as a lab worker in a hospital. Thats fine if you want to do that, infact id recommend it, however if you want to go into actual medical research, you would be significantly better off not bothering with the IBMS accreditation. Not only will it open up the unis you can apply to, it will make your course a damn site more interesting when you're not learning how to stain cells and have modules dedicated to microscopy.
Yh I agree with you actually - it's probably why quite a few good unis aren't accredited because it's so restrictive. I was just pointing out to OP that if they did want to be a scientist as opposed to the researcher than an accredited course saves them a bit of time and extra study.
Are you a biomed student? I might do biomed if I don't get the grades for medicine
Original post by Brownclown
Yh I agree with you actually - it's probably why quite a few good unis aren't accredited because it's so restrictive. I was just pointing out to OP that if they did want to be a scientist as opposed to the researcher than an accredited course saves them a bit of time and extra study.
Are you a biomed student? I might do biomed if I don't get the grades for medicine
Are you a biomed student? I might do biomed if I don't get the grades for medicine
Yeah I do biomed, and absolutely love it, but then I have an interest in microbiology / virology / immunology. I originally applied for med, but as I got close to the interview I decided to cancel and swap my application across because I realised that medicine is the most over rated pile of **** out there, and it was the best decision I ever made.
So whilst I'm learning about HIV, AIDS, staph, polio, pseudomonas, which is actually interesting, my friends on med are crammed under with 3000 word essays on the topics like, "Write about the challenges of treating a patient that does not speak the language you are speaking", or, "Describe the life of a raison as it travels through the body" That combined with terrible hours, a miserable work load, mediocre pay, and a life full of exams and learning, fully turned me off of it.
The hypocrisy of these universities is they demand work experience, but obviously 90% of their applicants will be under 18 when they are applying, with no prior medical qualifications, so their work experience will have involved entertaining old people in care homes to learn about 'empathy', or sitting in a Drs surgery listening to how people have thrush / rashes, and will they be left out of any intimate examinations because they are under 18 and unqualified / uncertified. So they won't see the real side of medicine, so it makes the whole process an exercise in pointlessness imho as they dont get exposed to what medicines about. Hard, unrelenting, stressful work.
(edited 8 years ago)
[QUOTE=King Boo;56651453]Yeah I do biomed, and absolutely love it, but then I have an interest in microbiology / virology / immunology. I originally applied for med, but as I got close to the interview I decided to cancel and swap my application across because I realised that medicine is the most over rated pile of **** out there, and it was the best decision I ever made.
So whilst I'm learning about HIV, AIDS, staph, polio, pseudomonas, which is actually interesting, my friends on med are crammed under with 3000 word essays on the topics like, "Write about the challenges of treating a patient that does not speak the language you are speaking", or, "Describe the life of a raison as it travels through the body" That combined with terrible hours, a miserable work load, mediocre pay, and a life full of exams and learning, fully turned me off of it.
The hypocrisy of these universities is they demand work experience, but obviously 90% of their applicants will be under 18 when they are applying, with no prior medical qualifications, so their work experience will have involved entertaining old people in care homes to learn about 'empathy', or sitting in a Drs surgery listening to how people have thrush / rashes, and will they be left out of any intimate examinations because they are under 18 and unqualified / uncertified. So they won't see the real side of medicine, so it makes the whole process an exercise in pointlessness imho as they dont get exposed to what medicines about. Hard, unrelenting, stressful work.
I was actually fortunate enough to see some pretty cool surgeries during my work experience including renal transplant surgery. I also spent time on the haematology ward and saw first hand the devastating disease of leukaemia on patients. It was really interesting and spurred me to do mediicne. Not once did I go to a care home and I only helped out a disability school for like 5 hours aha
I agree the pay is mediocre, but biomeds not exactly swimming in cash is? Tbh I would do biomed as my backup to medicine, but I'd never actually pursue a career in it. I'd use it as a stepping stone for graduate entry medicine or a graduate job in consulting.
So whilst I'm learning about HIV, AIDS, staph, polio, pseudomonas, which is actually interesting, my friends on med are crammed under with 3000 word essays on the topics like, "Write about the challenges of treating a patient that does not speak the language you are speaking", or, "Describe the life of a raison as it travels through the body" That combined with terrible hours, a miserable work load, mediocre pay, and a life full of exams and learning, fully turned me off of it.
The hypocrisy of these universities is they demand work experience, but obviously 90% of their applicants will be under 18 when they are applying, with no prior medical qualifications, so their work experience will have involved entertaining old people in care homes to learn about 'empathy', or sitting in a Drs surgery listening to how people have thrush / rashes, and will they be left out of any intimate examinations because they are under 18 and unqualified / uncertified. So they won't see the real side of medicine, so it makes the whole process an exercise in pointlessness imho as they dont get exposed to what medicines about. Hard, unrelenting, stressful work.
I was actually fortunate enough to see some pretty cool surgeries during my work experience including renal transplant surgery. I also spent time on the haematology ward and saw first hand the devastating disease of leukaemia on patients. It was really interesting and spurred me to do mediicne. Not once did I go to a care home and I only helped out a disability school for like 5 hours aha
I agree the pay is mediocre, but biomeds not exactly swimming in cash is? Tbh I would do biomed as my backup to medicine, but I'd never actually pursue a career in it. I'd use it as a stepping stone for graduate entry medicine or a graduate job in consulting.
Original post by Brownclown
I was actually fortunate enough to see some pretty cool surgeries during my work experience including renal transplant surgery. I also spent time on the haematology ward and saw first hand the devastating disease of leukaemia on patients. It was really interesting and spurred me to do mediicne. Not once did I go to a care home and I only helped out a disability school for like 5 hours aha
I agree the pay is mediocre, but biomeds not exactly swimming in cash is? Tbh I would do biomed as my backup to medicine, but I'd never actually pursue a career in it. I'd use it as a stepping stone for graduate entry medicine or a graduate job in consulting.
I agree the pay is mediocre, but biomeds not exactly swimming in cash is? Tbh I would do biomed as my backup to medicine, but I'd never actually pursue a career in it. I'd use it as a stepping stone for graduate entry medicine or a graduate job in consulting.
Believe me you're in the minority for your work experience there.
The difference is the lifestyle that accompanies the two professions. Neither are exactly rolling in cash, but considering the easier lifestyle of research science compared to medicine, the pay should be significantly more of a wide gap. Especially considering the extensive training doctors have to go through. I agree though, consultancy or big pharma are the ways to go for money in biomed atm. Thankfully for biomed, with the advent of bacterial antibiotic resistance within 25 years the field is drastically expanding as governments are realising the advent of a bacterial apocalypse. So epidemiology / micro is a big field to be in atm.
[QUOTE=King Boo;56651935]Believe me you're in the minority for your work experience there.
The difference is the lifestyle that accompanies the two professions. Neither are exactly rolling in cash, but considering the easier lifestyle of research science compared to medicine, the pay should be significantly more of a wide gap. Especially considering the extensive training doctors have to go through. I agree though, consultancy or big pharma are the ways to go for money in biomed atm. Thankfully for biomed, with the advent of bacterial antibiotic resistance within 25 years the field is drastically expanding as governments are realising the advent of a bacterial apocalypse. So epidemiology / micro is a big field to be in atm.
If I was on the forefront of cutting edge research - like treating cancer and diseases, then I'd enjoy that very much. But don't you need a phd to get into the senior scientist positions where all the interesting stuff happens?
The difference is the lifestyle that accompanies the two professions. Neither are exactly rolling in cash, but considering the easier lifestyle of research science compared to medicine, the pay should be significantly more of a wide gap. Especially considering the extensive training doctors have to go through. I agree though, consultancy or big pharma are the ways to go for money in biomed atm. Thankfully for biomed, with the advent of bacterial antibiotic resistance within 25 years the field is drastically expanding as governments are realising the advent of a bacterial apocalypse. So epidemiology / micro is a big field to be in atm.
If I was on the forefront of cutting edge research - like treating cancer and diseases, then I'd enjoy that very much. But don't you need a phd to get into the senior scientist positions where all the interesting stuff happens?
Original post by Brownclown
If I was on the forefront of cutting edge research - like treating cancer and diseases, then I'd enjoy that very much. But don't you need a phd to get into the senior scientist positions where all the interesting stuff happens?
you need a phD to run and set up your own lab, to be involved with it you dont. Ontop, you can work towards your phD whilst doing the research, so you're paid at the same time which is the most common case scenario.
Original post by Hellper
confused with: pay, employability, most fun, normal job sequence, what it consists off, and reputation of these courses and any other highly paid courses consisting of biology and chemistry only. The best universities for each course. Thankss
They're generally pretty similar and often have a lot of cross over modules. Neurological siences is obviously more specialised as it's largely based on the brain and neuro-systems whereas the others are more general.
Pharmacy and pharmacology are very bio/chem orientated and also well paid. There's also the obvious medicine or dentistry or even vetinary.
I know Queen's Belfast is the best in the UK for pharmacy.
[QUOTE=King Boo;56652131]you need a phD to run and set up your own lab, to be involved with it you dont. Ontop, you can work towards your phD whilst doing the research, so you're paid at the same time which is the most common case scenario.
What is the pay scale like? I know Some biomed scientists have the NHS banding
What is the pay scale like? I know Some biomed scientists have the NHS banding
ayt, this what ive understood, please tell where if i am wrong. Biochemistry and biomed is quite similar. Bio chem overlaps with biomed, but biomed doesn't overlap with biochem.. If u know what i mean.. Pay of both jobs very similar or is biochem paid more than biomed. Biomed is more of the people who are wanting to dp graduate entry medicine with good gcses. Biochemistry has a high rate of employability. To gain more money, i could work in some industry's.. (Need some examples ) than working with the NHS. And btw, would i be able to chemical engineering with a bsc or msc biochemistry without alevel maths?
Idk why people always say Biomed is the best backup for medicine, so is Biochem or even Medical Biochem. Also if you wanna do a masters/PhD which involves or needs a chem basis than Biochem is more useful. Also it may offer better job prospects. And Biochem can have a chem or bio approach to it depending on the uni. I decided between Biomed and Biochem. Choosing Biochem I wasn't sure if it'd be too much chem but I really liked my 1st year at Bath uni
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