Biochemistry BSci

good.egg

4

Hello!!
I was wondering how people found/find biochemistry or biochemistry and molecular medicine at university.

Reply 1

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

15

Original post by good.egg

Hello!!
I was wondering how people found/find biochemistry or biochemistry and molecular medicine at university.

Hi good.egg,
My name is Sofia and I am a 3rd Year Biochemistry student at the University of Sheffield. I have really enjoyed my time studying biochemistry, which is such an interesting field. During my studies I have had the opportunity to advance my knowledge in a range of different areas such as genetics, microbiology, cell biology and pharmacology etc.. I have also developed my lab skills through regular lab sessions throughout my degree. I would highly recommend studying biochemistry, looking back I wouldn't want to have studied anything else! Please don't hesitate to ask me any other questions you may have.
Hope this helps,
Sofia :smile:

Reply 2

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

17

Original post by good.egg

Hello!!
I was wondering how people found/find biochemistry or biochemistry and molecular medicine at university.

Hi @good.egg

I'm a third year biochemistry student, and I'm on placement at a biotechnology company working in drug discovery. I've loved my course so far, it's all the parts of biology that I find interesting. If you are considering biochemistry I'd recommend looking carefully at the modules offered at each university you are considering because different courses will have different compulsory/optional modules. I didn't really want to do much "larger" human biology (some degrees have a bit more broad biological focusses despite being all called "biochemistry") so I picked my specific course because I could tailor the modules to better suit my interests!

Rebecca (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

good.egg

OP

4

Original post by University of Sheffield Students

Hi good.egg,
My name is Sofia and I am a 3rd Year Biochemistry student at the University of Sheffield. I have really enjoyed my time studying biochemistry, which is such an interesting field. During my studies I have had the opportunity to advance my knowledge in a range of different areas such as genetics, microbiology, cell biology and pharmacology etc.. I have also developed my lab skills through regular lab sessions throughout my degree. I would highly recommend studying biochemistry, looking back I wouldn't want to have studied anything else! Please don't hesitate to ask me any other questions you may have.
Hope this helps,
Sofia :smile:

How did you find the labs? I’ve heard some really mixed opinions ESPECIALLY about lab reports.I love the practical side of both A level chemistry and biology and I was wondering if it’s just as enjoyable?

Reply 4

University of Sheffield Students

Official Rep

15

Original post by good.egg

How did you find the labs? I’ve heard some really mixed opinions ESPECIALLY about lab reports.I love the practical side of both A level chemistry and biology and I was wondering if it’s just as enjoyable?

Hi good.egg,
I really enjoyed my labs! I had labs twice a week in my first year. For the first semester you were taught a lot of the essential skills you need to master, such as accurate pipetting and running gels. This means by the time I started completing projects I already had some technical competency, which was nice! I found my labs were really interesting as there's quite a varied range of things you could be doing in the lab in Biochemistry depending on the module.

In terms of lab reports, it is key to remember that you will receive guidance from lecturers about what is expected from a lab report. Also what is expected from your reports will be in line with your year of study. Lecturers expect you to progress as a scientist throughout your degree! I certainly have improved my lab skills and writing immensely since 1st year! So, I would not worry about lab reports too much, the main thing is to have an interest in Biochemistry and you will really enjoy the degree🙂
Hope this helped,
Sofia (3rd Year Biochemistry)

Reply 5

good.egg

OP

4

Original post by Lancaster Student Ambassador

Hi @good.egg
I'm a third year biochemistry student, and I'm on placement at a biotechnology company working in drug discovery. I've loved my course so far, it's all the parts of biology that I find interesting. If you are considering biochemistry I'd recommend looking carefully at the modules offered at each university you are considering because different courses will have different compulsory/optional modules. I didn't really want to do much "larger" human biology (some degrees have a bit more broad biological focusses despite being all called "biochemistry") so I picked my specific course because I could tailor the modules to better suit my interests!
Rebecca (Lancaster Student Ambassador)

Hey, I completely forgot to ask but how did you find the internship? Are there any websites you recommend ??

Reply 6

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

17

Original post by good.egg

Hey, I completely forgot to ask but how did you find the internship? Are there any websites you recommend ??

Hi @good.egg

I got incredibly lucky in with my university in terms of my placement year. The Lancaster placement team is incredible and gave me workshops in Y1 supporting me in writing my CV and cover letters, and preparing me for interviews and assessment centres. During Y2 they sent out weekly emails with all the new job opportunities that had come up online and I could arrange 1:1 meetings to discuss my applications. It really reduced the amount of time I spent searching for roles, however, because of this I can't necessarily recommend many website because I didn't use them much! 😅 I'd recommend reaching out to your university's careers team because it's likely they'll have a very thorough list of websites/companies for you you check out!

I also actually did a summer internship through Lancaster University. Usually they advertise ~6 bioscience internships each summer, working under lecturers in the university labs, but they also advertised some other internships in the university labs funded by other charities (when I applied I saw internships funded by NWCR and Defying Dementia) and I applied for the dementia based one. In terms of general internship tips, look out for department emails and again, definitely get in contact with the careers department for advice. Also look out for internships in industry, I know Pfizer and AstraZeneca often advertise on their websites.

Sorry I can't give you a more direct answer or a list of sites - but really all I usually say to anyone, no matter what university, is that the Careers team is your best friend and most students do not take advantage of them soon enough!

Rebecca (Lancaster Student Ambassador).

Biochemistry BSci

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