The Student Room Group

Pursue biology after a non-STEM undergard

I have graduated from top law school from my country with a distinction last year but somehow I never clicked with "law " itself. My passion always lied with biology and during my degree, I even thought about dropping out and changing majors to law but could never do so due to family pressure. I am 24 as of now. Do you think it is advisable to pursue a career in biology as this point in time? I want to pursue biology only to go into academia and become a biology professor. If yes, is there a certain "pathway" for it or what route would you suggest me to take?
Original post by Usama749
I have graduated from top law school from my country with a distinction last year but somehow I never clicked with "law " itself. My passion always lied with biology and during my degree, I even thought about dropping out and changing majors to law but could never do so due to family pressure. I am 24 as of now. Do you think it is advisable to pursue a career in biology as this point in time? I want to pursue biology only to go into academia and become a biology professor. If yes, is there a certain "pathway" for it or what route would you suggest me to take?

Are you based in the UK or intend to study in the UK? If so, typically yes you need a PhD in biology (often along with at least a bachelor's in biology and possibly a master's in biology, depending on how competitive the PhD is).

If you intend to become a professor, I would really recommend you do it as soon as possible. It takes about 20 years post PhD in order to get prospects of tenure (professorship) on average, so it's not something to delay.

I would recommend doing an undergrad in biology when you have the chance, and the progress onto a PhD when possible.

If you are a UK resident, the problem will be that due to your previous law degree, you would now need to fund your second undergrad yourself (ELQ policy) if you study full time. See: https://www.heinfo.slc.co.uk/resources/guidance/courses-management-service-user-guide/eligibility/equivalent-or-lower-qualification-elq-exceptions/ If you study part time, you would get funding for your tuition fees.
So unless you are loaded, you would need to find a way to fund everything yourself. If you do find a part time course in biological sciences, you might be able to get away with it but it's not likely a top end course.

Reply 2

Original post by MindMax2000
Are you based in the UK or intend to study in the UK? If so, typically yes you need a PhD in biology (often along with at least a bachelor's in biology and possibly a master's in biology, depending on how competitive the PhD is).
If you intend to become a professor, I would really recommend you do it as soon as possible. It takes about 20 years post PhD in order to get prospects of tenure (professorship) on average, so it's not something to delay.
I would recommend doing an undergrad in biology when you have the chance, and the progress onto a PhD when possible.
If you are a UK resident, the problem will be that due to your previous law degree, you would now need to fund your second undergrad yourself (ELQ policy) if you study full time. See: https://www.heinfo.slc.co.uk/resources/guidance/courses-management-service-user-guide/eligibility/equivalent-or-lower-qualification-elq-exceptions/ If you study part time, you would get funding for your tuition fees.
So unless you are loaded, you would need to find a way to fund everything yourself. If you do find a part time course in biological sciences, you might be able to get away with it but it's not likely a top end course.

I am from Pakistan but intend on getting education from UK, US, Canada, Australia or anywhere within Europe where I can manage my expenses (tutition + living) and can get into a PhD if it is not one of the top doctoral programes. The only thing I am concerned about is eventually failing to do something significant in biology or making a respectful academic career in it.

Since we are into the discussion, I would also want some personal suggestion from you. At this point in time, I can easily get into a masters program for law at an ivy league or oxbridge along with the possibility to make big bucks (but doing a job which I dislike). Do you think is it worth to let all of this go, start afresh in biology, and take the big risk of making an academic career in it (because I feel biology is where my passion lies). It would be a signficant decision in my life path due to which I still somewhat hesitant/questioning if I should take this step.
Original post by Usama749
I am from Pakistan but intend on getting education from UK, US, Canada, Australia or anywhere within Europe where I can manage my expenses (tutition + living) and can get into a PhD if it is not one of the top doctoral programes. The only thing I am concerned about is eventually failing to do something significant in biology or making a respectful academic career in it.
Since we are into the discussion, I would also want some personal suggestion from you. At this point in time, I can easily get into a masters program for law at an ivy league or oxbridge along with the possibility to make big bucks (but doing a job which I dislike). Do you think is it worth to let all of this go, start afresh in biology, and take the big risk of making an academic career in it (because I feel biology is where my passion lies). It would be a signficant decision in my life path due to which I still somewhat hesitant/questioning if I should take this step.

I am from Pakistan but intend on getting education from UK, US, Canada, Australia or anywhere within Europe where I can manage my expenses (tutition + living) and can get into a PhD if it is not one of the top doctoral programes.
Then I am not sure what the conditions are for funding for Pakistani candidates. You would need to check with your government funding to be sure, especially if you are going to have problems funding everything yourself, through your parents, etc./privately.
I would recommend to get into top doctoral programmes, as the rule of thumb in academia is that the higher the institution where you can do your PhD in, the more likely you will have an easier time getting funding and work in academia. Some people would move to entirely different countries to pursue this.

At this point in time, I can easily get into a masters program for law at an ivy league or oxbridge along with the possibility to make big bucks (but doing a job which I dislike). Do you think is it worth to let all of this go, start afresh in biology, and take the big risk of making an academic career in it (because I feel biology is where my passion lies). It would be a signficant decision in my life path due to which I still somewhat hesitant/questioning if I should take this step.
This is really a personal decision.
I want to give a balanced view since you get people on both sides of the argument trying to win the other over.
If I do a quick google search on whether you should pursue your passion or money, you would find that about 99% of the search results would be about pursuing your passion over money. I am in a similar camp of thought. The lines of thinking tend to be the following:

At the end of your life, you will regret what you didn't do more than what you did. What would you regret more? What would make you wonder more about what if? It's a terrible feeling

The stress of doing something you hate will add on to the stress of the job. This will take on the toll.

What is a life of wealth if by the end of it you are unhappy?

If you are not passionate about what you are doing, you are not likely going to produce your best work


See the following podcast as an example: https://tim.blog/2023/05/11/bobby-hundreds/ (should listen to the first 30 minutes)

Having said that, there's also the practical element to it i.e. you can't live off your passions. I don't particularly care what your parents/family/friends/peers think you should do or whether they feel that they will lose face because their child decided to pursue something that won't bolster their reputation or other people won't value them as much (something I hear is typical amongst Asian families); you're not a puppet. What I would need to point out are:

Academia is usually not known for high salaries. If the remuneration doesn't stack up for you, do you have means of supplementing your income?

The level of competition in academia is intense. The most competitive entry positions in law won't likely be as bad as trying to get an academic position. For one, you are not likely going to need to move countries in order to get a job in law. Most people give up by the end of their bachelor's degree and go for a corporate job.

Trying to get into biology is not likely going to be a smooth run; you will need to do multiple degrees, put up with a lot of people who you might not like (kind of like law, but not as varied)

If things don't pan out and you for some reason at the last moment decide to change careers yet again, do you have something to fall back on?


The following is another example of someone who pursued something other than law, but there are reservations that you should consider (around the 30 minute mark, listen for 15 or so minutes): https://tim.blog/2023/08/16/justin-gary/

If you are undeterred, then I would say go for it. If you are, then I would do a lot more research into the area. In particular, I recommend:

Networking with academics and lawyers, and see what they say about their roles.

Do an internship in law firms as well as volunteer to assist in academic research. This would give you an insight into both.

Speak to retirees from both law and biological research, and see what they say.

Reply 4

Original post by MindMax2000
I am from Pakistan but intend on getting education from UK, US, Canada, Australia or anywhere within Europe where I can manage my expenses (tutition + living) and can get into a PhD if it is not one of the top doctoral programes.
Then I am not sure what the conditions are for funding for Pakistani candidates. You would need to check with your government funding to be sure, especially if you are going to have problems funding everything yourself, through your parents, etc./privately.
I would recommend to get into top doctoral programmes, as the rule of thumb in academia is that the higher the institution where you can do your PhD in, the more likely you will have an easier time getting funding and work in academia. Some people would move to entirely different countries to pursue this.
At this point in time, I can easily get into a masters program for law at an ivy league or oxbridge along with the possibility to make big bucks (but doing a job which I dislike). Do you think is it worth to let all of this go, start afresh in biology, and take the big risk of making an academic career in it (because I feel biology is where my passion lies). It would be a signficant decision in my life path due to which I still somewhat hesitant/questioning if I should take this step.
This is really a personal decision.
I want to give a balanced view since you get people on both sides of the argument trying to win the other over.
If I do a quick google search on whether you should pursue your passion or money, you would find that about 99% of the search results would be about pursuing your passion over money. I am in a similar camp of thought. The lines of thinking tend to be the following:

At the end of your life, you will regret what you didn't do more than what you did. What would you regret more? What would make you wonder more about what if? It's a terrible feeling

The stress of doing something you hate will add on to the stress of the job. This will take on the toll.

What is a life of wealth if by the end of it you are unhappy?

If you are not passionate about what you are doing, you are not likely going to produce your best work


See the following podcast as an example: https://tim.blog/2023/05/11/bobby-hundreds/ (should listen to the first 30 minutes)
Having said that, there's also the practical element to it i.e. you can't live off your passions. I don't particularly care what your parents/family/friends/peers think you should do or whether they feel that they will lose face because their child decided to pursue something that won't bolster their reputation or other people won't value them as much (something I hear is typical amongst Asian families); you're not a puppet. What I would need to point out are:

Academia is usually not known for high salaries. If the remuneration doesn't stack up for you, do you have means of supplementing your income?

The level of competition in academia is intense. The most competitive entry positions in law won't likely be as bad as trying to get an academic position. For one, you are not likely going to need to move countries in order to get a job in law. Most people give up by the end of their bachelor's degree and go for a corporate job.

Trying to get into biology is not likely going to be a smooth run; you will need to do multiple degrees, put up with a lot of people who you might not like (kind of like law, but not as varied)

If things don't pan out and you for some reason at the last moment decide to change careers yet again, do you have something to fall back on?


The following is another example of someone who pursued something other than law, but there are reservations that you should consider (around the 30 minute mark, listen for 15 or so minutes): https://tim.blog/2023/08/16/justin-gary/
If you are undeterred, then I would say go for it. If you are, then I would do a lot more research into the area. In particular, I recommend:

Networking with academics and lawyers, and see what they say about their roles.

Do an internship in law firms as well as volunteer to assist in academic research. This would give you an insight into both.

Speak to retirees from both law and biological research, and see what they say.


Thank you so much for such a detailed response ! Really appreciate it !!!

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