Biomedical Science is a field with immense opportunity. According to Professor Dr. Samiah Yasmin, Dean of Medicine, SEGi University, the scope of Biomedical Science is open ended and does not follow a typical traditional course. It’s scope consists of everything that people study in medicine – microbiology, physiology, anatomy and much more. Students also learn managerial skills, technical skills and problem-solving skills.
Here are 7 job opportunities that are available to you, after you complete a degree in Biomedical Science.
1.Forensic Scientist
Do you have a fascination towards solving crimes? You can make a career out of it by being a forensic scientist. You will be well versed in the analysis of bodily fluids, hair, DNA and others which will enable you to help legal officials in investigations. You will collect, store, protect and analyse physical evidence from crime scenes. You will also prepare laboratory reports and may need to testify in court. The knowledge of anatomy, physiology and human genetics learned during your degree will be highly useful to you.
As a forensic scientist, you can earn pretty well too. PayScale reports the average salary of forensic scientists to be around RM67,105 in Malaysia.
2.Toxicology
One of the most diverse science careers is toxicology which combines different fields such as biology, chemistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacology. As a toxicologist, you will be assessing the safety and biological effects of drugs, different agents and chemicals on living organisms. You will be spending a considerable time within the laboratory making experiments and interpreting data. You can gain employment in universities and clinics and can expect to work in the fields of ecotoxicology, forensic, industrial, occupational, pharmaceutical and regulation.
3.Biomedical Scientist
If you like spending time in the laboratory, and if academics and research is something that appeals to you, consider being a biomedical scientist. Every government allocates a considerable budget for scientific research. You can be working in research hospitals and institutes on topics of your interest. You will be involved in analysing and identifying abnormalities and diseases, preparing briefings, analysis of current events, validating data, communicating test results, monitoring effects of medication and much more.
4.Healthcare scientist
If genomics is something that you like, you can choose to be a healthcare scientist. You will examine patient samples to identify genetic and genomic abnormalities. You will work closely with other healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat such diseases and help to predict whether it will affect other family members or future generations. This is a highly specialised field with tremendous opportunity. You can be involved in the prenatal diagnosis, carrier testing, confirming the diagnosis and much more.
Other fields which you can explore as a healthcare scientist is haematology and immunology. As a haematologist, you will be involved in the study of blood, tissues and blood-related disorders. You will be working with a team of professionals to diagnosed and monitor patients over a wide range of blood-based abnormalities from anaemia to leukaemia. As an immunologist, you will be involved in diagnosing, monitoring and treating patients with a range of immune system disorders such as autoimmune disorders, allergies, primary immunodeficiency, antibody deficiency and others.
Healthcare scientists are in great demand across the world. You will be able to establish your career in any country of your choice.
5.Microbiologist
If you have always had the passion to make a difference to the life of people, your degree in biomedicine will equip you to do so. You can be a microbiologist and treat and prevent diseases, ensure food safety, develop green technologies and so much more. You will study microorganisms and understand how they affect our lives. You will focus on both molecular and cellular levels of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea and their ecologies. You can work in various fields as a microbiologist – agriculture, hospitals, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, environment and education. You can also choose to specialise in different fields of microbiology such as medicine, healthcare, agriculture and food safety, research, environment and climate change.
6.Health Policy Professional
Your degree in biomedicine will make you knowledgeable enough to work in the field of health policy. You will have an in-depth understanding of the complexities of human health. Your knowledge of nutrition, immunology and pathology will be useful for making decisions regarding public health. Being in the field of health policy will also enable you to seek employment in government and associated agencies.
7.Medicinal Chemist
If the chemistry is what your passion lies in, consider being a medicinal chemist. You will be involved in drug discovery, the creation of new medicines and discovering more effective medicines. You will design and create new pharmaceutically active modules and contribute actively to the medicine world. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Biomedicine is a multi-faceted degree. While these are some of the common career options, you can also choose some uncommon ones such as being a zoologist, environmental engineer, nanotechnologist and science writer, which means with a biomedical science degree from SEGi University, the sky is the limit!