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General Description

This is an ideal career for analytical thinkers. A career as a biochemist involves the study of living organisms to advance scientific knowledge of all life sciences.

Career Advice - Biochemist Career

Your work can include the identification of chemical and physical properties in biological systems, and aspects of the structure and function of these living things. Using chemistry and molecular biology, you strive to discover the biological processes in animals, plants and microbes. Your job involves applying this knowledge to areas such as agriculture, medicine, veterinary or environmental science, and manufacturing.

What you do every day

A typical day involves laboratory duties of some kind. You may:

In industrial biochemistry, you work in laboratories and focus your knowledge on products that are essential in every day life. You analyse and conduct research into areas such as the purity of food and beverages, or the production of fuels from waste products by fermentation procedures using enzymes.

Research biochemists work in laboratories in various places: universities, biotechnology companies, and medical, veterinary, and agricultural institutes. You study chemical reactions in metabolism, growth, reproduction, and heredity in plants and animals, fungi, bacteria, as well as viruses. To assist your studies, you use genetic engineering and molecular biological techniques. 

Overall, biochemists must have an interest in science and in laboratory techniques. You should be good at biology, chemistry and mathematics, but this won’t be enough without a strong talent for analysis and problem solving. You will also need persistence and determination to solve difficult issues.

Good verbal and written communication skills are necessary. You will use these to write and present your reports, as well as during your studies. It is probable that you will be working as part of a team, and so will need to communicate well with your team members. Also, the ability to communicate clearly and concisely with those unfamiliar with science is important when explaining your findings. When you are working there will be times when you will need to work both independently and as part of a team.

If you choose a research career you will need patience and tenacity, and intellectual endurance to carry out the long hours of research. Some of your studies will require you to be creative and imaginative. 

Best thing about this career

Biochemistry provides the basis for all of the life sciences, and so being a biochemist fulfils a vital role in the scientific field. Your laboratory work is a key part of some medical diagnoses. Your research in biochemistry can alter the way we understand biology in a vast number of ways, including advancement in medical research. Your research is intellectually challenging and satisfying. Your work is capable of affecting the cutting edge of scientific knowledge. Biochemists are respected and much needed in society.

Worst thing about this career

Your work is specialised, complex, and in many cases, confidential and always a challenge.. It can be difficult, for as a biochemist, you do not have the freedom to have an off day. In an important and occasionally hazardous environment, you are required to be alert and mentally active for the entire work day.

Some aspects of biochemistry are highly controversial particularly if you enter the field that deals with stem cells or biological weapons. These are generally developed by biochemists, and are expected to be the threat of the twenty-first century, replacing the threat of nuclear weapons from the previous century.