Hello,
I am going in 2nd year but i am really confused about which degree or program i should choose...
One of them is molecualr biology and genetics whereas other one is Biotechnology and genetic engineering.....do u have any suggestions to which one is better?

I want to apply to medicine later on but I want to keep a degree incase i dont get in and get a job from this degree.

thanks

Someone with more expertise may want to answer this, but I'm under the following impression:

Molecular Bio & Genetics - This seems like more of a theoretical program, building a solid, well rounded knowledge base in genetics and biology. Seems like a better choice toward medicine than the engineering counterpart, but harder to get a job with a Bachelor's degree.

Biotech & Genetic Eng - More of an applied area, where you learn to design things. This is easier to get a job in industry since it is more applied, and gives you practical experience. You can still apply to some med schools with this, but you'll have to research schools carefully.


Again, if anyone else knows better, please take their word over mine.

You can get into med school from anything, even from a something completely unrelated to science, including programs in the humanities and social sciences as long as you have the marks and the prerequisites (depends on school). Make sure you check each med school individually because they all have different required courses.

Also, I would recommend checking out this article: http://www.macinsiders.com/showthread.php?t=1858 6

Also, if you are looking into the States you should look at each school's prerequisite. Although most of them generally have a year of bio, chem, physics, english. Some require other subjects as well, such as calculus and biochem. It's different from school to school so make sure you do your research.

did you already take molecualr bio and genetics or are you going to go in it next year - for jhan523? mostly i just want to know which one is better off - molecular bio genetics or biotech and genetic engineering?

so I guess biotech and genetic engineering - it would be easier to get a job compare to molecular bio and genetics if i dont go to med shcool? Also does anyone know what kind of jobs we can get from these two degrees?

I'm going into into the program this coming year. I don't really know what the program can lead me to. I'm planning on going to Optometry school though.

oh i see.. I still have to make my mind between molecular bio and genetics vs bitoech and gen eng.

I'm in 3rd year biochemistry, so I've been down this road. I'm in biotech and I can say that the majority of people in the specializations for biochemistry are in molecular biology. There are around 10 in my year from my spec. IMO take the core biochemistry, before looking at the fancy names of the programs, probably check which courses are mandatory in third year in each program. In genetic engineering you will be taking alot of lab courses (around 10hrs+/week will be labs alone). The specializations are for graduate studies (masters/phd), while the core is oriented towards professional school, as you'll be able to choose your electives and orient the program towards your chosen field.

Canuster - so do you like the progarm - biotech and hen eng. so far? Are you planning to do masters and phd then. Wow only 10 in that - is it that competitive or people just do not choose to do it? Do you know if you can get job right away after doing bachelors for biotech vs for mole bio? I really appreciate your help!!!

Magicalland:

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure it's because most people take the Core biochem program, and not due to it being hard to get into. As Canuster said, a specialization leaves very few electives for you to choose...and is a great way to enter a masters program, but if you're not planning to do a masters, the specialization doesn't do much good...so I think most people just opt not to take it.

For instance, In math, there are subdivisions and specializations. In "Pure Math" there were about 8 4th years, (and like 20-40 in "Applied Math") and I was the only 4th year student in my Topology course at the time.

This is good and bad. It's bad because you naturally, can't collaborate with others to do your assignments as easily. (Like, if you have a class with 10 people in it, then it's still possible that none of them knows how to do a certain question. In a class of 100 however, this is a statistical anomally). However you can really thrive in such an environment. I grew very close to the professor, and asked some solid questions...I prefer it to larger class sizes where you don't stand out as much.