Lots of phone calls! I work at home or in our corporate offices, seeing a technology solution we've worked on for months actually help these folks do their jobs better or makes a task easier for them, or improves our care for our patients. I also get to visit our accounts and work with them on projects. It could be visiting a hospital kitchen where we run the food service operations. We'll shadow the employees as they test out a new technology, such as a new app we've developed.
CAREER
Bioinformatics Scientists
Overview
Salary Median (2020)
$85,290
Projected Job Growth (2019-2029)
+2.2% (slower than the average)
Most Common Level of Education
Bachelor's degree
Career
Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career
What Bioinformatics Scientists Do
Conduct research using bioinformatics theory and methods in areas such as pharmaceuticals, medical technology, biotechnology, computational biology, proteomics, computer information science, biology and medical informatics. May design databases and develop algorithms for processing and analyzing genomic information, or other biological information.
Other Job Titles Bioinformatics Scientists May Have
Bioinformaticist, Bioinformatics Scientist, Research Associate, Research Scientist, Scientific Database Curator, Scientist
How Leaders Describe a Typical Day at Work
A great day for me is when I accomplish a certain amount of creative or academic writing. I also have meetings during which I work on establishing a research program for my institution. I mentor students who are completing their doctoral research.
Tasks & Responsibilities May Include
- Develop new software applications or customize existing applications to meet specific scientific project needs.
- Communicate research results through conference presentations, scientific publications, or project reports.
- Create novel computational approaches and analytical tools as required by research goals.
- Consult with researchers to analyze problems, recommend technology-based solutions, or determine computational strategies.
- Analyze large molecular datasets, such as raw microarray data, genomic sequence data, or proteomics data, for clinical or basic research purposes.
Education
Level of Education Attained by Bioinformatics Scientists
Most common level of education among people in
this career: Bachelor's degree (44%)
Bachelor's degree
Master's degree
Doctoral or professional degree
Majors Related to Career
Educational Paths Suggested by Leaders
Suggested Path
High School
Bachelor
Engineering, General
Graduate
Psychology, General
Doctorate
Experimental Psychology
Bachelor
Psychology, General
Additional Skills & Experiences That Can Help You Excel
How to read people to see what makes them tick. That's a huge component in the success of any project. Also, learning the nuances of developing software or databases in a real-world environment. Finally, learning to be confident in failing. It's an essential skill in informatics. We are usually the first people doing what we're doing, so we are going to make mistakes. However, we need the room to make these mistakes so that we can get to the correct solution.
People relations and negotiation skills are essential. During each day, I work with students presenting a variety of needs. I also have to meet with people at different levels of the organization, which requires that I know how to address those in the most senior positions and those whom I supervise as well as those who represent academic and business interests. I am as much a business person as I am an academic. I need to be able to communicate expertly in writing and verbally.
Getting Started
Recommended First Step for:
High School Students
Do your research early in high school to see what scholarships you can get. The best gift you can give yourself is not just an education - it's an education with as little student loan debt as possible. Having funding for school is the difference between pursuing the field of study in college you really want to pursue, or having to choose a major just because it will take less time/money.
College Students
This page includes information from theO*NET 26.1 Databaseby the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under theCC BY 4.0license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.