Biotechnology Offers Many Career Opportunities

DAVENPORT - According to Iowa Workforce Development and the Careervoyages.gov website, there are many career opportunities in the biotechnology field. Life sciences, technology, and manufacturing – it’s all a part of biotechnology, with new discoveries being made every day!

There are three different stages of the biotechnology process:

1) Research and Development (R & D) – Groundbreaking scientific research is conducted with state-of-the-art scientific technology. Biotech R&D Technicians help cure the world’s deadliest diseases and design products and services to meet scientists’ needs in the worldwide biomedical research community.

2) Quality Control and Assurance – Procedures and systems of cutting-edge research and production are perfected. Making a biotechnology product involves meeting specifications for precision and safety. Quality Assurance requires the product to meet certain standards and specifications. These are the people who ensure that products are what the labels say they are.

3) Manufacturing and Production – Innovative and life-saving scientific technology is built. Biomanufacturing is an essential component of today’s biotech industry. Biomanufacturing technicians are the experts on the development and maintenance of biotech machinery. They play an integral role in biotech research and are responsible for developing and maintaining the technology and innovative equipment that drives industry research.

There are also three specific sub sectors of biotechnology:

1) Agriculture – Agricultural bioprocessing technicians conduct genetic research that may help fight world hunger. The future of farming in the 21st Century will be shaped by agricultural bioprocessing technology.

2) Bioprocessing – This is an interdisciplinary specialty that draws on several scientific fields including engineering, physics, chemistry, mathematics, biochemistry, biology and, of course, biotechnology. Bioprocessing helps save lives, makes companies more profitable, and determines the future of medicine.

3) Bioinformatics – Technicians work with sophisticated computer equipment to analyze biological data and create massive genetic databases to unlock genetic secrets.

There are many in-demand occupations in the field of biotechnology including, sales representatives, veterinary technologists and technicians, medical and clinical laboratory technicians, medical scientists, veterinarians, chemists, chemical technicians, industrial engineering technicians, and more!

For a complete list of biotechnology occupations and to find more information on education requirements and salary ranges, please visit the U. S. Bureau of labor Statistics Web page at http://www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm.

Biotechnology is truly an opportunity to turn science fiction into science fact!