Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum 8th grader with a few biochemistry questions

I am about to go to high school and in order to graduate I must type a research paper on my career choice (biochemist). In that paper, I have to have an interveiw. I'd appreciate it if someone could answer my interveiw questions.

please and thank you.

Google
"biochemistry faculty" 274,000 hits

Aim higher. Most academics are amazed anybody external knows they exist. Pick a name, look up a recent paper, and start the e-mail conversation.

Google
"biochemistry faculty" "nobel prize" 149 hits

They put on their pants just as you do.

Do you mind my asking why you've chosen biochemistry as a career choice? You don't have to answer me, but answer it for yourself.

If you read an article that talked about what a particular biochemist was working on, look into that subject and find either that biochemist, or another who is working on similar things. (If you chose biochemistry because it sounds cool and/or sophisticated, you've got a little investigating to do before you can conduct a reasonable interview.)

I chose this career because it satifies my natural curiosity. Also, I've always hoped to possibly find a vaccine for AIDs and biochemistry seems like the perfect career for it.

Uncle Al, how mmuch does a biochemist get paid in Illinois? monthly? hourly? weekly?

Biochemistry compensation can be broken down by the degree you earn. BS, MS, and PhD biochemists are compensated accordingly.

But I don't think the vast majority of scientists are motivated by compensation ... but rather by a thirst for knowledge.

This doesn't mean biochemists don't recieve substantially more money than most people earn. But it is not a job that will get you into the millionaire's club.

Go to google.com and search for "Biochemist and salary" and you will find links such as these:

http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/swzl_compresult_national_RD14000026.html
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layouthtmls/CA/swzl_compresult_state_CA_RD14000030.html

Best wishes.

thank you, Da

question #2: do biochemists always work as a team?

Not always but usually. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, one often finds a "lab" headed by someone with a PhD that manages a small team of persons with Masters (MS) and Bachelors (BS) degrees.

What classes do you have to take in college to become a biochemist?

Forget college ... get a good start in middle school by letting your science teacher know of your interest.

Then in high school be sure to learn all of the science and math you can. Go straight for alegebra, geometry, trig, and calculus. Absolutely take any biology and chem classes and don't get sucked into moron classes as a substitute for serious science. Find the classes that do hands-on lab work.

Also, find books on biochem subjects that interest you, and read read read. It is impossible to read too much. If you don't have a subscription to Scientific American you are about the right age to get one: Do so. And peruse the back issues at your local library.

Best wishes.

I guess I'm off to a good start then, huh?

How many years of study do you have to go through?

I hope you love education as much as I do ...

Primary school grades 1-6
Middle school grades 7-8
High school grades 9-12
BS degree about 4 years
at this point you are employable but you might want to continue with ...
Masters degree about 1.5 years (optional as you can go directly to a PhD which is what I'd advise)
Doctorate about 2.5 years

And likely you will be challenged by and enjoy almost every minute of it.

Mabe one day when I'm about 99.9 years old, I'll understand the joy of challenges. lol

what is the biggest project you've ever had to work on in the lab?

Hard to say. One, definitely, was research that identified the break-down products of anabolic steroids in pharmaceutical preparations. We knew what we were starting with. But we did not know what chemistry would take place between the active ingredient, inactive ingredients, containers, and air. And we needed to identify traces that could potentially be toxic to those taking the drugs.

The techniques used included both gas and liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and proton and fluorine nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).

That is the coolest thing I ever heard of!

Do you have any advice for someone wishing to be a biochemist?

Keep perspective.

At your age you are going to be torn, frequently, between short term goals such as going to a party or dating and focusing on your long term goals.

It is hard when you are in your teens, often even for some adults, to keep the perspective that you are going to live a very long time and missing some fun stuff when you are young doesn't mean you will live a life of loneliness and misery. Focus on what will come later in life after you put in the hard work required to be a success. There are just too many people that think if they haven't done it all by age 22 their life is a failure.

I look back to those I went to high school with and those that were most popular, today, are fatty ugly lazy slobs who lived fast and burned out faster. I doubt any of them make one-quarter of my income and I very sure non are as happy.

BTW: Heading for Great Britain in a few days so if you don't hear from me for a couple of weeks don't be surprised.

Thanks alot, Da! I really appreciate all of your help. Now I can stop interrigating you so that you can get back to your life. lol