Biochemistry

omara95

Anyone do this course? Is it hard? Is it the same as biotechnology? Are the career prospects from it good?

Pete123456

omara95 wrote: »

Anyone do this course? Is it hard? Is it the same as biotechnology? Are the career prospects from it good?

I'm three years into the course and it's not easy. Leaving cert chemistry and biology are huge bonuses because they'll help with most modules in each semester of first year. If you haven't chemistry don't worry, they go through it as if you only have jc level. Maths is fairly tough, although if you have a maths brain and did well in honours maths for the leaving first year should be a breeze, but the prob and stats is the same as the older syllabus before the project maths. A bit of study from the beginning and a liking for experiments, report writing, and theory learning and you'll fly through it.

Industrial biochemistry is biotechnology if I'm understanding correctly?

At the moment career prospects are good and looking like they'll get better with progress and development in the (vast) area that you could work in. There are loads of companies that are looking for biochemists and because you'll work somewhere on coop you'll already have a leg in the door...

Some possible jobs from the ul website:

Biotechnologist: Involved in process research and development, manufacture quality control and regulatory affairs

Biochemist: Involved in enzyme analysis, biopharmaceuticals purification, diagnostic development and manufacture.

Genetic Engineer: Manipulation and analysis of DNA for recombinant protein production and diagnostics.

Food Biochemist: Food analysis, quality control, brewing technology or food ingredients analysis

Validation Scientist: Ensuring that regulatory aspects of production are adhered to and that product is safe and meets standards

Microbiologist: Carries out specific microbial analysis on biopharmaceuticals and pharmaceuticals to ensure safety and product stability upon storage.

Process Biochemist: Ensures that biopharmaceutical products such as insulin, interferon or blood products (which are proteins) are purified and produced properly.

Health and Safety Officer: Ensures that the workplace in a pharmaceutical operation is safe and healthy for all the workforce.

omara95

Thanks for the detailed reply. It has given me a better insight!

Ompala

Don't do the course myself but have several friends who do and have shared a few modules with them.

Course is grand if you put the work in, peoples main complaint seems to be the engineering modules in 3rd and 4th year but they honestly aren't too bad.

Poster above me mentioned the maths content being tough, I would say they were just unlucky in having a few bad lecturers. Even if maths isn't your strong point there is a maths learning centre that is always happy to help.

lockman

omara95 wrote: »

Anyone do this course? Is it hard? Is it the same as biotechnology? Are the career prospects from it good?

I've done the Industrial Biochemistry course.

Is it hard? The workload is demanding and some of the modules can be quite tough, but overrall it is fine as long as you are willing to put in the hours. Just a word on the workload: between labs, lectures, tutorials and your own private study, be prepared to put in the guts of a 40 hour working week. Get into that type of work ethic from the start and you'll do just fine.

As Pete123456 pointed out, there is a lot of maths but if you are mathematically inclined, you will be fine. If not, there is help available (UL Maths Learning Centre). Ditto for the biology, physics and chemistry modules. The Science Learning Centre is there to assist you.

Career Prospects: are very good at the moment and have remained so since I did the course (graduated in 1996). In recent years (i.e. before and during the recession), the bioscience industry has remained very vibrant and there appears to be a constant demand for graduates. When I did the course, the majority of my classmates moved around the country (mainly Cork, Galway, Dublin) and some moved abroad. That has changed considerably in recent years with Regeneron, Vistakon and other local developments. These types of development tend to form clusters - all things being equal, Regeneron et al will attract in more similar industries in time. So, the future looks good in that regard.

Many UL biochem graduates now work in different industries and many will testify that a good science degree under your belt can take you in many different directions. In addition to the obvious technical/scientific skill set, a good science degree gives you many transferable and in-demand skills such as communication skills, IT literacy and numerical skills, which many of today's employers put a lot of store in.

Any questions, feel free to pm.

Good luck!

omara95

Thanks for the detailed reply. Pretty sure this is going to be my first choice on my cao.