5 Reasons You Should NOT Study Biotechnology | (From a Biotechnologist)

I love biotech, okay, and I've built my career in it. And honestly, if I could go back, I'd still choose it all over again. But if my younger sister came to me and said like, Hey, I want to follow in your footsteps. I want to be like you. Should I study biotechnology? There are a few things I would make sure she knew first before jumping into biotech. Because as much as I love the industry, after being in it, my eyes have been open to a lot of things and a lot of realities I wish I knew before. And I wish someone told me before. And I feel like not a lot of people talk about it, especially when you're choosing your degree. So today I'm giving you five reasons you should not study biotechnology. Number one, your degree alone is probably not going to get you hired. If there's one thing I want you to take away from this episode, it's this, your degree alone is probably not enough. It doesn't matter if you have a GPA of four. It doesn't matter if you're at the top of the top. Biotech is one of the most competitive industries to break into. In Q3 of 2024, biotech job postings dropped by 12%, while the number of applicants per job increased by 51%. So there's a lot of competition out there trying to get jobs. So what separates the people who get hired from the people who don't even get an interview? And that's experience. Relevant lab experience, hands-on experience, whether it's from an internship, a co-op, research, research lab in the school you're going to, in a hospital, whatever kind of experience that you put on your resume, that will make you, will give you a one-up over someone else, over your competition. And guess what? The more experience you have, the more time spent in a lab, in a real lab, not your courses, the better your chances are to break into biotech. Especially when you're trying to get that first job, that first role. Because when you're in school, yes, your competition is, how can I be the first in class? But also it should be like, how can I get so much hands-on experience that when I apply for a job, they're going to be like, this person has so much experience at such a young age. I want them on my team. I want to bet my money on them because I know they will do the job. The employer wants to know, wants to know that if they hire you, you are going to be worth their time. You are coachable, you are going to learn, and you are going to do the work for them. So if you decide to study biotech, don't treat your degree as just coursework and like, I need to finish these classes so I can finish. I need to take the summer classes so I'm done, so I finish my degree in time. Treat it as an opportunity. Try to get experience early. Instead of taking summer classes, try to apply for summer internships. Try to apply for research labs in your school. Try to talk to your professors because that's more important than just finishing your coursework and graduating. Because what's the point of graduating with no potential job? That's going to be lined up. There's no point, right? We get a degree to get a job. So experience is what gets you through it. Number two, biotech might decide where you live. This is something I wish I knew before. Like, even when I'm job searching, I always have to look for jobs whether in Boston or San Francisco. They have the most booming job postings out there. Just because biotech isn't everywhere. It's not. Sadly, it's not. There are roughly 3,300 biotech companies in the United States, but most of them are concentrated in a handful of cities. So you have Boston, San Francisco, San Diego. These are, like, the main hubs. And you have little hubs in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. And just so you can, like, visualize it of how important, like, applying in a biotech hub is, that Boston alone accounts for nearly 13% of all life sciences R&D jobs in the country. 13%. And they employ around 118,000 people in biopharma roles. And this matters. Like, you're probably like, oh, this is just numbers. This matters. Because if you don't live in one of these hubs, or you're not willing to move to these hubs, your options become much more limited. Super, super limited. You can't be picky in the jobs you want. You can't apply to any jobs. You can't just, like, any interest of research you're looking for. Like, it's just, like, it's not whatever you want. And this career is not just a career decision. It's a life decision. Because it's going to affect where you live, how much rent you pay. And unfortunately, Boston and San Francisco are one of the most expensive cities in the United States. It will also affect how close you are to family, what opportunities are available to you. I moved over 5,000 miles to come to Boston to get my master's and work in biotech. And that's a sacrifice. And that's a sacrifice some people might not want to take. And honestly, I don't regret it for a second. I do miss my family all the time. But it's a sacrifice you do to build a career for yourself. And not everyone wants to relocate. Not everyone wants to live this life. So that's something you should consider. Because it shapes your life. It shapes your world. So before you choose this path, ask yourself, am I willing to go where the opportunities are? Number three, what you learn in school will never be enough. You take all these courseworks, you're all like, you feel a little bit confident. And then the moment you step into the lab, out of like an industry or pharma, you're like, wait, what did you just ask me to do that happened to me? I am so surprised. I did not learn anything of what you just asked me. Like nothing. And I did my master's in biotechnology at Northeastern University. Right in the middle of the biggest biotech hubs in the world. And Northeastern is at the top 10% of masters in biotechnology. And despite that, I still walked into the lab at my first co-op. And I froze when someone was like, okay, let's run flow cytometry. Because I was never taught how to do flow cytometry. Not once. And yet almost every job I had in biotech involved flow cytometry. It's such a key, key, key technique to have. Yet I was never taught that. Not in undergrad and not in grad school. I had to learn it on the job. And honestly, that's pretty normal for most colleagues that I've talked to and we talk together. Universities, they teach you the basics. They teach you how to think like a scientist. But the industry is a completely different world. With different goals. In school, you follow a protocol. You organize your notebook. You get your results. You're like, oh, this is so easy. That's what happens. I was like culturing HEC 293s. And if you know HEC 293s, if you throw them at a wall, they'll bounce back perfectly. Like nothing happens to them. And then I got into industry. And my notebook's never organized. Because I have 20 failed experiments. And I'm hyper-focused on one parameter that's not working. I'm trying to troubleshoot it. I've worked with T-cells that are so finicky. I've worked with iPSCs. And no one taught me that. And no school will ever teach you that. And that's where the confidence kicks in. You know, of like, okay, I know I'm gonna fail. But that's just part of learning. And if you're not okay with that. If you're not the kind of person who knows how to deal with this. Then maybe it's not for you. Because sometimes your data, like when you're in a lab, your data makes absolutely no sense. Like no sense. And it will drive you crazy. And the reality is that university can only teach you so much. All the courseworks can only teach you so much. But industry, when you're industry, it changes so quickly. Techniques evolve. You have to be quick. You have to work with other people too, not just yourself. So you have to be quick to adapt and quick to be molded into whatever this company is. So if you're expecting that your degree is going to teach you everything, you're going to be very disappointed. I'm telling you from now. And if you think it's going to be perfect, I'm sorry to break it to you. It will not. It's going to be messy. And the people who do best in biotech are the people who never stop learning. And are okay to fail. So keep that in mind when you're thinking about pursuing biotech. Number four, layoffs are a real part of this industry. And I know that that's not the most thing to talk about. And people get scared when I mention it. And I'm not trying to be negative. But it's important to talk about. And it's important for people to know. Because I didn't know when I walked in. But biotech, so much goes on. And it's so heavily tied to funding. And when funding is flowing, companies hire like crazy. When the market's good, companies are hiring aggressively. When a trial is good, everything's perfect. But when funding dries up, companies can lay people off very quickly. They call it restructuring. In 2023 alone, there were 187 biotech layoff rounds. Ranging from big pharma to startups. That's a 50% increase compared to the year before that. And in the first half of 2025, there were another 128 biopharma layoff rounds. That's a reality. And what makes this difficult is that layoffs, often they have nothing to do with how good you are. Or the kind of scientist you are. Because sometimes people can take it personally. And it's not because of that. You could be the most amazing scientist. You could be leading the best therapy out there. You could be doing everything right and still lose your position. And still be laid off. And it's not because of you. It's because, let's say, investors are no longer interested in cell therapy. They're now going into biologics. A trial failed. Funding disappeared. People are more, they want to throw their money more in clinical trials rather than research and development. There's so many different parameters that play a role in being laid off. There's so many different things. And I've seen so many scientists get laid off. And not because they weren't good enough. But because that's sometimes how biotech is. And how biotech works, sadly. And I sat down one time with a head of HR. And he told me, he was like, if you stay in biotech. So if you choose this career, know it's going to be a roller coaster. And know that you really need to grow your network. Because you never know when you need to look for a job. It's something that you need to be doing all the time. Staying connected. Meeting people. Keep learning. Building your name out there for people. Keeping your resume updated. Because that's really important. So if you think going into biotech because you want a perfectly linear career. Or job security. That's not the case sometimes. Number five. You'll probably have to pivot. Biotech is incredibly specialized. You could spend years becoming an expert in one area. Let's say in organisms in the water. Or CAR T-cells. Whatever it is. And then that's like your research in academia. And then you go into the real world. And you realize there are only, if any, a handful of companies working on that exact thing. On the thing that you really want to work on. And if those companies aren't hiring. Or they're not somewhere you're willing to move to. Then guess what? You might not have a job. And you may need to pivot. Honestly, you might hear this. But for me, I look at it as not necessarily a bad thing. I think it's a good thing. I think it keeps you on your toes. Some of the most successful people I've met. Have completely reinvented themselves throughout their careers. They moved from one specific research. Let's say from CAR T-cells. To specifically just oncology. I've seen so many things of just pivoting. Whether it's research-based. Like just one specific therapeutic. From biologics to small molecule. From small molecule to cell therapy. Or more career-wise. From research to a business. Or from research to regulatory affairs. And that's okay. And some people might not like it. Some people be like, I studied seven years. Or whatever it is. And this PhD, I want to work in an industry like that. Sometimes there might not be a company. My career is not perfect. I started as a pre-med student. Today, look at where I'm at. I'm a scientist. I've worked on cell therapy. I've worked with CAR T, CAR NK. I've worked with IPSCs. I'm a content creator. I do this podcast. And it's about being flexible. And being fine with all the pivots. That you're going to take along the way. And if biotech has taught me anything. It's that flexibility matters. Even within the role. The people who thrive. Aren't always the people with the perfect plan. They're the people who will say yes to opportunities. They never thought they'd say yes to. And they're the kind of people who are willing to adapt. And trust me. Things will change throughout your career. Now after hearing all of that. You might be thinking. Mary, would you still pick biotech? A thousand percent yes. Absolutely I would. Every job has its pros and cons. Every job has its challenges. It's what you're willing to be fine with. It's manageable. You just need to, as I said, be flexible. Be flexible and be willing to grow in different ways. I've seen people build incredible careers. Despite all of this. Including myself. And that's why I did this episode. Because I wish someone had told me these things before I started. I would have been okay with them. Because I would have approached my career very differently. I would have probably had or put less pressure on myself. Of trying to be the perfect scientist. So if you've listened to this entire episode. And you're still excited to pursue biotechnology. That's actually a really good sign. Because in next week's episode. I'm going to give you all the reasons. Why studying biotechnology. Might be one of the best decisions you ever make. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please don't forget to like, comment and subscribe. And I'll see you in the next episode.