The types of jobs available to biologists have grown and changed in recent years due to advances in biotechnology and information technology. At present, well over 500 different types of jobs are associated with a college biology degree(http://www.eeb.ucla.edu/ugrad_careers_over500.php).
According to the 2006-07 edition of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, jobs in the education and health services "supersector" will grow faster and add more jobs than any other supersector (http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2003.htm). About 3 of every 10 new jobs created in the U.S. economy will be in either the healthcare or educational services. Among the 20 fastest-growing occupations, there are six biology-related fields that require either an associate's or bachelor's degree.
The following links to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics provide overviews of the types of jobs, job prospects, training, and salaries in some of the major job categories associated with a bachelor's degree or more advanced degrees in biology.
- Biological Scientists (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos047.htm)
- Physicians and Surgeons (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos074.htm)
- Teachers (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm)
CSUMB's biology major is new (start date Fall 2007), so we do not yet have any biology alumni we can follow to document career success. However, students graduating from our existing Environmental Science, Technology & Policy (ENVS) major have been very successful at getting biology- and ecology-oriented jobs as well as getting into excellent graduate programs in the life sciences. For example, we now have ESSP graduates working as biologists in environmental consulting firms, doing animal husbandry at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, analyzing fish habitat with the Department of Fish and Game, and working as veterinarians. We anticipate comparable success for graduates of our biology program, since both programs are designed and run by the same department with the same dedication to student success.