http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/may/17rashmi.htm


well having been teaching my juniors in the labs as well as theory for the past few months , i am faced with a constant query ," why are there no placements for us sir??!!" and i am sure many among us too have this question in mind . infact most of those doing msc biotech or bmg or micro feel tat they are being unfairly discriminated by not having nt after msc like the IT graduates.

the link pasted above too speaks of a similar situation, and goes one step ahead in saying that biotech ( it uses the term as an epinomous all pervading name for entire gamut of life bio) is dead , the boom is over , there is no future in it anymore.
is it really so ?
first of all read th link above to get a clearer idea of wats written below!!!

well its true , and i am sure all of us who are now into phd as well as those who are not yet into it , have to agree, tat wen we got into this whole biotech life sciences thingy , at the bsc level, we did dream of the BTboom , like the IT. we didint get thru medicine( i am speaking for a generalised majority , pardon me if its not ure specific case!!) and chose instead for a bsc in biotech , the best topic then.

we dreamed of getting into a company later with a job earning us 25 to 30 k/month like the comp geeks around us . there was a talk of india being the next big BT hub. is it what has happend??

there was the IT boom. people earned , in some cases are still earning , 5 figure salaries perks and holidays abroad. but thats cause IT is a sector where u have instant results , where u reap benefits immediately. wats new NOW is old the next moment. the IT boom hit india, made a stir , and left us with a service sector incapable of innovation and Rand D. ( i do not wish to demean IT here , but then i guess the facts speak for themselves.) . what happened with BT then?

the article in the link mentions that the biotech boom promised jobs similar to IT. it makes it seem tat biotech promised us the moon and all we havegot is star-dust!

and yes from wat i always hearmy students complaining is , there are no jobs for an msc.
but guys , think for a moment! wen did one ever say that an msc will get u a job ?biotech and life science is no instant food, boil heat and serve! investment in the form of time , energy and years of life gives us a harvest of satisfying career. and cutting edge technical research in life scinces is only possible with patience and perseverance.

so the bottom line is if IT is fast food , biotech is good old mughlai restuarant! u need time patience to make a career out of research in this field. and with patience u need sacrifice. the willingness to earn 8000 rs for a major part of ure earning life! the determination to start from the lowest level in a govt institute after a phd and carve ure status right at the top.to be able to gothru the grinds of setting up a biotech start up and bringing it to teh league of biocon!

as for those who seek instant gratification , in the form of money and luxury , pure scince is not the field!

infact contrary to what many are saying , and as the article in the link qoutes, science and biotech in india has blossomed , into a field where the thrust is now on r and d instead of services. where companies and institutes are working towards basic fundamentally strong BT tat would not burst like the IT bubble did.
where we have seen thru the initial hype and hoopla and managed not to miss the bigger picture. we are right there , globally , on the path to making india a biotech and life sciences leader.( yes this is despite the red tapism and almost impossible means of entering good institutes , plagairism and nepotism,lathargy , irresponsible scientific bigotry and an education policy tat stiifles innovation and creativity out of our lives, we are growing guys!!)

so where does all this leave the thousands who vcry "sir no jobs after msc??" ! well we need to change our attitude ! get into science and bsc -msc rigmarole if u are dedicated enugh to spend ure life slogging it out for 6000 -8000 per month in a dingy yet hi fi lab. or else , the IT shop's still open at the corner dude!!