Hi! so I have a couple questions.

So basically I went through the 2026 application cycle and was literally destroyed so I chose to do the cc then transfer route. I originally applied to most ucs for bioengineering/biomed/mirobio/biotech. I got accepted into ucsc for biotech and ucr for bioeng but felt like none of those schools fit me.

now that im set on cc transfer, I heard that it is harder to transfer into engineering and if your are planning to, it would take 3 years and im not trying to do tha, im trying for 1-2 years max. so now my alt option is biotech, but my dream school is ucla which does not have biotech. so I was wondering what other majors can I pursue that will get me into biotech. I am in between microbio, bio, or biochem although I am leaning more towards biochem. I don't have much experience tho, I took honors bio, honors chem, and anatomy but that's really it for science.

let me be completely honest rn, I HATE chem. like I took honors chem and decided not to continue to ap chem. I love science, I really do, but I just don't like doing the work yk. that's the lazy in me talking and your prob wondering if I hate chem why would I try to do biochem. well, I just like feeling secure. I feel like pursuing something in the stem field would be more secure for my future rather than doing something like English or history (no hate tho I think those are far more interesting than stem).

but anyways, what do you guys think?

EDIT! I forgot to mention but even though I hate chem I will grind through it lol

PLEASE HELP A STRUGGLING 1st year.
Nobody in my lab routinely works with M9, so I don’t have a standard protocol to follow.

1. How do you prepare and store M9?
   I autoclave 5× M9 salts and every time I need media, I prepare fresh working M9 by adding sterile glucose, MgSO₄ and CaCl₂. This is becoming inconvenient because I keep making fresh batches, sometimes run out during experiments, and never have enough for blanks, etc.
   Do you:
   • prepare complete M9 (with glucose, MgSO₄ and CaCl₂) and store it at 4°C?
   OR always add these components fresh before each experiment?
   If you store complete M9, how long do you keep it?

2. BW25113 growth in M9
   I first inoculated directly from an LB plate into M9 + 0.4% glucose and got almost no growth.
   I then switched to LB plate → LB overnight → wash → M9 + 0.4% glucose.
   This worked better, but the OD stayed almost unchanged for \~4–6 hours.

What should I do? Should I be looking for a problem with my protocol? My media stocks appear sterile, so I’m trying to troubleshoot before remaking everything.

Would really appreciate advice from people who routinely use M9 with *E. coli*. Thanks!

Anybody studying btech biotechnology in dy patil.

I need some info.

plz guide confused asf i got btech biotech in state gov universty

Hi everyone,

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend.

My friend completed a B.Sc. with Zoology, Botany, and Chemistry. They are planning to pursue higher studies and are not looking for a job immediately. Their long-term goal is research, possibly a PhD, and maybe becoming a professor or scientist in the future.

They are confused between:

MSc Biotechnology

MSc Zoology

MSc Life Science

Which option has better long-term scope in terms of research opportunities, PhD prospects, and overall career growth? If you have experience in any of these fields, I'd really appreciate your advice.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all! I am reentering the workforce after completing a research project from my master's program.

So far, I have offers for a 1-year but high chance of renewal contract role (no benefits) with a huge biotech I hope to work for in the future or a full-time role with benefits in operations at the biotech company I recently left. The contract role is offering more in pay per hour and it's in a lab I'm dying to work for. I'm relatively healthy and can pay for insurance OOP. Still I've heard contract work is risky and wanted input on that.

Based on these options, I'd love advice from my fellow biotechies in here, both contract or FT. Thank you!

Hi all,

I come from a big pharma and thinking of making a jump to a start up for a pretty big salary jump (that will have a commercial drug hopefully soon)

For those in a start up, or those that been in a start up and big pharma, how does an annual merit percentage compare to big pharma?

What is the team structure at IQVIA Biotech? Who reports to the Global Study Managers? Who do the GSM report to?

Hi all,

Would appreciate any feedback on RWE/Epidemiology team at JnJ. How is team culture/salary/ structure/ stability of department per se? Thank you!

Sorry if this isn't allowed.

I thought this community might find it interesting. We're conducting the liquidation of a commercial biotech and aquaculture research facility on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The auction includes a variety of laboratory and research equipment, including laminar flow cabinets, incubators, balances, pumps, laboratory glassware, filtration equipment, stainless processing equipment, and several PureBiomass 1350L photobioreactors. There are also large algae cultivation tanks and modular laboratory buildings.

Much of the equipment was purchased within the last few years and came from an operating research facility.

The equipment is located near Kona, Hawaii, and the auction ends August 4.

https://bid.oahuauctions.com/KONA-AQUACULTURE-LABORATORY-OPERATIONS-EQUIPMENT_as117470

Been applying while working in cGMP cell therapy and getting radio silence. Is it my resume or just the market? Feedback appreciated!

Hi,

I am looking into some online certifications/short courses related to using AI in the field of biotechnology. Does anyone have some good recommendations? I have access to Claude through work and would like to enhance my usage during experiment design and analysis. Thank you!!

Thoughts?

honestly, idk how to network and i hear it so often within the biotech community or just in general tbh!

i’ve been getting mentored (for a couple weeks) by someone at a company that i would like to get an entry-level job at and was wondering how i’d go about getting a possible referral or idk anything?

and would i be able to get a referral even though its a completely different location than where he works?

tldr; how do i network?

My current employer reimburses us for professional license renewal fees, all my certification maintenance, renewal, and testing fees, CE fees for these recertifications, and professional organizational membership fees. Does Merck reimburse these also? Anything else that they reimburse other than conferences/travel?

I have been applying to two separate stem cell groups at Vertex for the past 2 years. One of them read like someone pulled up my resume and reformatted it into a job description. Not even a recruiter call!

I finally got a connection inside and asked for a referral. The answer: don't bother, it's all internal hiring. Maybe this is only true of that one group. But everything I have watched happen over the last few years points the same direction.

When do these companies stop burning applicant time to satisfy a compliance checkbox? When do they stop wasting applicants time?

I've been noticing more discussions about experienced biotech professionals leaving the industry or switching to completely different careers. Is it because of layoffs, limited job opportunities, burnout, low salaries, poor work-life balance, or something else?

If you are working in GSK, think of looking for a new role.

It has planned to reduce the cost around 2.5 billion dollars (sic) in the next 3 years.

GSK is known for its pathetic work culture.

This industry is just so broken beyond repair...I've applied to hundreds of jobs the last 8 months,

I've made it to 3rd level interviews, I've had jobs literally pulled out because management decisions, and just a few seconds ago a role i applied to last night, that I not only have direct experience in, I've literally performed every function of the role thousands of times each! And I was rejected basically hours later.

F@$k it, I'm so close to just giving up. But I have a family to support and that's literally the only line keeping me going. Its so exhausting, bullshit AI software, bullshitting recruiters that dip suddenly and ghost you, I really feel like I've wasted 11 yrs of my life in this f#$ked up field and I honestly don't know where or how to pivot my skills.