The global bio informatics industry is looking greener for everyone with the wide spectrum of career opportunities it has to offer. A lot of youngsters are considering studying genetics and bio technology to ensure a place in this industry, and have a well paid job. The United States is the largest market in the world for genealogy, genomics and bio technology in the current day industry.

Asia and Australia are catching up, and are not far behind. So this is a global phenomenon benefiting the job market in the entire world. A software engineer, other than the computer knowledge, should also have an affiliation with microbiology as well. The candidate should be able to tell the differences between cells, genes and molecules. Unless a person has this knowledge, they cannot pursue a career in the bio informatics industry as a software programmer.

The programs they design should also be able to relate to the subject of genealogy. The software engineers would be designing various programs to benefit the research group and scientists who are working for the industry. The research results are benefiting the medical and agriculture industries in an enormous way. With the influx of the computer technology into the bio technology industry, there has been a tremendous increase in the productivity and the over all output resulting in the speeding up of various research processes.

Education

Education plays very important role, and this field is not for people who do not have a graduate level education in biology. No matter which job they take in the industry, the candidates are expected to have some basic idea of the industry, the terms and the jargons. It is a very education specific job, and the application of knowledge gained from the education is evident.
The bio technology industry uses many software packages.

The software packages the candidate is expected to know could be programming languages like Python, MY SQL, Oracle, Linux, and Web Programming. One may not be required to know everything and candidates with the right knowledge base are assigned jobs based on suitability. The important thing about being a software programmer is to constantly update their knowledge and gain knowledge in the latest versions of the software.

In formal education, they should have a course in molecular biology or biology as a primer and also advanced technical courses like the MCSIS or Molecular Class specific information system course. However, very few programmer jobs are available for entry level graduates, and most of the companies ask for an experience of at least 5 years if not more. This is because bio technology lacks the expertise and human resources who can train or provide “on the job” training for entrants and beginners.

Required Education

Computer Skills: Python, /MySQL/Oracle, Linux, web-programming, CGI, user-interfaces
Graduate of Biological Sciences. Molecular Biology
PHD in Molecular Biology (This is not mandatory however it is more preferred in the industry)

Skills

The most desirable candidate for this job is someone who has 2 to 3 years experience in software programming in the biotech industry. The programmers are expected to have good communication skills as most of their job also includes communicating with the teams and program managers. They should have effective spoken and written communication skills.
They should have leadership qualities to be considered for a program manager’s position in the future. The candidate should execute the role with effectiveness and should also be able to work under stress.

Candidate is expected to have an innovative mind to design new methods and should also depend on established procedures and techniques. If one has a sound educational background along with the software skills, like for example a PHD in the bio technology sciences, it will become easier to get started at a high position and expect to get a big salary.

Expected Salary:

Beginner + Graduation: $3300-$4500,
Mid Level + Graduation: $5000
Expert + Graduation: $6500, PHD: $9500