Interested in science: career options after higher secondary

If you are a higher secondary science student, its a very obvious question generally asked by people so what are you going to do after that. The most common answer I have heard is, I will go for MBBS. Very few students would opt for going to conventional BSc courses because they think that there is no scope after doing BSc or MSc while that's not the case.
Reality is that there is lack of awareness in most of the students at higher secondary level. Now a days there are so many great career options available to science students apart from becoming Dr's.
Biotechnology is now become very glamorous word, and there is reason for that. The science of biotechnology is also used to alter genetic information in animals and plants to improve them in some way that benefits people. Because biotechnology essentially uses the basic ingredients of life to make new products, it is both a cutting-edge technology and an applied science. Analysts have predicted that biotechnology will be one of the most important applied sciences of the 21st century.
Students at higher secondary level can choose to go for graduation in Biotechnology / Biochemistry / Microbiology. BSc courses in these subjects are available in almost all universities. Students who can not do BSc in these courses because of any reason need not worry, if they are studying basic biology, they can move on to Biotech /Biochem / Microbio after their graduation for MSc. Though studying these subjects at BSc level gives an added advantage while fighting in competitive exams for admission in MSc courses. All good universities in India conduct an entrance exam for admission in MSc. JawarLalNehru univ conducts a joint entrance exam for admission to MSc Biotechnology, after passing that exam, one can get admission in any of the around 20 universities associated with JNU for combined entrance exam. Plus point of passing this test is you get a scholarship from Department of Biotechnogy (DBT).
There is one more option available for BSc students. Instead of doing MSc, they can go for integrated PhD, if they are interested to pursue their career in research. Some of the institutes, which provide facility for integrated PhD are TIFR, Mumbai ; IISC, Bangalore; NCBS, Bangalore; NBRC, Gurgaon etc. If you want to know more about these courses and admission procedure, you can directly go to these institutes websites.
For students, who feel that research is not their passion but they have interest in Biotechnology, they can opt for MBA in Biotechnology. Pune university is the first one to start this course in India.
Bio Students who also have their interest in computer science, can opt for MSc in Bioinoformatics or PG diploma in Bioinformatics. Pune university, JNU, Annamalai University are some of the good places to get in for these courses.
But if you are interested in making your career as scientist, I will advise you to either go for Integrated PhD or enter in MSc and then go for PhD. For Admission at PhD level, you need to qualify either of the scholarship, options are NET, GATE, ICMR, DBT. There are many good institutes offering PhD in biological sciences.
So you have many career options, and some of them may be better for you than becoming a dr based on your interest.
If you have any query or you are looking for any suggestion regarding -
which Institute to join ?
Where can I find the information about Biotech / Biochem / Microbio courses ?
What is the admission procedure ?
Career options for Biotech students ?
you can post your comments here, we will certainly get back to you within few hrs.