There are almost as many ways to explore biotechnology careers as there are careers to explore. We've picked a few ideas to share here.
All the instructions can be downloaded from the bottom of the page.
1. City College of San Francisco class assignment
Students begin by scanning a list of biotech-related topics (download below) and careers and marking the ones they find interesting to narrow their research.
Next, they use Biotech-Careers.org and complete the attached worksheet (Download below).
CCSF also has some nice ideas at their Career Exploration course.
2. Exploring biotechnology careers from Digital World Biology
These instructions describe how to find information about:
- Careers and colleges that teach biotech skills
- Different areas of the biotech industry, these are also called "business sectors"
- stories about new careers and industry news (blogs)
- What is it like to work in biotechnology? (profiles, videos)
- Where are biotech companies located?
- What do biotech companies do in my state?
- Which biotech companies might be hiring?
- How many companies work in different business areas and where are they located?
- How many companies work on COVID-19 and what do they do?
3. Other strategies
A. The Career Cocktail Party - it can be hard for students to make small talk. In this activity, students research a career and prepare a note card for reference. They attend a party, either in person, or virtually and talk about their career to another person. They have a set of questions to ask each other in order to get started.
B. The Virtual Information Interview - This is similar to the Cocktail party. Students research a career, prepare notes, and then conduct mock informational interviews with each other to learn about each others' careers.
C. Poster presentations - students make a poster about a career. These would include the pathways for career preparation and where they might progress after beginning their career in a specific entry-level job.
Submitted by Sandra Porter on Sun March 07, 2021.
