The 20th century saw physics on the forefront; the atom was split and Silicon Valley, California was where the computer chip ruled. The 21^st century will be defined by biotechnology. This all started in 1953 when James Watson and Francis Crick defined the DNA model, their actions were the beginning of one of the greatest scientific achievements of all times, the decoding of the human genome. Their discovery opened the workforce to a whole new sector, biotechnology jobs.

A classic example of the advances in biotech is in the treatment of epidemics. It was only a century ago that flu claimed 20 million lives. In this century, antibiotics and vaccines have helped increase the life expectancy of citizens of the world. Advances will affect how cancer is treated, how cardiovascular diseases are managed, and strides will be made in stem cell research. Not only does the biotech century impact many aspects of people's lives, including bettering healthcare and creating new jobs, but the century will see changes in the agricultural sector by the formulation of safer herbicides and pesticides.

To take advantage of the biotech jobs boom, scientist can enter either into the academic field or the private industry. In academia, careers include teachers at all levels in the education field or researchers at academic research institutes. Biotech jobs in the private industry include positions such as researchers, technicians, management positions, and administrative jobs.

Positions available match an individual's education level. Biological and medical scientists, are mostly PhD holders, working in the research and development sector. These career scientists include biochemists, ecologists, microbiologist, and botanist. Salary ranges for this group of scientist range from $29,000 for scientists with bachelor degrees to $55,000 for those working in the government sector. Technologists, the next level of careers, usually hold a bachelor's degree in life science. They are the group of scientists who do the ''leg work'' examining data, analyzing samples and running tests. These are the histologists, immunologists, and cytotechnologists. Average salary among this group is $40,000 at the turn of the century. Technicians work under the supervision of the scientists and earn hourly wages or salaries that average in the mid 30K's. Another career growing in biotech field are the forensic scientists, who use the new advances in biotechnology and apply them to solving crime.

To catch this growing bandwagon of biotech jobs, high school students are encouraged to establish a good and strong science base taking classes in biology, mathematics, and chemistry. Focus should be placed on obtaining a life science degree in college. Work experience opportunities such as independent laboratory research or internships can help keep a student a step ahead of the competition.

The job outlook is very good. It is predicted that the biotech industry will generate almost 400,000 jobs in the first 10 years of the 21st century. According to Kevin Sullivan an expert in business development in the Boston area, the number of biotech companies will just about double generating a four-fold increase in biotechnology jobs to the Boston area. These trends will be seen nationwide in certain areas of the country. Investment into these companies is still trending upwards with most companies investing their profit back into their company to ensure company growth.

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