bioinformatics

Bioinformatics as A Career

Researchers with bioinformatics expertise are thought to be an asset in today’s job market, especially with the increasing demand for the large NGS and TGS datasets analysis. A bioinformatics job often requires candidates with certain backgrounds or skills. This is usually not limited to a degree in Life Science, but a quantitative discipline, such as Bioinformatics, Computer Science, Statistics or Molecular Biology. If this job is targeted for specialized projects such as precision medicine and regulatory genomics in cancer and COVID-19, the candidates better hope that they are equipped with the knowledge of Cancer Genomics or Virology. If this is a senior position, the prospective employee has to prove certain minimum years’ experience of bioinformatics projects.

The responsibility of a bioinformatics job might vary between the different positions. The investigations of the bioinformatics job market have given me some common insights into these issues, such as being able to write or assist manuscripts for publication, present the project in lab meeting or scientific conferences, and collaborate with local or international wet-lab researchers. If the job needs you to be comfortable with the coding environment, you have to be proficient in programming (e.g., Python, Perl, and C++) and have experience working in a Unix/Linux computing environment with large datasets. Apart from the technical levels, employers usually prefer candidates who exhibit independent thinking and involvement in the design of future research projects, have a fellowship or have applied for and successfully obtained a fellowship, or even experience in a supervisory role.

The qualification of a bioinformatics job is for candidates to evaluate themselves whether meeting the employer’s requirements or not. This is also why candidates are eager to improve their curriculum vitae (CV). Firstly, a degree in related field is usually needed (e.g., Biology, Computer Science, Statistics, Bioinformatics etc.). Then, the previous experience of published work in peer-reviewed journals (e.g., the number of first author publication(s) in good journals). Lastly, the strong background or minimum years’ experience of programming related projects. Whether you believe or not, the area of bioinformatics is booming and continuing to grow with high demand and excellent salaries in the coming years.