• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

BA vs. BS (Biology)

M

mercanucaribe

Banned
I'm considering getting a biology degree after I get my geography.. My intent is to work for the USDA, NPS, forest service, etc. I'm looking at getting the degree at TX State, and if I'm reading this page correctly, I'd need only 7 more biology classes, 1 more chemistry class, and communication. For a BS I'd need 2 organic chemistry classes, and calc 2 (might be "hella hard" years after taking calc 1).

So is a BS worth more time? Of course I realize it will look better by virtue of being more difficult, but shoot, I'll have two degrees and GIS and remote sensing skills! So other than that, does it matter?
 
prob with it

my school gave out both however it wasent any more work to get a BS over a BA

the college my sister went to ONLY gave out BAs, she has a BA in Bio
 
Originally posted by: mercanucaribe
I'm considering getting a biology degree after I get my geography.. My intent is to work for the USDA, NPS, forest service, etc. I'm looking at getting the degree at TX State, and if I'm reading this page correctly, I'd need only 7 more biology classes, 1 more chemistry class, and communication. For a BS I'd need 2 organic chemistry classes, and calc 2 (might be "hella hard" years after taking calc 1).

So is a BS worth more time? Of course I realize it will look better by virtue of being more difficult, but shoot, I'll have two degrees and GIS and remote sensing skills! So other than that, does it matter?
Click to expand...

Just a guess here - I think it will be important if you're applying to grad school, probably not so much otherwise. I could be wrong of course.

Dunno about cal 2, but organic is usually tough. Tons of memorization. But extremely important and even interesting at times. If you're a geek I guess. 😉
 
Degree wise, no difference, it's just a letter. But having the background in those courses will. I have a BA in bio since my school didn't offer any BS but since I was a pre-med I ended up taking the 2 semesters of orgo and other classes which probably would have qualified me for a BS at another school.

My friends who graduated with BA bio degrees have had the same amount of success (or failure) in getting jobs and grad school, etc as other people I know who have BS. You're screwed either way if you want to get a "real" research job since you don't have a MS or PhD, you get stuck washing the test tubes😛

You probably should take orgo though and maybe even some biochem, the extra chemistry comes in handy.
 
Originally posted by: kami333
Degree wise, no difference, it's just a letter. But having the background in those courses will. I have a BA in bio since my school didn't offer any BS but since I was a pre-med I ended up taking the 2 semesters of orgo and other classes which probably would have qualified me for a BS at another school.

My friends who graduated with BA bio degrees have had the same amount of success (or failure) in getting jobs and grad school, etc as other people I know who have BS. You're screwed either way if you want to get a "real" research job since you don't have a MS or PhD, you get stuck washing the test tubes😛

You probably should take orgo though and maybe even some biochem, the extra chemistry comes in handy.
Click to expand...

what industry are you working in now?
are you still planning on going to a med school?
 
I go to TxState right now.

Im a computer science major, but I had the same question because my minor is Japanese. If I was a BA I could have graduated much earlier. But I asked my manager at work if it makes a difference in BS or BA and he said if he had to decide between two people and one had a BA he would definately take that into consideration and go for the BS guy who put in the extra work to be more well rounded.

Go for the BS, especially for a "real" science major, you gotta have that background.

Txstate is great btw. I graduate this semester.
 
Originally posted by: iwantanewcomputer
a lot of good employers will consider a BA = minor. i'd stretch for the BS if you want to get something doing biology
Click to expand...

you dont get a degree for minors, thats pretty stupid if they actually think that
 
Originally posted by: fritolays
Originally posted by: kami333
Degree wise, no difference, it's just a letter. But having the background in those courses will. I have a BA in bio since my school didn't offer any BS but since I was a pre-med I ended up taking the 2 semesters of orgo and other classes which probably would have qualified me for a BS at another school.

My friends who graduated with BA bio degrees have had the same amount of success (or failure) in getting jobs and grad school, etc as other people I know who have BS. You're screwed either way if you want to get a "real" research job since you don't have a MS or PhD, you get stuck washing the test tubes😛

You probably should take orgo though and maybe even some biochem, the extra chemistry comes in handy.
Click to expand...

what industry are you working in now?
are you still planning on going to a med school?
Click to expand...

I'm working in Europe in IT, its an internship with a study abroad program that I did 🙂 It was for a year but I got my contract extended for another 6months. Oh, and our sys admin is a marketing major and my coworkers are business majors, none of us are doing what we went to school for.
Med school or grad school, I'm leaning towards med school. Not in a big hurry though, might as well enjoy life while I still can.
 
Originally posted by: iwantanewcomputer
a lot of good employers will consider a BA = minor. i'd stretch for the BS if you want to get something doing biology
Click to expand...

Negative, just like a BA in Visual Communication Design or a BA in Fashion Design or a BA in whatever else. That's nonsense.
 
Thanks for the input. Keep it coming!

I'm not worried about washing out test tubes. The reason I'm thinking about doing this is that I want to do ecological field work, which seems like a good bet judging from http://jobsearch.usajobs.opm.gov . They seem to want a lot of people with a bachelor's and a year of experience. By the end of next year, I'll have taken 4 ecology classes within geography, one field work class, one on protected areas. I already mentioned remote sensing and GIS. Hopefully that would help a lot. Still, I think that eventually I'd get a master's.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I'm interested in the botany track on that page.
 
don't be lazy. BS will get you a better-paying job in most cases, esp science majors. BA in a science major will only get you a dish washing job.
 
I would guess that it doesn't matter. first off you could right on your resume that you got a bachelors degree in chemistry and not bother stating whether it is a BS or a BA. Also, depending on the university a BA might mean more courses and not less. At my old college a BA was the same as a BS plus some foreign language course so the BA was supposedly more prestigous.
 
Get the BS. Everyone in the science field knows getting the BA is the 'cop out' way of doing it. Just be thankful that your school doesn't require pchem on top of the ochem for the BS. Also my undergrad had different tracks in bio one of which emphasized in ecology, does yours offer that?
 
Originally posted by: Turnpike
Get the BS. Everyone in the science field knows getting the BA is the 'cop out' way of doing it. Just be thankful that your school doesn't require pchem on top of the ochem for the BS. Also my undergrad had different tracks in bio one of which emphasized in ecology, does yours offer that?
Click to expand...

Were you a science major?
 
Originally posted by: kami333
Originally posted by: Turnpike
Get the BS. Everyone in the science field knows getting the BA is the 'cop out' way of doing it. Just be thankful that your school doesn't require pchem on top of the ochem for the BS. Also my undergrad had different tracks in bio one of which emphasized in ecology, does yours offer that?
Click to expand...

Were you a science major?
Click to expand...


Sociology.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top