Biomedical Informatics Specialist Career Plan

Become a Bioinformatics Specialist…

Bioinformatics Resources…

A career in biomedical informatics will require at least a baccalaureate degree. The best positions, though, favor candidates with a doctoral level education. In a field that requires such a lot of schooling, it’s best to get a solid foundation early on.

  1. Opt for honors or advanced placement classes in high school. Focus on computers and lab sciences. Learn a computer language. Make sure you are ready for college entrance exams.

  2. Get a head start building your resume. Look into summer internship opportunities. The Rochester Institute of Technology has a huge database of internships on their people.rit.edu site. Even if you’re not in New York, you may want to check it out — there are listings from around the nation. Also consider entering some science fairs or computer contests.

  3. Explore baccalaureate programs in biomedical informatics. (If you are an exceptional student, you may consider a combined baccalaureate/ master’s articulation program.)

  4. Continue to seek out internships while enrolled in your degree program. The Biomedical Informatics Training Program at Harvard is a paid eight week internship open to students from around the nation. The Oregon Health and Sciences University Summer Biomedical Informatics Internship is another possibility.

  5. Take advantage of other professional opportunities. Become a student member of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) or the International Society for Computational Biology. (The latter is more active outside North America, but there is an Ohio chapter.)

  6. Seek out entry level positions or prepare for graduate school. When choosing a graduate school, you’ll want to know something about the faculty and how well known they are in the field. By this time, you’ll have some idea of what branch of the field you want to specialize in. At the doctoral level especially, you will be thinking about what researchers you may be able to assist and use as mentors.

  7. Find a position. In fields where doctoral and post-doctoral education is common, this often happens naturally. As you progress from internships to fellowships, you may build a reputation for yourself. You can also network through professional organizations and utilize online job boards and LinkedIn.

Personality Traits: Biomedical informatics specialists have analytical minds and good communication and teamwork skills.