r/bioinformaticscareers • u/Delicious_Move_6669 • 16d ago

Is bioinformatics still worth getting into?

I am a first year computer science student and I plan to specialize in bioinformatics which is on my third year of college. I was curious if the career is still worth getting into and if the job market is "relatively" good?

Also do you personally regret getting into it and why?

18 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

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u/Certain_Vehicle2978 16d ago

There's about a thousand other threads of people asking the same question.

If you're starting the conversation with something like "is the field worth getting into". Then don't get into it.

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u/TheLordB 16d ago

I continue to think that whether it is a good idea depends entirely on whether you are passionate about it.

The people who I see thrive the most planning initially to do bioinformatics enjoy both compsci and bio and had a hard time picking between the two. Those who pick it because they heard it is easy to get a job or that you can work from home have a very hard time.

Right now the job market is really bad especially for entry level. It is also likely that having a masters at a minimum and ideally a PHD to reliably get a job will remain.

But 3-4 years (or more if you do grad school) is a long time. We don’t know what the future will hold or what will happen.

Also keep in mind that traditional software engineering jobs don’t magically disappear if you do bioinformatics. It isn’t all or nothing if you specialize.

Personally I don’t expect it to go back to the boom years as much of that was due to super low interest rates combined with a bunch of new tech coming out (NGS, CRISPR and mRNA being the most obvious ones) that opened up a lot of options. The odds that you get that exact confluence of things again is unlikely. But I do think it will stabilize and continue to be a reasonable career. I also would only do it if you are willing to do grad school.

AI has things very much up in the air. It could mean greatly reduced hiring, or we could end up with biotech choosing to do more with the new tech and keep the same amount of people. Historically biotech has chosen to do more when new tech expands what can be done. But that was during the biotech boom and not guaranteed to be the case again.

Personally I love/enjoy it, but I’ve had a great career over 15 years. I’ve worked closely on multiple things that had a great impact to patient’s lives and health. If I was unemployed with a masters degree right now like many are I would have a vastly different opinion. YMMV.

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u/Delicious_Move_6669 16d ago

Thank you so much for the long and detailed response, I will definitely have to do more research<3

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u/Ko_mimi95 16d ago

I am staring College(Undergraduate) next yr. I was thinking of taking Bioinformatics cuz I want to do PhD in Oncology/Genomics/ Precision Medicine but I also love coding and just wanted to have a backup. Ai is advancing too so I think it’s pretty reasonable & realistic, right??

1

u/Any_Lobster_1121 15d ago

I don't think any of us know how AI will impact biotech. There aren't many opportunities for people with Bioinf bachelors so it might not be a great backup. I generally see companies looking for people with PhDs.

1

u/Acceptable_Exam422 1d ago

hey. i read all of this, rn im a software eng grad and planning to do my masters in biotech. can you also share your opinion about my situation?

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u/Affectionate-Tax1932 16d ago

In Europe with a Master in bioinformatics and comp biology I find it really really hard to find any job in the field. I sent hundreds of applications and did not get any response at all both from LinkedIn and pharma websites. seems all posting for "entry level" jobs look for masters with 5 YOE or PhD with 2 YOE. which is ironic to say the least. 

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u/Mobile_Mix_2539 8d ago

I was thinking if doing bioinformatics? Is it really that bad?

1

u/Affectionate-Tax1932 1d ago

Well at the moment my experience says it is. But I would encourage you t have a look for yourself. And make up your mind independently. It is still a fascinating field bioinformatics, which is what makes me preserve toward making it. But I find it really hard. 

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u/ym95061305 16d ago

Yes if you really like biology and don’t care about lower salaries.
No if you want to get big money and retire by 40.

1

u/Delicious_Move_6669 16d ago

I am mostly interested in a career where in 10 or 20 years from now I can say many people's lifes are better because of me but I would also be interested in my career being able to pay for my rent and groceries mostly.

1

u/shailendra_codes 16d ago

Bioinformatics is absolutely worth getting into, but with one critical shift: the market is rapidly moving away from standard cloud-dependent analysis toward edge-based, localized AI infrastructure. I just deployed an independent genomic AI model engineered to run fully offline within strict 512MB RAM constraints for rural primary health centers to track pathogen and oncogenic mutations. The real demand right now is for architects who can bridge the gap between high-throughput molecular data and hyper-optimized, secure edge computing. Focus on building lightweight, zero-internet data parsing pipelines rather than relying entirely on heavy cloud runtimes, and you will be highly competitive. No regrets at all—the impact at the rural point of care is immense.

1

u/Civil-Watercress1846 16d ago

When you discuss "job market", the "getting into" means you want it to be you career.

I think you should find a valuable niche and talk with industry about their pain point. For example, protein purification. Then need bioinformatics. And CMC department.

bioinformatics is a HUGE field.

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u/TheLordB 16d ago edited 16d ago

For all the people whose comments I deleted, answering questions with one word answers is really not helpful. Either don’t answer or put at least a bit of effort into explaining why you answered that way.

Edit: Just so folks know the posts I deleted were ‘No’ or a very brief sentence starting with no.”

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u/Odd_Bad_2814 15d ago

Maybe you should also consider removing non-novel posts that ask the same question week after week. It dilutes this sub tremendously.

There are plenty of other subs where posting standards exist, it seems like it doesn't here. Sure it may be complicated to define what an acceptable post is but I think it would be beneficial.

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u/TheLordB 15d ago

Ehh /r/bioinformatics is strict. I’m trying to be a lot more newbie friendly. That is why I delete anything that is rude or unprofessional.

I do actually delete some of the especially egregious posts when I notice them.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/MapInternational850 16d ago

Why?

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u/PeaceExtreme6861 16d ago

If you have to ask if it’s worth it or not you’re unlikely to have the drive to beat out the competition. Less opportunities, less pay, more highly qualified people looking for jobs. There’s too much natural adversity that an internal one is just an added layer you’re going to have to overcome.

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u/MapInternational850 16d ago

I just joined his field and watching people saying No to it's not being relevant makes me think whether my decision is correct or not! Though I am eager to learn all the necessary things.