Tuesday, August 07, 2001

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"The University of Washington will be at the center of a new, $30 million effort to research the recently deciphered human genome sequence."

"The grants recognize the Seattle area's emergence as a leader in the ill-defined but exploding field of "genomics" or "bioinformatics" -- basically, the marriage of computers and molecular biology. The UW, private research institutes and a noted firm in Kirkland are shaping that reputation."

""This is a little like the early days in the computer software revolution," he said. The sequencing of the human genome along with powerful new information technologies, Duncan said, has created an explosion of "killer apps" for biology."

redux [03.14.01]
ABCNews.Com The Next Bubble: Is Bioinformatics the Next Big Boom...and Bust?

"The story proclaimed in its lead, "Move over Information Age. Make room for the age of bioinformation." You could picture bleary eyes opening all over the Bay Area. The story went on to note that a San Jose consulting firm was predicting a 10 percent annual growth in the bioinformatics market for years to come; and that the National Science Foundation estimated that 20,000 new jobs in the field would be created in the field in just the next four years.

If that wasn't enough, the rest of the section was filled with page after page of biotech firms listing job openings ? in powerful juxtaposition to the endless lists of dot-com layoffs just a few pages earlier. Picture Starbucks spit-takes from Marin to Santa Cruz.

Wow! Rewrite that resumé to emphasize that biology course you took in college. Roll your Aeron chair down to the nearest lab. Trade that black turtleneck for a white lab coat..."

redux [03.05.01]
SFGate Why Bioinformatics Is Hot Career

"Move over Information Age. Make room for the age of bioinformation.

Experts have already dubbed bioinformatics - a hybrid profession pairing biology and computer science - the career choice of the decade.

"There is a crying need for experts in bioinformatics and this is not something that will just fade away," said Dr. Leena Peltonen, chairwoman of the Department of Human Genetics at UCLA."

redux [05.10.00]
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Hiring Patterns Experienced by Students Enrolled in Bioinformatics/Computational Biology Programs

"As expected, salaries for the most part climb as the level of training rises, starting in the $40,000-$50,000 range for BAs and reaching over $100,000 for one post doc. But there are exceptions. For example, two of the three undergraduates who were placed received salaries between $50,0000 to $60,000. This is higher than that earned by seven of the masters students, although ten of the nineteen masters students for whom we have salary information earn more than $60,000. One masters student received a starting salary of over $100,000. Reported salaries for five hires at the doctorate level are over $70,000. One is between $80,000 to $90,000; another is over $100,000; yet another is between $60,000 to $70,000. Three post docs received placements with a salary between $80,000 to $90,000. One post doc was placed at a salary of over $100,000. One institution reported that one or more masters student(s) received a signing bonus."

"The results of our current survey make it clear that the majority of these jobs are not being filled by graduates of formal programs?who by our count represent about 15 percent of the positions advertised in 1997. And, we believe the 15 percent figure to be an overestimate given that ads have been growing over time and our most recent ad count is for 1997, a year earlier than our hiring data. This leads us to infer that most of the advertised positions are being filled by individuals trained in informal programs and by individuals who change jobs. The distinct possibility exists that a number of these jobs remain vacant for a period of time, an issue not studied here. Furthermore, our pipeline estimates (see Table 2) lead us to conclude that the number of individuals currently enrolled in formal programs falls far short of the number of positions that have recently been advertised."