Although Oberlin’s administration is proudly focused on the statistics that put the school high on national ranking scales, some students probably recognize that numbers mean nothing when it comes to the lives that they must prepare for here and live once outside of the “bubble.”

Most Oberlin science students go on in their endeavors at other prestigious institutions and earn their Ph.D.s with the aim of continuing science through research in either the public or private sphere. Yet a Ph.D.s may not necessarily be where every science student wishes to end up. But, what can a person with a higher education in science do except teach at institutions similar to this one?

This article is part one of a three part series on alternative careers in science, written for those who want to be a bit different. And different is really what Oberlin is about, right?

As more and more people go toward getting their Ph.D. (27,230 Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering were awarded in 1996, a 27 percent increase in a ten-year period), research positions in academia, industry and government have been dwindling since the 1980s.

Senior chemistry major Sara Lindner said, “I’m not certain what I want to do with my chemistry degree primarily because I don’t know what possibilities are open to me.”

So what else is there? Education is the first career path that comes to mind; nevertheless, primary and secondary school and college are not the only places where you can help a student discover the joys of science. For those who feel constrained in a classroom environment, the emergence of more and more science centers provides ample career opportunities.

“When there are openings for either existing or new positions, there is a shortage of experienced candidates, but no shortage of inexperienced ones,” notesd Alan Friedman, director of the New York Hall of Science. Therefore, volunteering in local science centers could be an easy way for students to gain the experience they need to pursue a career in this field.

One negative is the fact that tenure is not an option at most of these places. There are also a lot more deadlines to meet than in hard science. Multiple tasks every day do not allow for more specialized pursuits, something characteristic of much of the life of an academic scientist. However, if you are a multi-tasker, do not want to go through tenure fights and want a greater chance to make contributions to your community, institution and the world, this may give you what you’re searching for in science.

How about those science students who are finding science research a difficult outlet for their creative side?

Did you ever wonder who creates those pictures in your textbook?

The field of natural history and medical illustration has a wide range of jobs, including freelance artist, art director, museum staff illustrator, science photographer, field artist, museum exhibit designer and illustrator to name a few. In this case a portfolio is key, so volunteering at a museum or magazine where you could compile one is a good way to get started.

For the field of medical illustration in particular, the Association of Medical Illustrators has specific guidelines:

“A strong foundation in the basic sciences is necessary to enable the illustrator to understand and conceptualize, for example, complex neuro-chemical and neuro-anatomical relationships.”

This is a natural choice for those students with a pre-med background and no interest in medical school. If you can draw and wish to communicate science, look into this option.

An interest in computers yields a plethora of career choices. The flood of data from endeavors like the Human Genome Projects, combined with technological innovations in computer databases, have laid the groundwork for the development of bioinformatics. This is a rapidly-increasing discipline that involves the collection, management, analysis and interpretation of data generated from large-scale genome-sequencing databases around the world.

The advancing drug industry is also being inundated with information from multiple clinical trials that has got to be sorted through by someone. Along the same lines, the amount of papers submitted and then published on scientific research has grown exponentially. Business and industry need people to go through the wealth of information and efficiently find the needed papers and studies. The continual collection, maintenance, distribution and analysis of the information are key. For organized, technologically savvy people there are many opportunities to find work advancing science.

Never believe that as a science student at Oberlin your options are limited.

“Scientific training is an apprenticeship for doing science,” said Marie McVeigh, editor for life sciences at the Institute for Scientific Information. “It is up to the individual to realize that certain of those skills can be translated to a business environment.”