Bachelor's Degree equivalency

[StephWilde 12]

So by the time I move to the states I'll have a joint honours Bachelors degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Strathclyde uni in Scotland. From looking at job listings online I can gather this will qualify me to work in various labs running a number of different tests.  

 

I kind of assumed the degree would be equivalent to a US degree however I've since been told that in US colleges you get very little lab experience and the same cannot be said for my course, we were given lab experience at least once a week for the entirety of my 4 year course.

 

Has anyone done a similar degree and to mine and how did it help your job hunt in the field? Was the extra experience helpful or was it still viewed as a foreign degree and faced a certain level of difficulty?

 

I'm just trying to figure out what kind of obstacles I'll face with this degree or if I'll need to do any further training to work in my chosen field. Thanks for any replies :)

[Rose711 35]

I don’t know where you learned that biochemists and microbiologists have little lab experience in the US. I can’t speak for every university but it is typical for every biology, chemistry and physics class - outside of purely theoretical high level classes- to have a lab every week.

The lab course is usually registered separately as an additional  1 credit class to the main course. Maybe that is where the confusion arises? Many grads do required senior projects that involve independent lab work as well.

 

i have no idea how your degree will

translate. As for credentials, you would mostly be looking at getting an advanced degree, though that isn’t something you should pursue until

you know the job market.

 

Edited September 2, 2019 by Rose711

[Rose711 35]

Not to discourage you at all, but there are a high number of bio grads here in the US looking for entry level

work. Some gave up on medicine as a career or are working for a while. It can be competitive to get jobs.

just do a lot of research.

 

my friend had to work as an unpaid volunteer for a year before she got a job in a prestigious hospital based medical research lab. The competition for jobs are steep and hospitals as not for profit institutions are allowed to have unpaid volunteers for a year under current labor laws. She only got the interview for the volunteer job through family connections. After that she proved her dedication by working unpaid for a year before being offered a full time position.

 

 There may be jobs like med techs or pharmacy assistants you could get?

 

You need to do a lot of research. Sorry I do t know more about where to start. Maybe local hospitals or companies in the area you will be moving.

 

[StephWilde 12]

Hey thanks for the reply,

 

I got the info about the US lack of labs throughout the whole curriculum from someone who did a biochem degree in NC so I feel like its fairly accurate, at least to his experience in the area where I'll be living. The way they explained it was colleges had a bit of catching up to do in the first couple of years from a varied experience of peoples high school educations. And then in the last two years you study your chosen degree subject, where i'm assuming the labs would be more frequent. 

 

This could obviously vary from college to college, some educations are better than others. 

 

I've already begun looking at types of jobs I'd qualify if my degree was considered the same as a US degree and there are various positions I qualify for and I had already considered it is fairly competitive. 

 

Unpaid work for a year? That's extreme.

[Liam2021 551]

Get your degree evaluation first. The job market in US is touch , so be prepare that you will get hired with entry level job.

[StephWilde 12]

Honestly as long is the job is in the field I worked so hard for, entry level is fine with me. I just dont want it to be a waste of time. I know its all hypothetical and I just have to wait and see what the job market is like at the time, wont stop me from worrying lol

[cyclone27 710]

Labs are throughout a 4yr degree - each theory course has a lab associated with it.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

On 8/30/2019 at 4:55 AM, StephWilde said:

So by the time I move to the states I'll have a joint honours Bachelors degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Strathclyde uni in Scotland. From looking at job listings online I can gather this will qualify me to work in various labs running a number of different tests.  

 

I kind of assumed the degree would be equivalent to a US degree however I've since been told that in US colleges you get very little lab experience and the same cannot be said for my course, we were given lab experience at least once a week for the entirety of my 4 year course.

 

Has anyone done a similar degree and to mine and how did it help your job hunt in the field? Was the extra experience helpful or was it still viewed as a foreign degree and faced a certain level of difficulty?

 

I'm just trying to figure out what kind of obstacles I'll face with this degree or if I'll need to do any further training to work in my chosen field. Thanks for any replies

 

   Some fields require that foreign degree's be evaluated by a credentialing service. Often it's related to licensing requirements for the field itself. For example, the field of medical microbiology in a hospital setting usually requires a national certification license, which first requires that a foreign degree be evaluated by one of these services. Working as a microbiologist in another area may not require this step.

 

  There are several services that do credentialing. If you do need to have it done, sometimes it's very specific as to which one you may need to use. It is generally straight forward to do, but can sometimes take several weeks. It would be a good idea to look into ahead of time to see if it's necessary and what you may need to do. 

[SalishSea 16,770]

On 9/2/2019 at 6:45 AM, StephWilde said:

Hey thanks for the reply,

 

I got the info about the US lack of labs throughout the whole curriculum from someone who did a biochem degree in NC so I feel like its fairly accurate, at least to his experience in the area where I'll be living. The way they explained it was colleges had a bit of catching up to do in the first couple of years from a varied experience of peoples high school educations. And then in the last two years you study your chosen degree subject, where i'm assuming the labs would be more frequent. 

 

This could obviously vary from college to college, some educations are better than others. 

 

I've already begun looking at types of jobs I'd qualify if my degree was considered the same as a US degree and there are various positions I qualify for and I had already considered it is fairly competitive. 

 

Unpaid work for a year? That's extreme.

Maybe you're referring to degrees from smaller US colleges vs large research universities?  My son has a CS + Physics degree from Berkeley, and my other son is entering his first year at the University of Washington, taking pharmacology and chemistry.  Both had/have an intensive lab schedule that corresponds quite closely to the corresponding theory/lecture class.

[Rose711 35]

On 9/2/2019 at 9:45 AM, StephWilde said:

Hey thanks for the reply,

 

I got the info about the US lack of labs throughout the whole curriculum from someone who did a biochem degree in NC so I feel like its fairly accurate, at least to his experience in the area where I'll be living. The way they explained it was colleges had a bit of catching up to do in the first couple of years from a varied experience of peoples high school educations. And then in the last two years you study your chosen degree subject, where i'm assuming the labs would be more frequent. 

 

This could obviously vary from college to college, some educations are better than others. 

 

I've already begun looking at types of jobs I'd qualify if my degree was considered the same as a US degree and there are various positions I qualify for and I had already considered it is fairly competitive. 

 

Unpaid work for a year? That's extreme.

You should look at other college curriculums as I can tell you that you are incorrect in thinking you have more labs. 

 

Yes, it was extreme to volunteer for a year to get a job - but it happens. Just giving you an example of how difficult it was to get a coveted position in a small internationally known hospital based research lab. They are allowed to do this legally under US labor laws.

 

Don’t underestimate the number of biologists in North Carolina- a small state with highly regarded research universities turning out grads every year.

[StephWilde 12]

Thank you everyone for the replies. 

 

11 minutes ago, Rose711 said:

You should look at other college curriculums as I can tell you that you are incorrect in thinking you have more labs. 

Its looking probable the person I spoke to had a poor scheduling of labs throughout his course. I'm not sure which college he went to, it was just a general conversation rather than a grilling of his education lol

 

 

10 minutes ago, Rose711 said:

Don’t underestimate the number of biologists in North Carolina- a small state with highly regarded research universities turning out grads every year.

Definitely not underestimating this, hence trying to gather as much info as possible a year in advance of moving. 

 

9 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Maybe you're referring to degrees from smaller US colleges vs large research universities?  My son has a CS + Physics degree from Berkeley, and my other son is entering his first year at the University of Washington, taking pharmacology and chemistry.  Both had/have an intensive lab schedule that corresponds quite closely to the corresponding theory/lecture class.

This is much more reflective of my own degree and honestly what I assumed the base standard was across the board before talking to this person. I feel I should just disregard what he said and act as though I'm either at the same level or below native applicants. 

 

 

[Rose711 35]

 I didn’t want to discourage you but wanted you to know about biology degrees here. Sounds like you figured that out on your own.

 

Good of luck with everything. 

[Kris & Crystal 47]

US Degrees have a general education requirement which means that a good chunk of the teaching time isn't spent on the primary and related topics of study which can have a knock-on related to depth of study. Students have more freedom in terms of modules so the programme of study isn't a curated and complementary.

 

In addition to that if you look at equivalency stuff, exchange programmes and entry requirements on the EU side it says a 4 Year Bachelors degree from the EU in terms of teaching and topics covered is the equivalent to a Bachelors plus a Masters degree in the US. Partly because the general consensus in the EU is that the Honours year in terms of difficulty and subject matter is the same as the Masters year in the US. Lots of people in the US don't understand the 'with Honours' part either.

 

In practice however people from the US or those with US degrees are a bit touchy and defensive about this and you should just consider an EU bachelors to be the same as a US bachelors.

 

You'll find lots of Associates degrees also which are basically like HNDs. In some cases they're closer to HNCs.

Edited September 17, 2019 by Kris & Crystal