biotech grad here also, never had a high pay job until now.

hmm.. u tink da path to obtain a master o phd easy?? depends u under wich supervisor.. if ur supervisor kind n gud, may u juz nid 1.5-2 yrs to finish ur master.. for da worse case, it takes even 5 yrs n sum of my friend also quit it half way through.. they r black n white whn u enroll to master.. like da duration of ur project nid to be completed, if nt, da fund o expanses of ur project u nid to bear it urself.. in a nutshell, it is quite a risky path among all diff fields of postgraduate studies..

hope wat u sacrifice for is worth it.. n as i said, if u hav da will, u hav da way... n one more ting, normal grade de lecturer also won't hav tht high salary unless u r ady at associate professor n higher level..

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Added on May 27, 2010, 3:51 pm

by the way, da aar company is a nt bad company after i c thru da website.. so r u a worker fr there o u r still study degree student??

I been to alpha biologics for interview. thats the company i mentioned just now 1500 1 yr contract. Nevermind, Im just whining because I just miss penang, kl is just....not a great city (for me).
At least I love my current job, and my aim is to gain experience, there is no big problem.Tell us about your job once you've started working ok?

haiyo.. nt reali tht bad da situation.. as i say.. if u hav da will, u hav da way.. u muz hav passion n effort whn u step into biotech.. dun becoz of money thn u work.. tell u sumting, be4 i quit my engineering job, i used to hav average 2.5k a month for my salary (da first few months, i was an assistant engineer, thn end of last year, boss hav increase my grade into production engineer).. but becoz i like biotech, thn i quit n find jobs again.. i tink next time whn u grad, there will b lot of opportunities.. plz.. next time whn step into worklife, dun demand if u a fresh grad especially biotech.. unless u hav a excellent results in ur degree.. work hard.. thn sure ur boss will c it n increase ur salary..

u r referring to me o other ppl to tell u?? haha...

In malaysia, BSc with honours means that your will have a final year project which would result in a production of a dissertation (mini thesis) and a viva..You will know whether the degree has an honours component when you enrol..
In some countries, BSc is 3 year program. After that, they can apply to do honours year..which is a full year research intensive program..not all BSc students will apply for honours and not all are qualified..They are chosen based on the BSc results..
Did you have a final year research project at the end of your BSc?
BSc without honours doesn't mean that your degree is not recognized..It would imply inferiority if you intend to apply for related stuffs...such as postgraduate degree or job related to research (in bio context)..
An honours year is placed more importance than MSc (coursework)..at least this is what happen at my university..

Of course...it's like job application..you can't expect to get a scholarship with just 1 application..you have to send in as much as possible...
but it doesn't mean that the more you send, the higher the chances...as all scholarships are competitive..everyone wants a scholarship..but there isn't enough for everyone..
the sum given differs from scholarship to scholarship...but as a rule of thumb, these scholarship are enough..if you know how to manage and cook a lot, you could save..for my city, i would say at least A$1000 per month for essential needs..The ANU website estimates a person needs $20,000 annually..that's a generous estimation of course..
So for your Masters, do your best, publish in high impact publications rather than multiple lower impact ones...you'll need good reference letter for scholarship..

I am doing my PhD now..
Doing a PhD doesn't really correlated to getting a job easier..you have to understand that 1st..
Certain jobs need PhD qualification, certain jobs need Masters and certain need only BSc..They have different niche...like you can't work as a lecturer with BSc and it's insane for a PhD holder to work as a medical lab technologist..
I do PhD because i want to do something related to what i studied..and i don't want to do repetitive stuffs day in day out..With a BSc in bio-related course, i'll end up with jobs like technician if you insist on working on something related to what I studied...and it is kind of a personal satisfaction to get a PhD..

my friends all got offers btw 1.5-1.8, and those are first class grads! All bio companies- molecular bio/microbiologist positions...So not worth it! After deducting epf n socso, it would be basically around 1.3-1.6, wtf.

So little for a fresh grad from a course that is freaking tough

Sime darby only offering 2.2k for biotech ppl.....