Bioinformatics is an exciting realm of work, offering in-office and work-from-home jobs.
While some companies require presence in their labs and offices, most individuals can perform their work remotely on computers.
In this guide, you will learn about the bioinformatics career and how you can take advantage of work-from-home bioinformatics opportunities.
Can Bioinformatics Work From Home?
Bioinformatics students and graduates who dread working in an office daily will be happy to learn that they can work from home.
Bioinformatics experts focus on collecting and analyzing information about biological systems, particularly genetics and genomes.
They develop software tools to compile, organize, and store data used for research and drawing important medical or biological conclusions.
They may work alone or in teams to research and build programs or analyze information.
Many jobs within bioinformatics focus solely on computer or cloud work.
Bioinformatic engineers, bioinformatics specialists, and bioinformaticians can all work from home, depending on their specific tasks and responsibilities.
Three main types of companies offer remote options: pharmaceutical, biomedical, and academic research.
Often, these firms and institutions have the support and resources necessary for efficient remote work.
Learn more: Can Bioinformatics Do Biomedical Engineering?
What Do You Need To Work From Home?
You should have a desktop computer or laptop with high-capacity storage, a fast and up-to-date processor, a powerful graphics card, and high-speed internet.
With this setup, you can support closed-based applications, run multiple programs and save large amounts of data as necessary.
Most remote workers also need a webcam, microphone, or mobile device to stay in touch with their supervisors and teams.
Depending on your particular role in bioinformatics, you need specific programs to facilitate your work tasks.
Typically, your employer will provide you with additional software necessary, such as programming, simulation, data mining, or statistical software.
How To Find Remote Opportunities?
If you specialize in bioinformatics, you can find hiring companies and open positions through several websites, including:
- Indeed is one of the most popular places to find bioinformatics jobs listing over 4,500 positions.
- LinkedIn can be an excellent way to find bioinformatics jobs and connect with the top minds in the field.
- Glassdoor lists over 3,000 bioinformatics positions.
- Science Careers helps you find specialized careers within bioinformatics.
- ZipRecruiter allows you to find high-paying bioinformatics jobs or search for entry-level positions at lower salary points.
- International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) is a professional bioinformatics society offering network and career opportunities.
Alternatively, you can reach out to companies concentrating on bioinformatics research to inquire about open jobs.
Is Bioinformatics A Good Career?
Bioinformatics is an excellent field for anyone interested in biology, computer science, and scientific research.
If you enjoy research or analysis, you may enjoy becoming a bioinformatician, bioinformatics specialist, or bioinformatics analyst.
If you are passionate about designing, creating, and optimizing software systems, you may prefer to become a bioinformatics engineer.
Regarding education, bioinformatics is one of the most challenging disciplines.
You must learn biology, biochemistry, math, computer science, and software programming.
To land a well-paying bioinformatics position, you may wish to continue obtaining a Master’s degree or a Ph.D.
After graduating, you may earn an average of $102 270 annually, in line with biochemists and biophysicists reaching up to $200,500 annually.
Depending on your employer, you could also land significant benefits packages.
If you work with prestigious companies such as Tempus or BenchSci, your benefits package may include health insurance, mental health support, life insurance, parental leave, paid time off, commuter benefits, and retirement planning.
Is There A Demand For Bioinformaticians?
Data and data research is behind all major discoveries and advancements in medicine, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, forensic investigations, animal science, and many more domains.
So, companies will always need bioinformatic experts to facilitate data organization, processing, and analysis, make significant insights, and offer breakthroughs.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a 5% growth rate for biochemists and biophysicists before 2030.
Yet, they also predict a 22% growth rate for information research scientists before 2030.
Bioinformatics may fall as a combination of these two, displaying a healthy growth rate for the field.
The top hiring companies in the bioinformatics industry are:
- Illumina
- BenchSci
- Tempus
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
- Roche
Typically, there are plenty of openings at universities or hospitals as well.
Why Are Bioinformaticians Demanded?
Organizations are increasing their demand for bioinformaticians and bioinformatician engineers.
They realized the vast amount of biological information the world has and how important it could be for scientific breakthroughs.
Bioinformatics experts can design and develop efficient software tools to compile and organize that information in easy-to-find and analyze sets.
Likewise, bioinformatics specialists can analyze and interpret the assembled information.
When the existing data is readily accessible and shared openly with professionals, there can be rapid progress in numerous fields related to genetics and genes.
Useful Youtube Channels For Working From Home
Bioinformatics is a rapidly evolving field, so it is crucial to stay up to date with its progress.
It may even be more important when working remotely, as your work environment may not directly expose you to recent news.
Follow along with these exciting YouTube channels to make sure you never miss a moment:
- Illumina
- European Bioinformatics Institute
- Moscow State University Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics
- BioInformatics in Canada
- Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics
Final Thoughts
Now that you have completed this guide, you understand how bioinformatics careers can be remote working opportunities.
Once you obtain relevant qualifications for your preferred bioinformatics organization, look into work-from-home opportunities.
With a simple, high-performance computer and internet connection, you can contribute profoundly to the field and society.
Fortunately, this is all from the comfort of your own home!
