The scientists who work in biotechnology companies are generally biologists, chemists or physicians. At biotech companies, the people who design the research and plan product development usually hold a Ph.D. or an M.D. degree. However, much of the actual research and development is done by scientists who hold B.S. or M.S. degrees in one of the appropriate sciences. Most biotechnology work is now in the research and development stage. Important applications thus far are in medicine, genetic analysis, agriculture and materials sciences.
Academic research continues to thrive at universities, which initiated the biotechnology revolution.
That research is done primarily by Ph.D.s and graduate students studying for their Ph.D., as well as by some physicians holding M.D. or M.D.-Ph. There are many technicians with B.S. degrees. Undergraduate students are also becoming more involved in biotechnology research. The advent of genomics , the science of determining the structure of the millions of genes in an organism, has created an industry in itself. This field now demands top-flight computer scientists and programmers, in addition to biologists.