Australia is in the early stages of a biotechnology boom . Many students may not be aware of the wealth of employment opportunities available in new biotechnology companies and in existing industries that are incorporating new biotechnologies into their operations. The strengthening demand for research scientists with practical skills in biotechnology reflects the expansion of applications of these disciplines throughout research laboratories and the infiltration of biotechnology into industry. In most research environments, you will join professional research teams with members from a wide range of disciplines. You should realise that by acquiring skills that are useful in one sector of the biotechnology industry, you will find that those skills are readily tranferable to other sectors.
Scientific research is the foundation of any technology industry.
In addition, there are a host of smaller laboratories in hospitals, pathology laboratories and private industry. This research predominantly is in the areas of medicine and agriculture. Each year, many SC01 graduates continue to higher studies at the QUT or other universities, performing research projects in biotechnology-based fields. Many companies organise staff training workshops to keep their employees abreast of new developments. Most managers start out as scientists and work their way up the corporate ladder, although most high-level managers generally will hold a PhD. Australasian biotechnology career links AusBiotech maintains an excellent website which includes a listing of Australian biotechnology companies and businesses grouped into categories, complete with contact details and links to all available homepages.