Where would you recommend to read Biochemistry?

celyn90

I'd strongly advise he goes and has a look at the places he's considering too, it's really hard to choose somewhere just on the basis of a set of tables. DrFluffy is right, he has to spend a large part of his life in that one place and if he hates it it is harder to remedy than a problem with the course.

I'd also advise he thinks about the aspects of each subject that he enjoys and sees if he could match that with parts of the course description. I did some biological modules as part of my degree (I think I'm a sucker for punishment, everybody else did philoshopy of science and elementry French :rolleyes: ). I chose stuff like mycology, pathology, medical microbiology and immunology because this was the sort of biology I enjoyed. I ignored the biochem modules on the basis that I'm a chemist so found I could adapt that knowledge reasonably easily to solve biochemical problems. So if he specifically like ecology or genetics from his school biology course and atomic structure from chemistry, ask the universities for a list of the course content and see if he can match it to his interests.

Getting a pure biochemistry textbook out of the library is simple way to start deciding this, would he enjoy studying the contents for a few years?

Missy79 wrote: »

Has he considered dual hons? More universities are now offering this option and he could continue studying both of the things he likes. I did this and did both Biochemistry and Biological and Medicinal Chemistry. Many also have an option to convert to single hons later if he decides on one.

I started on chemistry with biosciences, finished with pure chemistry as my course gave me that flexibility and I wasn't sure when I started what I wanted to do. I now work in chemical biology doing organic synthesis and the odd bit of molecular biology, so this approach worked for me.

DrFluffy

[shudders] This thread keeps giving me nasty flashbacks to too much time with my head burried in Stryer [/shudders]

crank_girl

Biochemistry....urgh! I think it takes a special kind of person to dedicate themselves to 3 years of it. I loved chemistry and biology but couldn't tolerate two modules at uni and ended up changing my course to avoid it.

Has your son considered taking an applied science course that utilises biochemistry? Forensic science or immunology for instance? That way he has the theory and some knowledge of how to apply it - very handy when it comes to getting a job at the end of the course.

celyn90

DrFluffy wrote: »

[shudders] This thread keeps giving me nasty flashbacks to too much time with my head burried in Stryer [/shudders]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I still hate Stryer.....

misskool

Biochemistry undergrad and Biochemistry PhD.

I don't think I'm normal :rotfl:

Biochemistry is concerned on the chemistry of life so if he prefers biology to chemistry then perhaps go to a university with a strong biology background that will allow him to do biological chemistry.

Look at what the university coursework is structured like. There are places where Biochemists do modules with pure chemists. It is certainly one of the harder subjects (as all those pesky medical students keep telling me) but it's very versatile and flexible when you want to choose your career.

Also check contact hours that are required by the university and what sort of tutor support. I had 36 hours of being in uni for the first year of my undergraduate degree, we had 12 hours of labs, 14 hours of lectures, 8 hours of problem classes. The tutors were great in helping us keep on top of it.

Not to scare you but the drop out rates for Biochem are relatively high as the workload is quite tough and a lot of students think it'll be more Biology than Chemistry. A lot of places don't require Biology A-levels for Biochem mainly because it's not particularly useful. Something like Human Genetics or Molecular Biology would be more useful.

[Deleted User]

Ahh.. this also reminds me of my rather unused copy of Stryers Biochem and a dusty copy of a book on Organic chemistry for biologists. I studied Genetics at Liverpool uni and did a masters in computational biology afterwards.

Being a science graduate can be tough - to get on in industry or academia you NEED a PhD. I jumped out of science research after 2 1/2 years as I could see too many PhD'ed peers careers floundering. Now i work in IT. Not so intellectually stimulating but I couldn't afford to be choosy.

Go for molecular biology - way more interesting, more jobs and it'll lead to a more 'rounded' biologist

*Pixie*_3

University of Glasgow offers very flexible science degree courses combining chemistry and biology with another subject in 1st year then the option of single or joint honours. They admit undergraduates to the faculty rather than a specific course so you are free to choose from a wide range of subject combinations.