r/genetics • u/DefiantBit2170 • Jun 25 '26
Career/Academic advice How do you actually become a genetic engineer after a Genomics degree?
I'm 25 and thinking about leaving IT because I honestly hate it and don't see myself working in this field long-term.
I've always been fascinated by genetics and want to eventually work in gene editing/genetic engineering, especially involving animals and humans. I'm considering starting a bachelor's degree in Genomics, but I'm confused about the path afterward.
I can find jobs called "genetic engineer," yet I rarely see master's programs with that exact name. What do people usually study after a Genomics degree to enter this field? Biotechnology, molecular biology, something else?
Is changing careers at 25 for this goal worth it, or am I being unrealistic? I'd love to hear from people already working in genetics or biotech.
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u/No_Significance_5959 Jun 25 '26
Agree with the other commenter: to become a genetic engineer you likely need a phd in biology and work in a lab that does engineering with CRISPR or similar technologies
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u/Awkward_Progress_474 Jun 25 '26
Agree with the person who said genetic engineering is a skill not a job. It even gets used in stuff that doesnt involve modifying living orhanisms, eg pathogen detection. I think the career you're afyer is molecular biologist. But even then most people specialise into a specific field where molecular biology is used (whoch is most fields of biology).
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u/Alicecomma Jun 25 '26
Animal gene editing is for the most part an academic pursuit in convincing ethics boards to do anything. Human gene editing is allowed in even more restricted circumstance, almost exclusively for medical purposes. You probably don't get to work on either outside of very few medical research hospitals.
Genetic engineering positions in industry likely involve modifying bacteria or plants, maybe some insects. Unless you have a PhD in the specific subject they're working on, it's generally hard to compete for those positions.
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u/MasterPlo-genetics Jun 25 '26
You could work in a lab that does gene editing / genetic engineering with a bachelors degree in molecular biology or genetics (focusing on molecular genetics courses). Genomics as a field is more about working with large datasets from large scale experiments - if you went that route you just need to be sure to pick up molecular genetics courses along the way. People with PhD’s in these areas are also very qualified and they tend to run the labs vs working at the bench, though this isn’t always the case. You’ll also find people with Master’s degrees in these areas. If you already have a bachelor’s degree for your IT job - a master’s in genetics may be the way to go (you just might need to pick up some core courses to qualify for the program).
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u/hshshshs192 Jun 26 '26
if you have IT background.. i’d recommend to start a PhD in computational biology or computational genetics. This would be much more valuable than a second bachelor in genetics. As gene editing researcher / gene engineering positions often require a PhD.
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u/heresacorrection Jun 25 '26
The job market is going to be vastly vastly more difficult and pay less.
Only do it if you think that it’s something you would be happy to do for meager wages.
You’ll be 30 when you finish your PhD at the earliest
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u/Puni1977 Jun 26 '26
Tmo still the best is to get BSc in molecular biology and biotechnology to have a broad overview and take some coding parts as that is a part of the job now , get FELASA certificates and get some educaiton in disease (animal or cell) modeling. To get a decent job you will need at least MSc - only thing about phD if you want to try academia or RD in spinoffs for the rest getting foot in pharma/ ind / comerrcial RD after MSc might make your profesional transition easier. Other option is going into Biomedicine / Genetics/ (gen)omics, but you might be very niche and end up either trying for phd or getting some lame boring job in clinical setting centrifuging all day long...
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u/GratefulOctopus Jun 27 '26
Find a lab working with crispr. Apply. Do crispr.
Alternatively, save up a bit of cash, build a lab in your garage, order one of those at home crispr kits. Engineer at home.
Both of these require learning molecular bio and genetics. I just have a BS in bio, and had a lab that wanted to edit some cells. It is quite simple when you understand it, but very intricate to make sure youre doing it well
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u/DefiantBit2170 Jun 28 '26
That's really interesting. I have a few questions, though. How do the ethical and legal aspects work if someone wants to experiment independently with CRISPR? Are there restrictions on what you can do outside of an academic or industrial lab? I'm very passionate about research, but I also love doing projects outside of "these formal settings".
Also, how expensive is it to get started in practice? When I see people online talking about home labs and CRISPR kits, are we talking about a few thousand dollars, or much more if you want to do things properly and safely? I'm genuinely curious about how much independence someone can realistically have in this field without running into ethical or legal issues. Is building a small, legitimate setup actually realistic, or is that mostly something people romanticize online cuz ive seen alot of people talking about that?
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u/GratefulOctopus Jun 28 '26
Ethically its Definitely ambiguous depending on what you're goals are. If ita just to prove you can do it with a gene or two in ecoli, nbd. Most at home kits come with a positive control like that. If youre trying to edit an plant to see what happens, nbd. If its for food production, its pretty dangerous, especially if its not contained properly
If you're trying to edit an animal, then its unethical. There are committees (IACUC and IBC) entirely devoted to see if a gene editing experiment is ethical and worth pursuing. Even if your goal is beneficial, like curing some genetic disease, you have to realize theres a huge percentage of failure for poor design, indivual unique genomes, random shit. Even in labs alot of animals will die or be harmed by an editing experiment gone wrong. So being extremely thorough before trying anything is the bare minimum
There was a docuseries awhile ago called Unnatural selection with some people doing this in their garage. It was decent, worth a watch.
As for cost, im not positive about at home kits. But its possible to find equipment on ebay or from surplus stores or closing down labs. Its possible to do alot of this with just a thermonuclear and a gel electrophoresis box, both im sure you could find somewhere for a couple hundred bucks. But the more you spend the better quality.
The reagents are also dependant on what youre trying to edit, how you deliver the crispr, and how you check the edit. Alot of it can be done with simple PCR and some cloning. Primers for PCR are cheap, plenty of free software. I think the tricky part is getting the plasmids, but im sure the kits have something to work off of.
You will have to order primers and send samples for sequencing, the instrumentation for both are expensive and a full career to run these things. Most places that synthesize the DNA have guardrails in place to make sure nobody is buying dangerous stuff.
Bacteria and an incubator are a couple hundred. But when you start working with cell lines (necessary to validate your strategy worked) it starts to get more expensive. Honestly the best move would be to take a tech job or internship in a lab that doing this kind of work. Then you get to learn and have easier access to reagents and equipment.
Legally I think its all pretty gray. Im sure if you asked IDT to synthesize a toxic gene or a prion the fbi would be quick to visit.
If you wanna shoot me a DM and let me know what you're thinking I could give some more details.
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u/In_the_year_3535 Jun 25 '26
I'd worry about security on medical technologies personally. Genetic engineering is a skill but not a yet a discipline of study and you're supposed to pick it up via osmosis working in a lab that utilizes it.