Looking for a Bioinformatics position with an MPhil/ MS in the US as a non-US passport holder
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7.9 years ago
MAPK ★ 2.1k

I am graduating with an MPhil degree in Bioinformatics (Cancer genomes) from an Australian university (top ranked globally). I have a Bachelor (biology) and MS (plant genomics) from the US Universities. I am now looking for a job in Academic Institution or Industry in the US. Since I don't have a PhD, I am not sure how hard it is going to be to find a job in the US with just an MPhil in bioinformatics for a candidate like me holding a non-US passport (I know Postdoc position would be easy to find).

I have 4 peer-reviewed papers from my MS and will have at least 4 papers from my MPhil. I want to apply for a bioinformatics position in the US and would like to see if any lab would be willing to offer a position.

I also have worked with plants genomes, Cancer genomes (genotype data sequenced by whole exome and whole genomes). I would be happy to send you my full CV, if you could help me find a position. Thank you!

career • 2.0k views
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If you're dead set on sticking in Bioinformatics, why not apply for a PhD program in the US? There are more US based users on here that would be able to give you more concrete advice, but my thinking is that if you're applying for an academic position, they're almost always take someone with a PhD over low to mid level experience in what they want you for. If you're not fussy on where in the US you move to, I think you'd have a better shot finding a job outside of academia.

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I am too old for PhD now. Can't afford to feed my family on PhD stipend now.

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Are you set on the bioinformatics field? A lot of skills you gained are probably translatable to other data analysis fields.

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Yes the skills acquired during the MS and MPhil largely translate into data analysis or even data science jobs. If you are proficient in some languages like bash/shell, python or for statistical analysis and visualization R or matlab then you can always contest for a job as a data science engineer/data analyst but then again it depends on the company policy and what rate of acceptance they have . But still I believe there are a considerable number of companies in US which open such positions, so you can take a look at them if at all you are hell bent on working in US. If not a PhD you can always work as a Bioinformatics analyst/programmers in hospitals in US, I always see a openings in large genome centers or hospitals. If it is Bioinformatics field you are only interested in.

There might be experts to address about it but the only thing which bothers me is the visa type. If you are non-US and not living in US currently it is sometimes difficult to get a job due to the visa type. For academic it is J1 for researchers which is easy to achieve while for companies it is H1B which is for skilled labor and associated with high cost which most companies do not willingly give or at times hand tight due to US regulations. This might be one of the scenario that might pose some constraints else you should be able to contest for positions I mentioned above. Good luck!

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7.8 years ago
conniec • 0

For industry, PhD in bioinformatics may be more competitive. You can consider positions in universities or research institutes.

found a position on Biostar: Bioinformatics Postdoctoral Fellow in Epigenetics-Johns Hopkins

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