Although it is common for a student to change his primary interest from one science to another during his college training, he should have in mind from the beginning the sort of broad career he wants and the amount of time that preparation will take.

For example, a bachelor’s degree in one of the physical or geological sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, geology, archaeology, agriculture, metallurgy, or mathematics usually requires four years. Some engineering programs require five. A medical student, on the other hand, sometimes takes only three years of college and then goes directly into medical school without a bachelor’s degree but with six to eight years of training still ahead of him.

Physical and Biological Sciences

Most scientific endeavor today is undertaken by teams composed of individuals with doctor’s, master’s, and bachelor’s degrees in the sciences. These teams have supporting technical and administrative personnel to help them function efficiently.

In the physical and biological fields, scientists with doctor’s degrees have probably spent three to six years in college after they received their bachelor’s degrees. They are likely to head the team and to have the responsibility for planning and directing research and development projects.

Individuals with master’s degrees have spent about two years in graduate school. They have some research training and undertake scientific projects under direction, although they may also have some responsibility for planning and supervising.

The bachelor’s degree is not a research degree, and team members without graduate training are not likely to direct research. They probably spend their time conducting fairly routine research duties under the guidance of more highly trained supervisors.

The above outline is a general description of the typical situation; work conditions may vary greatly depending on the individual and his organization.

Engineering

Traditionally engineering has been somewhat different. Many engineers held responsible jobs after receiving only a bachelor’s degree. Some did earn a master’s degree, but few studied for a doctorate.

In the last ten years, however, this trend has changed with many more engineers receiving master’s and doctor’s degrees. Advanced study is especially important for a career in the nuclear field because the undergraduate years are filled mainly with basic engineering, and most nuclear courses must be taken at the graduate level. Moreover, the engineering sciences, as all other fields, are becoming increasingly complex. Thus graduate study through at least a master’s degree is advisable for the engineer.

The prospective engineering student should realize that a bachelor’s degree will take from four to five years to complete, a master’s degree will require an additional one to two years, and a doctor’s degree will involve still another two to four years.

Medicine

A career in medicine is still a different story.

After three to four years in college premedical study, four years in medical school, at least one year of internship, and possibly a year’s medical residency, a doctor can become a general practitioner. If he wishes to specialize, his internship may last for two years, and his residency period from three to four years. It is this latter, longer path that leads to a career in nuclear medicine and radiology, as well as to more familiar specialization, such as surgery, pathology, obstetrics, or pediatrics.

Veterinary Science

Also important in the field of nuclear medicine is the veterinary scientist.

A veterinarian spends from two to four years in undergraduate study and four years in veterinary school before receiving a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree that permits him to practice animal medicine. Then, if he wishes to enter nuclear veterinary medicine, veterinary pathology, or some other specialty, he undergoes additional training that is comparable to that of the physician who specializes.

Scientific Writing

Valuable in all areas of science and engineering is the technical writer.

Several years ago the typical technical writer or editor had a background of journalism or English grammar and some undergraduate study of one or more of the sciences. Editorial ability still depends largely on ability to handle the English language, but more and more frequently today the successful technical writer or editor has a bachelor’s degree in one of the sciences. Sometimes he has a master’s degree, and occasionally he holds a doctor’s degree.

Supporting Fields

No scientific organization can function if it is manned only by scientists. Supporting and assisting personnel are essential to the scientific team, and training is widely available for the nonscientist who wants to work in a scientific installation.

A nurse is a professional medical assistant. She can be certified as a registered nurse in three years, or she can earn both an RN and a bachelor’s degree in four to five years. Especially if she enters the field of nuclear medicine or if she is associated with a physician or organization engaged in the clinical use of radiation and radioisotopes, she will need a background in physics in addition to her study of chemistry and the life sciences.

Many colleges and universities offer two-year programs that lead to a certificate qualifying a student as a laboratory aide. The laboratory aide, or assistant, performs assigned duties under close supervision. He does not conduct actual research, but he supplies the scientist with an extra pair of hands.

Scientific organizations also need administrators, librarians, translators, personnel directors, glassblowers, instrument repairmen, accountants, and a host of other skilled individuals to keep the team running smoothly. Such positions may be filled by persons with very limited scientific backgrounds. But the advantage—for employment and for advancement—is on the side of the secretary, or purchasing agent, or bookkeeper who has made an effort to become familiar with basic scientific principles and terminology. Nonscientists with scientific background are sufficiently rare to make them unusually valuable assets to scientific organizations.