what are some jobs in science that don't involve "bench work"?

[Bec3662]

I love science but when it comes to bench work and field work i am a total whimp. I'm scarfed of radiation, infection, chemicals, dirt, and animals.I studied evolutionary biology and biomedical science in undergrad and did Honours in immunology. I also did a lot of genetics. I did a lot of genetics and infectious diseases stuff in my degree too.What jobs are there that would be interesting but which would be in a nice, safe, clean, comfortable office.

[RustyS6926]

as you will learn as you get older, jobs are things you dont wanna do. I suggest you join a Sorority and find a rich husband.

[Steve3611]

All the interests you list have "bench work".Your question shows that you don't know much about the WORK side of science. If you want to be involved in science, but want to be behind a desk instead of a bench, I suggest you continue your education and go for a Masters degree in business management and then try for a job managing a department at some lab.

[qetzal9135]

1) Regulatory affairs. This involves working with regulatory agencies like FDA & USDA on behalf of a company (typically a pharmaceutical or biotech co.). You have to have some understanding of the science your company does, but you don't have to actually do any of it. Your job would involve compiling data and documents to submit to regulatory agencies, negotiating what kinds of studies need to be done to get regulatory approval, etc.2) Quality assurance. This involves making sure a company (again, pharma or biotech, usually) is following all the rules it should follow in doing its work. You'd be involved in preparing SOPs (standard operating procedures), keeping records, auditing researchers in your company (to confirm they're following the rules & SOPs), auditing other companies that may supply you with important materials (to make sure they do things properly so you can trust their materials), etc. This doesn't require bench work either, although having previous experience at the bench can be helpful.3) Scientific or medical writer. This can involve writing up other people's results for publication, writing grant applications, etc. Medical writing can be very lucrative, and involves summarizing and writing up the results of clinical studies. Once again, no bench work required, but prior experience at the bench or in the clinic can be very useful (so if you have none, you might have a harder time getting such a job).4) Business development. Pharma & biotech companies are always doing deals with each other - partnering to jointly develop new products, merging, buying each other, etc. The business people who manage these deals have to negotiate, prepare contracts, develop business strategies, etc., but they also have to understand some of the science behind what their company does, and what the other company does. No bench work required here, and it's not that common for a BD person to have prior experience at the bench, so if you have none, that wouldn't be a big disadvantage.5) Project management. This involves tracking and managing the workflow, resources, costs, progress, objectives, etc. in a project. It's used a lot in pharma and biotech during product development. In smaller companies, it typically requires that you have some decision making role in the experiments themselves, even if you don't actually perform them. In such cases, you'd really need prior bench experience. However, in large pharma, there are project management roles where lack of bench experience wouldn't greatly matter.Those are the ones that come to mind off the bat. Hope they help. If any sound interesting, try to identify a pharma or biotech in your area, or just one you've heard of or admire. Contact them and tell them you're interested in career advice about whichever one (QA, RA, etc.) Ask if you could speak to someone in that department who might have suggestions for how to pursue such a career. Good luck!